Political Realignments of the 1890s

The Coming of a “Gilded Age”

Mark Twain (1835-1910) coined the term implying that what looked beautiful and valuable on the surface--growing industry and accumulation of fortunes by the privileged few--was but a cover for the less valuable (“brass-like”) or destructive features of the period--poverty, child labor, widespread political corruption, trusts and monopolies, etc.**

“Under the cruel impact of the depression, ideas changed in many areas including politics. A realignment of the American political system. . . finally reached its fruition in the 1890s, establishing new patterns that gave rise to the Progressive Era and lasted well into the twentieth century.”

Presidential Politics 20—A

• The Declining Power of the Presidency after 1865**

• Background Conditions—Economic Depression, 1873-1897**

• Public Interest in Politics**

Elections of 1876 and 1896—79% turnout

Party Positions• Democrats

– State’s Rights– Decentralization– Limited government—small and local

• Republicans– Pursuit of national policies– Government an institution to promote moral

progress and material wealth

“The late 1890s. . . marked the birth of the modern powerful presidency.”

The Election of 1876 was hotly contested as the flanking

cartoons suggest. In the end, Rutherford B. Hayes received

the winning number of electoral votes in spite of the fact that

Democrat Samuel Tilden garnered more of the popular

vote.

Election of 1876

Election of 1876

Rutherford B. Hayes won the election of 1876—

Electoral vote being cast

Election of 1880

James A. Garfield

• Union Army hero

• Union Army hero

Assassination of Garfield by a deranged lawyer and disgruntled office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau (September 19, 1881)

Chester A. Arthur, the “accidental

president”

Approved construction of a modern U.S. Navy

Created bipartisan Civil Service Commission (in part, a response to Garfield’s assassination)—it administered competitive exams and appointments based on merit

Election of 1884

Grover Cleveland

1. Democratic governor of New York2. Honest, stubborn, hard worker3. Only America president to serve two

discontinuous terms

Election of 1888

Republican Benjamin Harrison, the losing candidate received more popular vote

1. Republicans gained Congressional majority

2. Democrats in Congress used “disappearing quorum” rule to bring a halt to legislation

3. The midterm election of 1890 was a crushing defeat for Republicans--for the first time since 1850, the White House controlled both houses of Congress

Election of 1892Democrats gained

Congressional majorityMany Republican voters switched parties in this

election

Those voters tended to vote

Democratic rather than Populist

The midterm elections of 1894 resulted in a loss of 113 Democratic seats in

the House

There was a national trend of shifting political alignments. Power in the Democratic Party shifts to the South where it would remain for a

long, long time. “In effect, the Democrats became a sectional—no

longer a national—party.”

Cleveland’s policies drove many Democrats into the Republican party

“The elections of 1894 marked the end of the party deadlock that had existed since the 1870s. . . . In the midst

of the depression, the Republican doctrines of activism and national authority. . . became more attractive. . . .

Americans became more accepting of the use of government power to regulate the economy and safeguard individual welfare. The way lay open to the reforms of the

Progressive Era, the New Deal, and beyond. . . . In prosperous times, Americans had thought of

unemployment as the result of personal failure, affecting primarily the lazy and immoral. . . . In the midst of

depression, such views were harder to maintain, since everyone knew people who were both worthy and

unemployed. . . . Pressures for reform increased, and demand grew for government intervention to help the

poor and unemployed.” **

Tariffs, Trusts, and the Regulation of Business 20

—B1

• Railroads 20—B2

• Trusts 20—B3

There were New Laws Regulating**:

Railroads 20—B2

• Banned rebates and pooling

• Required railroads to set “reasonable and just” rates

• Required end of overcharging short haul customers

• Created Interstate Commerce Commission

Interstate Commerce Act**—1887—Interstate commerce = trade that crosses state lines

The ICC Charged with investigating and overseeing railroad activities and became prototype of federal commissions today

that regulate various sectors of the economy

Trusts 20—B3

• Prohibited monopolies • Made deliberate destruction of

competition a crime• The terms of the Act were vague leaving a

wide area for interpretation by the courts • United States v. E. C. Knight Company,

