Ch. 23 Notes Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age
Slide 2
The Gilded Age 1.Ulysses S. Grant will be elected president in
1868 largely through the support of African American voters in the
south and the Republican tactic of waving the bloody shirt, which
reminded voters it was the Democrats who started the Civil War.
2.The problem was that Grant had no political experience and viewed
the presidency as a reward from a grateful nation for winning the
Civil War he allowed his cabinet to handle running the country and
many of the men he chose were corrupt. 3.During the Gilded Age,
waste, speculation and corruption will be widespread in both
business and government.
Slide 3
Credit Mobilier 1.This scandal became public in 1872. 2.Union
Pacific Railroad officials (responsible for building the
continental railroad) established the Credit Mobilier construction
company and then used it to build the railroad. 3.Afraid they might
be discovered, they gave out shares of stock to numerous
congressmen in exchange for their support and silence (including
the vice president). 4.Eventually it became public two congressmen
were censured.
Slide 4
Presidential Election of 1872 1.Because of corruption within
Grants administration, a group of Republicans, known as the Liberal
Republicans, broke from the party and promised to clean up the
federal government they also wanted to end the military occupation
of the south. 2.The Liberal Republicans nominated Horace Greeley
(editor of the New York Tribune) for president the Democrats also
endorsed Greely because the Republicans and Democrats didnt have
many policy differences but he was such a controversial figure that
Grant ended up winning his bid for reelection.
Slide 5
Political Machines 1.The worst corruption was found at the
state and local level. 2.Political machines would offer benefits to
immigrants in exchange for votes they would then use their
political positions for personal gain. 3.The most famous/infamous
example was Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall in New York City.
4.Eventually, Tweed was brought down, largely due to the New York
Times and the political cartoons of Thomas Nast.
Slide 6
The Panic of 1873 1.Industrialization was bringing major
changes to U.S. society and the countrys economy. 2.In 1873, the
over-expansion of factories, railroads and mines led to an economic
panic (over 15,000 businesses went bankrupt). 3.During this time,
greenbacks, or paper currency, became a major issue. 4.Greenbacks
had been issued during the Civil War but the treasury had been
slowly withdrawing them from circulation. 5.Many people wanted more
greenbacks put into circulation to stimulate the economy those that
opposed the plan did so because of the inflation that the paper
currency created. 6.Others not only wanted more greenbacks in
circulation, they wanted the government to use silver to back them
up Grant refused this plan.
Slide 7
Gilded Age Politics 1.During the Gilded Age, there was little
difference between the Republicans and Democrats, but there were
always high voter turnouts in the elections. 2.One reason was that
both parties used patronage (spoils system) to reward their
supporters.
Slide 8
Political Parties of the Gilded Age Democratic Bloc Republican
Bloc White southerners (preservation of white supremacy) Catholics
Recent immigrants (esp. Jews) Urban working poor (pro-labor) Most
farmers Northern whites (pro-business) African Americans Northern
Protestants Old WASPs (support for anti-immigrant laws) Most of the
middle class
Slide 9
The Presidential Election of 1876 1.In 1876, the Republicans
nominated Rutherford B. Hayes and the Democrats nominated Samuel J.
Tilden. 2.In a close race, three southern states (still under the
control of the Republicans due to the presence of the U.S. army in
the south) delivered contested results. 3.Louisiana, South Carolina
and Florida ended up submitting two sets of returns, one Democratic
and one Republican. 4.Both candidates claimed victory and both
refused to step aside. 5.In the end, a special commission
(comprised of 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats) came up with the
Compromise of 1877. 6.Under the Compromise, Hayes received the
election - in return he agreed to remove all federal troops from
the south. 7.This is viewed as the official end of
Reconstruction.
Slide 10
The Presidential Election of 1876
Slide 11
The Redeemers 1.White southern Democrats, calling themselves
Redeemers, slowly began retaking control of the state governments
of the south. 2.They slowly disfranchised African Americans through
the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and economic and physical
intimidation. 3.The southern states also began to legally segregate
the south through Jim Crow laws taking de facto segregation and
turning it into de jure segregation. 4.In 1896, with the case of
Plessey v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that under the
14 th Amendment, having separate facilities was legal as long as
they were equal (separate but equal doctrine).
