Hayes-Cleveland

The Election of 1876

• Rutherford B. Hayes-Ohio

VS.

• Samuel J. Tilden-NY

1. A Disputed election

• Extremely close election• Both Democrats and Republicans claimed victory• 3 Southern states were recounted and went from

Democrat to Republican • Decided by a special commission of 8 Republicans

and 7 Democrats• Democrats agreed to allow Hayes to be President

if the Republicans would end military control of the South

The Compromise of 1877• The government would remove federal troops from the

South• The government would provide land grants and loans for

the construction of railroads linking the South to the West coast

• Southern officials would receive federal funds for construction and improvement projects

• Hayes would appoint a Democrat to his cabinet• The Democrats promised to protect African American civil

and political rights• Confirmed in the House of Representatives• Ended Reconstruction in the South

2. Hayes and the telephone

Hayes had the first White House phoneInstalled on May 10, 1877.

3. Post-Civil War Reconstruction in the South is biggest issue

• Still don’t have equal rights for African Americans who face violence and poverty

• 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments passed• Reconstruction changed society, especially in the

South

4. Hayes is Shocked

• Thought blacks would be protected from violence in the South

• Felt betrayed by former Confederate leaders

5. Civil Service

• Civil Service involves working for the government • Elected officials handed out jobs for political support

or to reward friendships• Also called patronage or spoils system• White House scandals had raised questions about

how people should receive government jobs• 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Act• People had to start taking a Civil Service Exam to get

a government job

The Spoils System

• Government jobs are handed out to members of the party in power for their loyalty

• Opposite of merit system in which one receives a job based on his qualifications

6. James A. Garfield White House Firsts

• First former college president and first preacher

7. Garfield’s Problems

• He was a waffler who couldn’t always make decisions because he didn’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers

8. Garfield’s Big “Win”

• Took on Roscoe Conkling, Senator from NY who appointed the Collector of the Port of New York

• Garfield appointed a rival of Conkling’s• Conkling resigned from the Senate

 

A 1880 political cartoon shows Conkling working at a "Presidential puzzle" of heads of possible candidates

9. July 2, 1881• Garfield was shot twice (arm and torso) by Charles

Guiteau• Guiteau felt Garfield owed him a government job for helping him win the presidency• Garfield went to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad on his way to deliver a speech at his college Alma Mater• He was shot at the RR Station

Guiteau

The Baltimore and PotomacRailroad Station

10. Garfield and his doctors

Garfield did not die immediately after he was shot. He remained conscious and alert for several weeks following the shooting. He died after 79 days.

Doctors probed his wound withDirty unsterilized instruments and their fingers, looking for the bulletthat lodged by his spine.

Garfield Facts While he lie suffering at the White House• A crude air conditioner was created to help relieve Garfield from the stifling Washington Heat• Alexander Graham Bell invented a metal detector to search for the bullet in Garfield’s back. The metal bed frame kept it from working properly.

11. Chester A. Arthur• Sharp dresser with• Long sideburns• Partier• Avid fisherman• Didn’t like to work hard

12. Arthur’s sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, served as White House hostess because Arthur’s wife had died in 1880.

13. Arthur’s Irony

• Arthur, a product of New York’s political machine, became a reformer who fought against the spoils system.

14. The Pendleton Act of 1883

• Established Civil Service Commission • Jobs must be awarded on basis of merit• Job seekers must take exams

15. Arthur Rebuilds the U.S. Navy

• Built 3 steel Cruisers• Four Monitors

Following the Civil War the U.S. Navy had declined from nearly 700 vessels to 52, most ofof which were obsolete.

Grover Cleveland

• Presidential power had waned since the Civil War• The most powerful men in America were wealthy men like J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller

16. Cleveland’s view of his job

• Stop bad things from happening• Didn’t see Presidency as a platform for positive

change• He was honest but not proactive• Used the veto power• 414 was twice the vetoes as all other presidents

combined in his first term• Vetoed bills for giving Civil War veterans pensions

and helping farmers during a drought

“The People should support the government, but the government should not support the people.”

17. Cleveland vetoed on bill that wouldhave given Civil War veterans pensions. It cost Cleveland the veteran vote and the election of 1888.

18.Election of 1888

• Cleveland runs for second term • Republicans nominate Benjamin Harrison, the

grandson of William Henry Harrison• Big money candidate• Cleveland won the popular vote• Harrison won the electoral college and the

presidency

Election of 1888and 2000

1888• Cleveland wins popular vote• Harrison wins electoral

college

2000• Gore wins popular vote• GW Bush won electoral

college

19. Benjamin Harrison’s Legacy

• His Great-grandfather was a signer of the Declaration of Independence (Benjamin V)

• Grandson of William Henry Harrison

20. Harrison’s Bid for a Second Term

• McKinley Tariff was highest, most protective import tax in U.S. history

• Caused foreign manufacturers began to cease exporting goods to the U.S.

• Corporations in the U.S. began to form monopolies on essential goods because there was no foreign competition

• Consumer prices skyrocketed• Harrison’s popularity with common man

plummeted

21. Cleveland’s Second Term

• Only President to be elected to two non-consecutive terms

22. Bimetallism

• The use of both gold and silver as money• Farmers thought Bimetallism to be very

beneficial to them because it would cause inflation which would cause prices of crops to increase

• Opponents of free silver wanted only the Gold Standard to be used in our money supply

The Gold Standard

• “The gold standard is a monetary system where a country's currency or paper money has a value directly linked to gold. With the gold standard, countries agreed to convert paper money into a fixed amount of gold. A country that uses the gold standard sets a fixed price for gold and buys and sells gold at that price. That fixed price is used to determine the value of the currency.”

• The U.S. stopped using the Gold Standard in 1971.

• Bimetallism caused much controversy• Was the topic of political debates• 1896 and 1900:– Gold Forces/Republicans/William McKinley– “Silverites”/Democrats/William Jennings Bryan

• McKinley defeats Bryan

William Jennings Bryan

• Gave “Cross of Gold Speech”– National Democratic Convention– July 9, 1896

• Ran for president 3 times• “The gold standard has slain tens of

thousands.”

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz• Symbolizes Bimetallism• In the original book:

– yellow brick road: gold – Traveled the road with silver slippers

• In 1939, the movie changed the silver slippers into ruby slippers.

– Dorothy leads:• Scarecrow: Farmers• Tin Woodman: Workers• Cowardly Lion: Politicians

– Goal is to see the Wizard (President) in Oz (Oz. = Ounce)– Munchkins: the “little” people– Wicked Witch of the West: Giant Corporations (the enemy)– Dorothy defeats the Witch: Progressives tried to defeat the Corporations