1895

Sherman Antitrust Act**—1890—First federal effort to control trusts, regulate

big business

McKinley Tariff Act**—1890 20—B

Passed during the Harrison

administration (right), the Act popularly bore

the name of Ohio Congressman William

McKinley (left)

McKinley Tariff Act**—1890 20—B1

• Raised tariff duties about 4%• Included novel reciprocity provision allowing

president to lower duties if other countries did the same

• Promoted certain new industries, e.g., canned foods

• Upshot was development of holding companies through which one company could control others through purchase of the stock in those companies

United States v. E. C. Knight Company, 1895**

Blow against the Sherman Antitrust Act--drew false line of distinction between

“trade or commerce” and manufacturing.” Allowed Knight Co.—a business that controlled 98% of American

sugar refining—to continue operations that were only in “one state.”

The Depression Years**—The Causes 20—C

• In response to rapid industrialization, the U.S. economy expanded too rapidly in the 1870s and 1880s

• Industrialists had overbuilt, hoping for continuing growth—companies grew beyond their markets

• Farmers and businesses borrowed heavily to expand

Causes Continued**

• Business investments dropped sharply • Drought and hot summer west of

Mississippi in 1894 • The U.S. gold reserve dropped sharply

hurting business confidence and leading to. . .

• A stock market collapse May 5, 1893--“Industrial Black Friday” was Wall Street’s worst day until 1929

Impact of the Stock Market Crash

• Bankruptcy or failure of many firms, businesses, mines, and banks

• Some 3 million unemployed by 1894

• The American public became restive and angry

Jacob S. Coxey (above)--his leadership inspired a

march on Washington, D. C. Photo upcoming

shows some of Coxey’s marchers in their quest.

Theory Believed by Silver Supporters**

• Free, independent silver coinage at a ratio of 16 ounces of silver to every one ounce of gold

• Free coinage meant U.S. mints would coin all silver given to them

• Inflation--higher prices and lower purchasing power due to rising costs

The Silver Controversy--A Quick Fix for Economic Troubles? 20—D2

• People wanted quick solutions to the economic problems of the day

• Americans in the South and West—particularly those in the Democratic Party—favored a silver policy

• Why Did Farmers Favor Unlimited Coinage of Silver?**

Who supported silver and why?

Farmers Who Supported Silver**

• They believed that the coinage of silver would cause inflation and help them repay their debts with less valuable money than they had borrowed

• They believed it would raise wages and crop prices

• They believed it would challenge the hated power of the gold-oriented Northeast

Two Free Silver Cartoons of the 1890s. At left, William Jennings

Bryan advertises free silver as an elixir to heal what ails you. See

Election of 1896 below. To right, an ex-Confederate soldier—now

a farmer—argues his case for free silver as a panacea that will

restore favorable economic conditions across the United

States of America

Who Supported the “Gold Standard”?** 20—D2

• Bankers and established business people, especially in the East

• Workers who feared inflation would lessen the purchase power of their wages

Gold Standard—currency based solely on gold; it held down the money supply and

kept prices from rising

Sherman Silver Purchase Act, 1890 20—D2

• U.S. Treasury directed to purchase 4.5 million ounces of sliver a month

• Treasury to issue legal tender—Treasury notes—in payment for this silver

• Both sides—silver and gold—were satisfied with this compromise

Repeal of Silver Purchase Act, 1893 20—D2

• President Cleveland repealed the bill

• This reduced the flight of gold out of the U.S. but did not solve the Treasury’s gold problem

• It boosted business confidence

• It contracted currency when inflation was needed

Continued. . .