Slide 12
The Railroad Strike of 1877 1.Labor unions were growing in
number in the northeast because of the low pay, long hours and
terrible working conditions faced by laborers. 2.In 1877, the four
largest railroads (the first major industry/monopoly) cut salaries
by 10%. 3.When this occurred, railroad workers went on strike
4.Eventually, President Hayes called in federal troops to break up
the strike and get the railroads moving again 100 people were
killed and 2/3s of the nations railroads were idle. 5.Throughout
the Gilded Age, government intervention between the labor unions
and big businesses always favored big business.
Slide 13
Presidential Election of 1880 1.In this election, the
Republicans were divided. 2.The Stalwarts, or old Republicans,
supported the use of the patronage system. 3.The Halfbreeds, of
Liberal Republicans, were in favor of government reform. 4.To keep
the party together, the Republicans nominated James Garfield (a
Halfbreed) for president and Chester A. Arthur (a Stalwart) for
vice president. 5.The Democrats nominated a Civil War hero,
Winfield Scott Hancock. 6.It was a close election in the popular
votes but the Republicans won comfortably in the electoral
votes.
Slide 14
The Assassination of Garfield 1.Garfield was shot in the back
in a Washington D.C. railroad station by Charles Guiteau. 2.Guiteau
was unhappy that he didnt get a government job after helping
support Garfield in the election.
Slide 15
The Pendleton Act 1.When Arthur took over as president, he will
sign into law the Pendleton Act. 2.The Pendleton Act created the
civil service and required people applying for federal jobs to take
a competitive examination to prove they could handle the
requirements of the job. 3.By the year 1900, over half of all
federal jobs fell within the civil service area. 4.The Pendleton
Act made government officials more competent and accountable. 5.The
problem it created is that it led political leaders to turn to
other avenues for support, and they will find it with business
leaders and big corporations.
Slide 16
The Chinese Exclusion Act 1.Another major piece of legislation
passed during Arthurs time in office was the Chinese Exclusion Act.
2.This law was an effect of the nativist sentiments sweeping
through the country. 3.In the west, the Chinese had been used as
laborers in the gold mines and in building the transcontinental
railroad. 4.Now that the railroad was finished, they were viewed as
competition for jobs that Americans should have, so they were
banned from entering the nation.
Slide 17
Presidential Election of 1884 1.In this election, the
Republicans nominate James G. Blaine, the leader of the halfbreeds.
2.The Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland. 3.During the campaign,
the Mulligan Letters are made public and implicate Blaine in
corruption with a western railroad company. 4.A group of
republicans, called the mugwumps, will throw their support to
Cleveland and he will end up winning the election.
Slide 18
The Tariff 1.By this time, the tariff has become the major
political issue of the day. 2.The Republicans, who are viewed as
the party for big business, want a high, protective tariff. 3.The
Democrats, who get their support from other groups, want the
tariffs lowered. 4.Cleveland will lower the tariffs during this
time.
Slide 19
The Presidential Election of 1888 1.In this election, the
Democrats will run Grover Cleveland. 2.The Republicans will run
Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of William Henry Harrison. 3.The
main issue is the tariff. 4.Cleveland wins the popular vote but
fails to win the electoral vote (because he loses his home state of
New York).
Slide 20
The McKinley Tariff 1.Under Harrison, the McKinley Tariff will
be passed its the highest protective tariff the country has ever
had. 2.The tariff creates such a huge surplus that Congress will
spend over one billion dollars for the first time ever known as the
Billion Dollar Congress. 3.This hurts Harrison though and will
allow Cleveland to win again in 1892, making him the only president
to win two, nonconsecutive terms of office.
Slide 21
The Populist 1.The Populist, or Peoples Party, grows out of the
discontent of farmers in the Midwest. 2.The Populist wanted
government ownership of railroads (and the means of communication),
the unlimited coinage of silver (to put more money in circulation),
an income tax (so we could get rid of the tariff), a one-term
presidency, the direct election of Senators (they were chosen by
state legislatures, which were dominated by political machines) and
immigration restrictions. 3.The Populist didnt gain much support
from the south because white Democrats convinced poor white farmers
the Populists wanted to give equality to African Americans. 4.It
also didnt gain much support from the labor movement because the
unlimited coinage of silver would cause inflation.