Chapter 21
Politics: Local, State, and National
Okay. So now we look at
politics in America during
the late 1800’s.
What did the political parties
stand for?
Who knows? Neither party really
took any stands on the issues
because they wanted to attract as
many voters as possible. And the
way to do that is to appeal to
everyone! There was a precarious
balance of power to consider!
Another reason they didn’t take
sides on issues is because they
really didn’t know how to fix the
problems!
Let’s look at the politicians
and the people who voted
for them
Politicians didn’t address big
national issues during
elections – it was the local
issues that mattered to the
voters
You could make some broad
generalizations:
Northerners were Republicans and
Southerners were Democrats.
Catholics voted Democrat while
Protestants voted Republican.
German-Americans voted Democrat while
Scandinavians voted Republican.
Off course there were exceptions and these
generalizations are contradictory!
Confused? Good, you should be!
No one really knows why people voted the
way they did – they all had their reasons
City government was influenced by the
religious and ethnic character of its
citizens.
Complicate that with fast urban life, city
growth, influx of immigrants, and normal
city problems such as sanitation, public
transportation, utility systems, crime,
pollution, and so on and so forth…
Mein Gott! You can see how complex it
could be!
Middle class people were now moving
to the suburbs – the educated class
that should have provided city
leadership!
In their place there arose another type
of politician – the Ward Boss* and the
City Boss
These Bosses were backed by political
machines that ran the city
* A ward is a borough, district, or section of
a city
How did these schmucks get into power?
Immigrants were from the peasantry and
had no experience with representative
government
Life in the slums was difficult and they
listened to the promises of these city
bosses
Most of these bosses were Irish- they were
able to manipulate the citizens and keep
them voting! For them!
Let’s take a look at a typical
Ward Boss and see how he was
able to stay in power so long
despite his corruption
Thank you
very much
So, Ward Boss, how
did you get the
people to keep you in
power?
I found them jobs…I gave
out food in bad times…I
could “fix” it if anyone
got into trouble…I gave
new shoes to poor kids…
You sound like a saint but
were you not also
corrupt?
A fellow has to make
a living. Do you
expect me to sing
for it?
Some city bosses didn’t even help their
voters- they made money through kick-backs,
bribes, and other schemes
Boss Tweed was of this ilk
Although many were popular with the voters,
seen as Robin Hoods, they were nothing
more than crooks
But what were the poor to do? The middle
class didn’t care about them
In fact, many “honorable” citizens shared in
the corruption.
Owners of tenements were only interested in
crowding as many people as they could into
their buildings.
Most honest citizens were repelled by city
government but not so much as to do
something about it.
Politics was something “gentlemen” did not
engage in.
As for national elections, with the Democrats
invincible in the South and Republicans
dominating the North and West, contests
were decided by just a few populous states:
NY, OH, IN, and IL
Of the 18 Democrats and Republicans
nominated for president between 1868 and
1900, only 3 were NOT from these states and
all 3 lost!
Partisanship was intense in these states!
What were these presidential campaigns
like?
Large sums were spent on bands,
decorations, and spellbinding speakers
who could emotionally sway the
audiences.
But political morality was abysmal.
Mudslinging and character assassination
was typical fare, as was lying and bribery.
Lowlifes were paid in drink for their votes.
The dead were listed on voter rolls and
“voted.”
Unfortunately, our presidents had as much
interest in the issues as the other politicians.
Uh oh, sounds like its time
for a frickin’ assignment!
Starting on page 555 in your textbooks, I would
like you to…
Create a snapshot biography and rate the
following presidents: Hayes, Garfield, Arthur,
Cleveland, Harrison, and Cleveland again.
What did they do that was good? Or bad?
Were they as bad as the other politicians or am
I being unfair?
Be judgmental! Take a stand! What do you
think about them?