• It failed to revive business or the stock market, reduce unemployment, or prevent a fall in farm prices

• The repeal discredited President Cleveland

• It confined the Democrats to the South

• It propelled the Republicans into the majority party by 1894

Trouble of the Farm**—Demanding a “Fairer Share” of Economic

and Social Benefits• Plentiful supplies on foreign market drove

down crop prices

• Credit was difficult to obtain

• Deflation

• Rising freight charges imposed by railroads (although rates actually fell during this period)

Continued. . .**

• Drought

• Mortgages that were burdensome (although not crippling)

• Crisis of Self-Esteem

“Farm discontent was a worldwide phenomenon between 1870 and 1900. With the new means of

transportation and communication, farmers everywhere were caught up in a complex

international market they neither controlled nor entirely understood.”

The exodus from farm to city led to a new “literature of disillusionment.” Such books were Hamlin Garland’s Son of the Middle Border, 1890 (frontispiece right) and Main-Travelled Roads, 1891. Hamlin Garland, left.

Problems led to formation of organizations like the Grange (1867

by Oliver Kelly) 20—C

• Supported passage of “Grange Laws” regulating railroad freight rates

• Worked to boost farm profits

• Pooled resources to form cooperatives running grain elevators and marketing grain on their own

Various Farmers Alliances also formed through U. S. 20

—C• They used many of the Grange’s

methods and shared many of the same goals

• National Farmers’ Alliance

• Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union

The Ocala Platform** 20—C

• Easier credit for farmers--most important of the demands

• End to deflation by increasing the money in circulation

– Deflation = falling value of price for goods and services; meant that the farmers who borrowed actually had to pay back more than they had borrowed

– Notion of doing so by minting silver became very popular—would increase the money supply

– Urged free coinage of silver

Continued. . .

• Graduated personal income tax in proportion to one’s income

• Strict regulation of the railroads

• Charged government added to farmers’ misery with high tariffs

• Creation of a “sub-treasury” system

The Rise of Populism and the Formation of a “Third National

Party” 20—D1 Members of the farm alliances (National

Farmers’ Alliance) were disappointed when reform candidates elected in 1890s failed to carry out their promises. Those who promised to support farm- related

reform enjoyed great success. . . but then they did not carry out their promises.

Populist Party gathered in Omaha, Nebraska in 1892. “There was no reason

to cooperate with the Democrats who exploited Alliance popularity but failed to

adopt its reforms.

Goals of the Populist Party** • Like labor movement of late-

1800s, it tried to protect interests of ordinary working people against industrialists and railroad owners-- was based on idea that united action was more effective than individual action

• Weaver (left) was the first third-party presidential candidate to receive more than a million popular votes. He received 22 electoral votes for carrying Kansas, Idaho, Nevada, and Colorado, and parts of North Dakota and Oregon.

James B. Weaver—from Iowa, he was the Populist candidate for president in

1892

Fading of Populism and Rise of William Jennings Bryan 20—D3

Bryan was a powerful leader who was able to unite the “Silver Faction” One reporter aptly

prophesied, “All the Silverites need is a Moses,” and in Bryan, they certainly found one

Bryan’s Qualities

• Dramatic public speaker—“The Voice”

• Used gestures dramatically

• Called the “Great Commoner” in reference to his identification with the common man

• Religious upbringing

Bryan’s father, a Baptist deacon and his mother, devout Methodist. He learned in both

denominational environments, eventually becoming an expert on the Bible and a spokesman for

Fundamentalist views

Bryan’s “Public Event”** 20—D3

Bryan’s rousing conclusion: “Having behind us the

producing masses of this nation and the world. . . we will

answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them:

‘You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of

thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

• Barely 36 years old in 1896

• Little political experience

• His “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic Convention

• Spoke as in defense of a righteous, holy cause

• Captivated delegates at the Convention

Bryan the Man

Bryan’s Platform of 1896** 20—D3

• It reflected the Populist Creed: – regulate

railroads – curb monopolies – establish a

currency backed by silver

“The Battle of the Standards”**—a contest between the gold vs. silver standard

The Election of 1896: McKinley vs. Bryan 20—D3

The Election of 1896: McKinley vs. Bryan 20—D3

Displacement of the Cleveland wing—Pro-Silver—of the Democratic

Party

• Attacked Cleveland’s actions in Pullman Strike

• Demanded free coinage of silver

• Censured Cleveland’s bond on gold sales

McKinley won the election

• McKinley let voters come to him in his hometown of Canton, Ohio**

• He used the press to appeal to labor, immigrants, prosperous farmers, businessmen, and the middle class

