Issues of the Gilded Age
Chapter 9
Stalemate in Washington

When Pres. Hayes took office, he attacked the
practice of patronage (giving jobs to those who
support you) by appointing reformers and
kicking out those who got their job through a
party boss
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
Party bosses were referred to as “Stalwarts”
Republican reformers were called “Halfbreeds” since
they gave up on reconstruction after the Civil War,
allowing Democrats back into office
The election of 1880 was won by the mix ticket
of James Garfield, a Halfbreed and Chester
Arthur, a Stalwart
Stalemate in Washington

Pres. Garfield was in office only a few months
before being assassinated
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His assassination led to the passing of the Pendleton Act
which says a president may only appoint someone who
as completed the appropriate exams to qualify for the
job; after appointment, that person cannot be removed
for political reasons
Pres. Arthur supported the act despite him being a
Stalwart
This is when the US begins to move away from the
“spoils system” or patronage
Stalemate in Washington
 Republicans
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during this time:
Controlled New England and the Midwest
Were supported by Union soldiers and
strongly patriotic people as well as big
business and Great Plains farmers
Party of reform (supported abolition,
temperance)
Party of morality
Stalemate in Washington

Democrats:

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
Supported by the South (whites)
Supported in big cities with large immigrant and/or
Catholic populations
The party of personal liberty
Both parties had equal distribution of power
during the 1870s-1890s (usually)


Elections of 1880 and 1888 came down to swing
states
Where have you heard this term before?
Stalemate in Washington

The election of 1884 came down to a
Republican named James Blaine and a
Democrat named Grover Cleveland
 Many Republicans abandoned Blaine and
became known as “Mugwumps” meaning they
thought is was more important to help the
country than follow party lines
 In the end Cleveland took the presidency by
winning NY (a typical Republican stronghold)
Stalemate in Washington
 Pres.
Cleveland was an easy-going person
in his personal life, but would soon see how
stressful the job of president is

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Many Democrats felt he should give them jobs,
many Mugwumps felt he should multiply the
number of positions covered under the merit
system
He chose a middle ground, making both groups
angry
The economic issues ahead would soon
overshadow the debate over the political system
Stalemate in Washington

Many Americans believed that the railroads
were price gouging since corporations like
Standard Oil could get “rebates” or partial
refunds, and lower prices due to the amount
they shipped while small businesses and
individuals were stuck paying much higher
prices

This led to the Interstate Commerce Commission
creation
• Made it illegal to offer rebates to high volume customers,
charger higher rates for short hauls and limited RRs to
“reasonable and just” rates
• Was not really effective because the courts had to uphold the
law
Stalemate in Washington
 The
issue of tariffs would once again
reemerge in a presidential election since
Congress was deadlocked on the issue


Republican candidate Benjamin Harris
supported higher tariffs, while Cleveland didn’t
One of the closest elections in history resulted
from the two candidates
• Harrison lost the popular vote but won the electoral
college, therefore becoming the next president
• Can you think of any other president who lost the
popular vote, but won the electoral college?
Stalemate in Washington
 With
Congress back in control of the White
House and both the House and Senate,
they were able to pass the McKinley Tariff
which cut tobacco taxes and tariff rates
and raw sugar, but hiked tariffs on things
like textiles

This turned the federal budget surplus into a
budget deficit which would get worse after
more veterans received more money for the
pension plan
Stalemate in Washington

Republicans did respond to popular
pressure to do something about trusts and
corporations that dominated certain
markets

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The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 made
declared illegal any “combination in the form
of trust…or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or
commerce among the several States.”
This vaguely worded law did little to change
businesses until years later under T.
Roosevelt
Populism
 Populism
was the movement to increase
farmers’ political power and to work for
legislation in their interest
 The problem for farmers was that they
were producing more goods, which tends
to drop price, however, at the same time,
high tariffs increase the cost of
manufactured goods needed to run the
farms
Populism

Money problems also plagued farmers with
regards to inflation and deflation
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The US had issued “greenbacks” as a form of money
during the Civil War
Because there was more money on the market, the
value of money went down which means the price of
goods soared
After the Civil War however, the government decided
to stop printing greenbacks which lead to deflation or
the increase in the value of money causing the price
of goods to drop again
The deflation hurt farmers because the banks began
to raise interest rates on loans while they were having
to sell their goods at a cheaper price
Populism
 Farmers
realized that they needed to organize
in order to get the government’s attention
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They created cooperatives—marketing
organizations that worked for the benefit of their
members
Farmers from Lampasas County, TX created the
Farmers’ Alliance which quickly expanded beyond
TX
Farmers’ Alliance turned into the People’s Party,
also known as Populists, in KA
• They would run for legislative positions and eventually
president
Populism
 In
1890 the members of the Farmers’
Alliance met in Ocala, FL and issued the
Ocala Demands
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Called for development of the sub treasury
plan (government set up warehouses and low
interest loans)
Free coinage of silver
End to protective tariffs and national banks
Tighter regulations of RRs
Direct election of senators
Populism
 Republicans
in Congress pushed through
the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890,
which allowed the US to purchase 4.5M
ounces of silver/month

They did this to keep people from voting for
Populists
 The
Democrats adopted several proAlliance policies, which they would later
decline to follow through with
Populism
 Due
to the failure of the Democrat-proAlliance measures, many Southern
Democrats turned to the Peoples’ Party

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In the 1892 election, the Peoples’ Party
nominated James Weaver who ran on the
platform of increasing money supply and a
graduated income tax
While Weaver did well for a small party
candidate, Cleveland still won the election
(note: Cleveland was president 4 years
earlier)
Populism

The Panic of 1893 began due to RRs going
bankrupt, bank’s closing and a stock market
crash
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Cleveland had to summon Congress into a special
session to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act so
the country’s gold supply would not be depleted
Some Democrats, including Cleveland, felt the
economy should be based on gold (they were called
“goldbugs”)
Others believed it should be based on an unlimited
quantity of silver (they were called “silverites”)
Populism
 The
election of 1896 was the beginning of
the end for the Populist movement:
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The Populists felt they could get most
Democrats votes if they slammed Cleveland
during the campaign
Their plan failed when the Democrats put up
William Jennings Bryan (a strong supporter of
silver, the Populists’ main platform)
The Populists decided to support Bryan rather
than split the silverites
Populism
 The
Republicans put up William McKinley
who launched the “front porch campaign”
where he stayed in Ohio and met with
people while the Republicans did
campaigning elsewhere for him

 In
His slogan was a “full dinner pail” which
meant more to urban workers than the
argument over silver or gold
the end, McKinley won a decisive
victory over Bryan
Populism
 After
McKinley took office and the Gold
Standard Act was passed which made the
US officially adopt a gold-based currency,
the Populist movement lost momentum
 It would take another century for some of
their reforms to be adopted including the
graduated income tax and governmental
regulations of the economy