Crops and Complaints
• The poor state of American politics may
have been due to the apathy of the
middle-class
• The US was growing, there were no
foreign enemies, and the problems of poor
immigrants could be ignored
• One group of Americans were
experiencing increased suffering: farmers
Crops and Complaints
• Farmers experienced boom times from the Civil
War into the 1880’s
• Disaster struck in the 1890’s –
 Drought and poor harvests
 Increased competition from Canada, Russia,
Australia, and Argentina = falling prices
 Tariffs on manufactured goods
 Middlemen gobbling up profits
 Shortage of credit
 National economic depression
The Populist Movement
• Problems in agriculture triggered new
outburst of farm radicalism – the Alliance
Movement
• Alliances were organizations of farmer’s
clubs
• First club was the Knights of Reliance
founded in Lampasas County in 1877
• The club expanded rapidly to incorporate
most of the cotton states
The Populist Movement
• Alliances advocated cooperation
• Co-ops bought supplies in bulk and sold to
farmers at fair prices
• Failed attempts to secure money to market
crops collectively caused many to question
the American financial/money system
• Farmers became economic and social
radicals
The Populist Movement
• Alliances differed but all agreed crop
prices too low, transportation costs too
high, and the nation’s financial system
screwed up
• All wanted political action
• Sectionalism kept Northern and Southern
alliances from uniting
The Populist Movement
• Farm groups entered politics in 1890
elections with righteous fervor
• Several Southern state legislatures and
governorships won by Alliance-sponsored
candidates
• Alliance gains were made in KS, NE, MN,
and SD
The Populist Movement
• Reluctance of Democrats and Republicans
to make concessions caused Alliance to
create a third party
• The Alliance broke the sectional barrier by
uniting Southern and Western farmers
• The Alliance and the Knights of Labor
along with other reformers created the
Populist Party in St. Louis in 1892
The Populist Movement
• The Populists nominated General James
Weaver of Iowa – his running mate was a onelegged Confederate veteran
• The Populist platform called for a graduated
income tax and national ownership of railroads
and telephone/telegraph systems
• It also wanted a plan whereby farmers could
keep crops off the market in times of low prices
– with government backed loans using thos e
crops as security
The Populist Movement
• The Populists also called for unlimited silver
coinage and an increase in the money supply
• They wanted initiative and referendum
procedures to make government more sensitive
to public opinion
• They wanted the election of senators by popular
vote
• For their union comrades, they asked for the 8hour workday and an end to undesirable
immigration
Silver
• The issue of gold versus silver was
superficial – the real problem was deflation
• US traditionally bimetallic
• Gold discoveries brought down value of
gold in relation to silver
• $1 silver coin worth $1.03 melted down
• Silver taken out of circulation until silver
finds of 1870’s depressed prices
Silver
• The Coinage Act of 1873
had demonetized silver –
called the “Crime of ’73”
by those favoring minting
silver coins
• Compromises were made
that forced the
government to buy more
and more silver
• The declining worth of
silver caused miners and
debtors to grumble
Gold versus Silver
Depression of 1893
• Worldwide depression struck with collapse
of British bank, Baring Brothers
• Millions of Americans became
unemployed in the winter of 1893-1894
• Cleveland believed depression caused in
part by silver – repealed the acts requiring
government purchases of silver
• Policy split the Democratic Party
Depression of 1893
• The depression was
exacerbated by armies of
unemployed marching on
Washington demanding
relief
• Led by Jacob Coxey
• Coxey wanted the
government to undertake
a program of public works
and give communities
money to make jobs
building roads
Coxey’s Army
Depression of 1893
• Coxey and other leaders
were arrested and his
followers dispersed by
club-wielding police
• Troops used to crush the
Pullman strike
• Eugene V. Debs was
denied habeas corpus
• These incidents led many
to believe the government
did not care about the
little guy
Eugene V. Debs
Depression of 1893
• US gold reserves
dwindled as people and
foreign investors
exchanged greenbacks
for gold
• J.P. Morgan turned the
tide by underwriting a
bond issue with half the
gold coming from Europe
• Public was infuriated that
the US government had
to be bailed out by a
private banker
J. P. Morgan
Depression of 1893
• The upcoming 1896 election
revived Populist calls for
unlimited coinage of silver
• The Democrats backed silver –
the Republicans backed gold
• William Jennings Bryan –
“Cross of Gold” speech
• Democrats adopted
bimetallism (ratio 16-1)
• Bryan was nominated by
Democrats and the Populists
though Populists nominated
separate VP
Election of 1896
• Republicans nominated
William McKinley
• Republicans from silver-mining
states gave support to Bryan
• Democratic newspapers
supported McKinley
• Bryan traveled across the US
and gave over 600 speeches
• McKinley’s campaign was
organized by Marcus Hanna –
first real modern campaign
based on large fund
William McKinley
Election of 1896
• McKinley – “Front Porch” campaign
• McKinley won the election
• The gold-silver issue faded after more gold
finds and disappeared altogether when
currency and metal were de-linked
• McKinley saw issues on national scale and
moved the US into the modern age
1.Political parties did not take stands on
the issues because…
2.Factors as to why people voted
Democrat or Republican were
3.Party bosses gained power
because…
4.The most notorious city boss was
5.The swing states that determined
national elections were
6. Garfield’s major weakness was
7. A Republican group led by Senator
Conkling was called the
8. Political campaigns were
characterized by
9. Charles Guiteau assassinated
President
10. Before he became president, Chester
Arthur worked as
11. The Pendleton Act reformed the
12. The “dirty” presidential election of 1884
was won by
13. Harrison was notable for waving the
14. The poor performance of politics was due
to the indifference of
15. The Populist Movement emerged from
the
16. What issue dominated the elections of
1892 and 1896?
17. The Coinage Act of 1873 was called the
18. Who led an army of unemployed on
Washington D.C.?
19. His Cross of gold speech won him the
Democratic nomination
20. Bryan discarded campaign tradition by