• He defended economic nationalism

• He supported the advance of urban-industrial society

Not surprisingly,

McKinley overwhelmed

Bryan among city

voters

Upshot of the Election of 1896**

• New voting patterns replaced old ones

• A new majority party confirmed its control of the country

• National policy shifted to suit new realities

• Bryan took his campaign directly to the people

William McKinley—this election was important because it broke the deadlock of Gilded Age politics. Republicans became the majority party and dominated national politics for decades to come. The Republicans became the party of progress and prosperity.**

Why Did the Populist Movement Fade After 1896?** 20—D1

• Failure of morale within the party • Many Populists returned to the Democratic

Party – Populists staked all on the assumption that

neither major party would endorse silver – Rather than split Silverite forces, Populists

endorsed Bryan

• The economy improved—prosperity returned

Why Did the Populist Movement Fade After 1896?** 20—D1

• Failure of morale within the party

• Many Populists returned to the Democratic Party

• The economy improved—prosperity returned

The McKinley Administration

• William McKinley the Man – Union Army officer during Civil War

– Affable, calm, and able

– Served as Congressman from Ohio since 1876

– Chief sponsor of the tariff bill named after him

– McKinley’s campaign manager, Mark Hanna, billed McKinley as “the Advance Agent of Prosperity”

– McKinley’s campaign manager, Mark Hanna, billed McKinley as “the Advance Agent of Prosperity”

America Under McKinley**

• The economy revived

• The stock market rose

• Factories became active again

• Farm prices rose with bumper crops in 1897

• Discoveries of gold in Alaska and Australia increased the world’s gold supply and inflated the value of currency

Art Imitating Life

New York native and poet, Walt Whitman (left) called the literature after 1865 “ornamental confectionary” and “copious dribble.”

“The depression gave point to a growing movement in literature toward realism and naturalism. In the years after the Civil War, literature often reflected the mood of romanticism--sentimental and unrealistic.”

Post-Civil War Romanticism** Horatio Alger--Alger’s

some 130 novels told tales of poor young

people who advanced through the ranks through their hard work, thrift, honest behavior, and good

fortune.

Louisa May Alcott—Alcott’s Little Women (1868-1869) traced the daily lives of four

girls in a New England family

Anna Sewell--Sewell wrote Black Beauty (1877), a

charming novel that told the story of an abused horse that

found a happy home.

Post-1870 Realism,** Naturalism, and Darwinism

Joel Chandler Harris (left) and George Washington Cable (right, 1844-1925). These two authors depicted life in the

South. Harris wrote the Uncle Remus tales (far right).

Hamlin Garland (left) wrote about life on the Great Plains.

Sarah Orne Jewett (right) wrote about everyday life in rural New England. Jewett’s Play Days, 1878 (far right).

Bret Harte (left)--his most famous portrayal of life and local color in the California mining camps was “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” in

his Gold Rush.

Mark Twain, a.k.a. Samuel ClemensTwain was the nation’s foremost realist writer.** He wrote about “life around him with a humorous and skeptical eye. . . . Twain used dialect and common speech instead of literary language, touching off a major change in American prose style.”

His best-known works were Life on the Mississippi (1883), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

In the same style, Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).

William Deal Howell--Howell sketched the impact of industrialization. His utopian novel, A Traveler from Altruria (1894) revealed a picture of how industrial society consumed lives. His Rise of Silas Lapham is pictured to the right.

Stephen Crane

portrayed the reality of war.**

The NaturalistsFrank Norris produced

The Octopus (1901), The Pit (1903), and McTeague (1899,left). The two first-

named volumes related the “story of individual futility in the face of the heartless

corporation.” The last-named “studied the

disintegration of character under economic pressure.

