Politics in the Gilded Age

“I know now that all that glitters is not gold... However, I still go underrating men of gold, and glorifying men of mica. Commonplace human nature cannot rise above that.”

― Mark Twain

Waving the Bloody Shirt! Republicans

nominated Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant great soldier had no political

experience Democrats?

could only denounce military Reconstruction

Waving the Bloody Shirt!

The Republicans got Grant elected (barely) by “waving the bloody shirt”

1868 Presidential Election1868 Presidential Election

President Ulysses S. GrantPresident Ulysses S. Grant

The Era of Good Stealings

Despite the Civil War, the population grew Partially due to immigration

politics became very corrupt Railroad promoters cheated gullible

customers Too many judges and legislators put

their power up for hire

The Era of Good Stealings

Jim Fisk and Jay Gould notorious millionaires In 1869, they concocted a plot to corner

the gold market Plan would only work if the treasury

stopped selling gold they worked on President Grant directly

and through his brother-in-law plan failed when the treasury sold gold

The Era of Good Stealings

Tweed Ring (AKA, “Tammany Hall) of NYC Headed by “Boss” Tweed

Used bribery, graft, and fake elections to cheat the city of as much as $200 million

caught when The New York Times secured evidence of his misdeeds

died in jail

The Tweed Ring in NYCThe Tweed Ring in NYC

William Marcy Tweed (notorious head of Tammany Hall’s political machine)

[Thomas Nast crusading cartoonist/reporter]

Who Stole the People’s Money?Who Stole the People’s Money?

A Carnival of Corruption

Grant failed to see corruption going on many of his friends wanted offices his cabinet was totally corrupt

Credit Mobilier railroad construction company that

paiditself huge sums of money for small railroad construction

NY newspaper reported it 2 members of Congress were formally

censured company had given some of its stock to the

congressmen Vice President was shown to have accepted

20 shares of stock

And They Say He Wants a Third TermAnd They Say He Wants a Third Term

The Election of 1872The Election of 1872 Rumors of corruption

during Grant’s first term discredit Republicans

Horace Greeley runsas a Democrat/LiberalRepublican candidate

Greeley attacked as afool and a crank.

Greeley died on November 29, 1872!

1872 Presidential Election1872 Presidential Election

Popular Vote for President: 1872

Popular Vote for President: 1872

The Panic of 1873The Panic of 1873

Causes: Unrestrained speculation on the railroads Too easy credit

Started when… failure of the NY banking firm Jay Cooke &

Company, which was headed by the rich Jay Cooke, a financier of the Civil War

 Depression, Deflation, & Inflation

Greenbacks that had been issued in the Civil War were being recalled but now, during the panic

“cheap-money” supporters wanted greenbacks to be printed en mass again, to create inflation

 supporters of “hard-money” (actual gold and silver) persuaded Grant to veto a bill that would print more paper money

 Depression, Deflation, & Inflation

• Resumption Act of 1875 government would withdraw greenbacks & make

all further redemption of paper money in gold at face value, starting in 1879

Debtors now cried that silver was under-valued (another call for inflation), Grant refused to coin more silver dollars,

which (stopped in 1873) new silver discoveries in the later 1870s shot

the price of silver way down. Grant’s name remained fused to sound money, though not sound government.

 Depression, Deflation, & Inflation

greenbacks regain their value few greenback holders exchange their more

convenient bills for gold when Redemption Day came in 1879

1878, the Bland-Allison Act instructed the Treasury to buy and coin between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver bullion each month. The minimum was actually coined and its effect was minimal on creating “cheap money.”

 Depression, Deflation, & Inflation

Republican hard-money policy, led to the election of a Democratic House of

Representatives in 1874 Spawned the Greenback Labor Party in 1878

primarily composed of prairie farmers who went into debt during the Panic of 1873

fought for increased monetary circulation through issuance of paper currency and bimetallism (using both gold and silver as legal tender)

supported inflationary sought benefits for labor such as shorter working

hours and a national labor bureau. wanted the government to print more greenbacks.

1876 Presidential Tickets1876 Presidential Tickets

1876 Presidential Election1876 Presidential Election

The Political Crisis of 1877The Political Crisis of 1877

“Corrupt Bargain”Part II?

Hayes PrevailsHayes Prevails

A Political Crisis: The “Compromise” of 1877A Political Crisis: The

“Compromise” of 1877

Well-Defined Voting Blocks

Well-Defined Voting Blocks

DemocraticBloc

RepublicanBloc

White southerners(preservation ofwhite supremacy)

Catholics

Recent immigrants(esp. Jews)

Urban working poor (pro-labor)

Most farmers

Northern whites(pro-business)

African Americans

Northern Protestants

Old WASPs (supportfor anti-immigrant laws)

Most of the middleclass

Laissez Faire GovernmentLaissez Faire Government Government stayed out of domestic

policies from about 1877-1900

Deliver the mail

Maintain a national military

Collect taxes & tariffs

Conduct a foreign policy

A Symbolic PresidencyA Symbolic Presidency

Party bosses ruled

Presidents should avoid offending anyfactions within theirown party

The President justdoled out federal jobs.

1865 53,000 people worked for the federal govt.

1890 166,000 “ “ “ “ “ “

The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post-Reconstruction South

Reconstruction ended …military returned northward whites asserted their power Literacy requirements for voting began, voter registration laws emerged poll taxes began targeted at black voters

The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post-Reconstruction South

Most blacks became sharecroppers providing nothing but labor

Or tenant farmers if they could provide their own tools

Plessy v. Ferguson: 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in the

case of that “separate but equal” facilities were constitutional “Jim Crow” segregation was legalized

Class Conflicts & Ethnic Clashes

Railroad Strike Background

1877, the presidents of the nation’s 4 largestrailroads decided to cut wages by 10%.

Workers struck back, stopping work President Hayes sent troops to stop this violence erupted more than 100 people died in the several

weeks of chaos

Class Conflicts & Ethnic Clashes

Failure of the railroad strike? showed weakness of the labor

movement Note: this was partly caused by friction

between races, especially between the Irish and the Chinese.

In San Francisco, Irish-born Denis Kearney incited his followers to terrorize the Chinese

Class Conflicts & Ethnic Clashes

Anti-Chinese sentiment: 1879-Congress passed a bill severely

restricting the influx of Chinese immigrants (most of whom were males who had come to California to work on the railroads Hayes vetoed the bill

Said that it violated an existing treaty with China After Hayes left office, the Chinese

Exclusion Act, was passed in first law limiting immigration.

James A. Garfield 1880 : Republicans nominated James A.

Garfield from Ohio rose to the rank of major general in the Civil War

Democrats chose Winfield S. Hancock Civil War general (appealed to the South)

1880 Presidential

Election

1880 Presidential

Election

James A. Garfield campaign avoided touchy issues Garfield squeaked by in the popular vote Garfield died after being shot in the head by a

disappointed office seeker

Republican infighting

StalwartsRepublicans fighting for civil service reform during Garfield's term; they supported Cleveland

Half-breeds Favored tariff reform and social did not seem to be dedicated members of

either party

Chester Arthur

Chester Arthur surprised many called for reform Republican party

slowly embraces reform

Pendleton Act (1883)Pendleton Act (1883)

Civil Service Act

1883 14,000 out of117,000 federal governmentjobs became civilservice exam positions

1900 100,000 out of 200,000 government jobs were exam positions

Republican “Mugwumps”Republican

“Mugwumps” Reformers who wouldn’t re-nominateChester A. Arthur

Reform to them

create an impartial government run by an educated elite

Social Darwinists

Laissez faire government to them

Favoritism & the spoils system seen as govt. intervention in society.

Their target was political corruption, not social or economic reform!

TheMugwump

s

TheMugwump

sMen may come and men may go, but the work of reform shall go on forever. Will support

Cleveland in the1884 election.

1884 Presidential Election1884 Presidential Election

Grover Cleveland James Blaine * (DEM) (REP)

A Dirty Campaign

A Dirty Campaign

Ma, Ma…where’s my pa?He’s going to the White House, ha… ha… ha…!

1884 Presidential

Election

1884 Presidential

Election

Cleveland’s First TermCleveland’s First Term The “Veto Governor” from New York

First Democratic elected since 1856

A public office is a public trust!

His laissez-faire presidency:

Opposed bills to assist the poor aswell as the rich

Vetoed over 200 special pension billsfor Civil War veterans!