Jack London--as a naturalist, London focused on the power of nature over

civilization.** His works The Sea Wolf (1904) and Call of the Wild (1903)

emphasized this theme.

Theodore Dreiser is the period’s foremost naturalist. His Sister Carrie (1901) tells the

story of a young farm girl who moves to Chicago and takes

a job in a shoe factory.

Dreiser’s work “grimly portrayed a dark world in which human beings were tossed about by

forces beyond their control. . . . [He] focused on environment and character. He thought writers should tell the truth about human affairs, not

fabricate romance.”

Influence of Darwinism 19—B

The publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species in 1859 had a far

greater impact than altering the Western view of biology. Many late-19th century intellectuals applied Darwin’s principles like “survival of the fittest” and “natural

selection” to human society.** These social Darwinists saw the human world as a

struggles in which only the strong survived. Meanwhile, Darwin’s opponents

lampooned the English author, likening him to the monkey from whom man

allegedly evolved.**

The Wizard of Oz—An Allegory of the Times

Frank Baum and The Wizard of Oz, 1900. Literary critics contend that this

book is an allegory** of the silver movement of the late-19th century.

The parallels are startling:

In 1939, Hollywood turned the book into a successful movie

Baum emphasizes the grays in his opening description of Kansas. Life on the prairie

during that period was gray, bland, difficult, lonely and windswept

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry—When she arrived in Kansas, Em was youthful and attractive. By the time the reader meets her, she is worn and without the sparkle that once

lightened her eyes.

Henry never laughs; he joylessly toils from early in the morning

to nightfall.Their condition is like that of

many Kansans who were devastated and demoralized by

the droughts that buffeted Kansas after 1887.

Gold versus SilverMany Great Plains farmers

believed that the free coinage of silver would bring

relief with higher crop prices, more available money, and a return to

prosperity.

The industrial Northeast favored the Gold Standard. Silverites considered these wealthy people to be the idle rich. Silver was the metal of the common folk

Dorothy represents every person. The cyclone that

carries her out of drought stricken Kansas to Oz--a symbolic victory at the polls of silver over gold.

In Baum’s book, Dorothy’s slippers are made of silver rather

than ruby

Wicked Witch of the East—This witch is symbolic of eastern money

and those who favored gold. By destroying her, Dorothy frees the

Munchkins--another symbol of the common people.

The Emerald City

The Emerald City represents

Washington, D. C., the national capital,

portrayed in a “green-back” color

The Yellow Brick RoadIn her silver slippers, Dorothy trip down the golden colored

road represents a right balance--a proper relationship between the

two foremost precious metals, gold and silver.

“Oz” was a contemporary abbreviation to anyone involved in the fight for the 16 to 1 ounce ratio of

silver to gold

Good Witch of the NorthThis witch represents the Northern voters who protect Dorothy as she travels down the Yellow Brick Road.

Scarecrow—he is symbolic of the American farmer. Although he has “no brain,” he does have remarkable common sense. The Scarecrow’s eventual rule of the Emerald City points to the triumph of the farmers

Tin Woodman—he represents the industrial worker. While he may at first

seem heartless, he finds within himself the spirit of love and cooperation. The Tin

Woodman’s rule over the west alludes to the Industrialization of the American West.

The Lion—symbolic of reformers in general and William Jennings Bryan in

particular, he finds the courage he thinks he lacks.

Wicked Witch of the West—this witch symbolizes

heartless mortgage companies. Dorothy

dissolves her with a bucket of water, symbolic of the rain needed by drought-

ridden farmers.

The Wizard—while appearing great and powerful, in the end he is a charlatan and manipulator

whose power is but an illusion. He represents the money power of the

period.Glinda, the Good Witch of the

South—she represents support of silver that came from the South.

Summary of the Decade:The 1890s**

• Shifting political patterns

• Acquisition of greater presidential power

• Massive unrest that prompted social change

• Alteration of American life by developing technology