Chapter 19
Section 1:
Political Party Make-Up in 1970s – 1890s
Democrats
White Southerners
Catholics
Immigrants
Poor
Views
For Immigration
Against Temperance
For Industry (Jobs)
For Sound Currency (Silver)
Against Economic and Social
Radicalism
Controlled the House of Representatives
Controlled 14 States
Party Organization: Tammany Hall in New York
Republicans
Old-Stock Northerners
Blacks
Protestants
Views
Against Immigration
For Temperance
For Industry (Owners)
For Sound Currency (Gold)
Against Economic and Social
Radicalism
Controlled the U.S. Senate
Controlled 16 states
Party Organization:
Roscoe Conklin in New York
Matt Quay in Penn.
Overall Voter Turn Out --- 60-80% in elections
National Government
Washington was responsible for
1) mail
2) national military
3) foreign policy
4) tariffs and taxes
Presidents and patronage
Presidents appointed over 100,000 people in office (there was no civil
service) most based on party favors and most in the Post Office
President Hayes (Rep) established the idea of Civil Service during his
time to break up party power
This idea led to a split in the Republican Party 
Stalwarts 
Roscoe Conklin – Traditional party politics
Half-Breeds  James Blaine of Maine – Reform
Elections:
1880:
James Garfield – Ohio – (Half-Breed) President
Chester Arthur – Stalwart Vice President
Won both House and Senate
Garfield worked to make Civil Service real
July 2, 1881 – Garfield shot and killed by office seeker
Arthur now supports 1883 Pendleton Civil
Service Act passed
Written Exam
Return of the Democrats
Election of 1884
James Blaine (Half-Breed) Republican Candidate
 Mugwamps split to support Democrats
Grover Cleveland – Democrat of New York Won Election
Election of 1888
Grover Cleveland (Dem) Benjamin Harrison (Rep) Election of 1892
Grover Cleveland (Dem)
277 EV
Benjamin Harrison (Rep)
145 EV
James Weaver (People’s Party) -
166 EV and 100,000 more
popular vote
233 EV – Won Election
-
Opposed protection tariffs
380,000 more popular votes
Supported protection tariffs
Economic Reform
Democrats won both House and Senate
Tariffs, Trusts, Railroads
Trusts:
Washington came out against Trusts
July 1890 
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Tariffs:
McKinley Act (Rep) 
Oct 1890
High tariff on goods
Railroads: Interstate Commerce Act – 1887
Banned discrimination in rates of long or short hauls
Publish rates
Five Person Agency – Interstate Commerce
Commission
Section 2: American Farmers
Grangers:
Oliver Kelley – 1867
National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry
 Bring farmers together
 Initiation, ritual, code of secrecy
 1875 – 800,000 members
 Against monopolies
 1872 – Montgomery Ward & Co started
 1880 – 100,000 members
Alliances:
 1880 – 4 million members
 Members – men, women, blacks (like the Knights of
Labor)
 Had to be a farmer
 In 1892 – Founded the People’s Party
 Won a number of local, state and Congressional seats
People’s Party on Populism
Platform
 shorter hours for workers (D)
 restrictions on immigrations
 denounced use of detectives as strike breakers
 free silver to support money supply (D)
 abolition of national banks
 direct election of Senators (17th Amendment)
 government ownership of Railroads, telephones,
telegraphs
 graduated income tax (16th Amendment)
 inflation of money (print more)
 wanted a Farm Bank – crops and money
Chapter 19: Section 3
The Crisis of the 1890s
The Panic of 1893
* Philadelphia and Reading Railroad declared bankruptcy (because of
not being able to make loan payments)
* Other companies started to fail and soon a wave of bank failures began
* Farmers were hurt because of a depression in Europe
* Within six months, 8000 businesses, 156 railroads, and 400 banks
failed
* 20% labor force lost their jobs
* Lasted from 1895-1901
* In 1894 – A Populist named Jacob Coxey wanted massive public
works program created and inflation of currency. When Congress did
not move – he and about 500 others marched on Washington – called
“Coxey’s Army”
* Many strikes took place during this time (Homestead and Pullman)
The Silver Question:
 In the 19c – currency was worthless unless it was backed
up by something concrete
 The US recognized two metals – gold and silver for the
dollar
 For purpose of creating money the government had to
have gold or silver on hand for money at the rate of 16:1.
Sixteen ounces of silver equaled one ounce of gold
 In 1873 – Congress Passed a law to discontinuing sliver
coinage. It was called the “Crime of ’73.” Two groups
wanted to undo this act – 1) silver mine owners and 2)
discontented farmers
 President Cleveland felt that the Sherman Silver Purchase
Act of 1893 (the government bought silver but did not
make coins). Hurt the government.
 “Free Silver” became a symbol as the people’s money.
And became a big subject between the two major parties.
A Cross of Gold
* The Populist Party needed a way to pull people into their party,
other than farmers, and the silver issue was great for them.
* The Republicans ran William McKinley of Ohio – and opposed
the free coinage of silver
* The Democrats ran William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska (36
years old – youngest in history). The Democrats called for
tariff reduction, income tax, stricter control of trusts, free
silver.
* William Jennings Bryan made a speech at the Convention
supporting free silver called the “Cross of Gold” speech.
“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown
of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of
gold!”
* The Populist Party could name their own candidate or back
another. They backed the Democratic Candidate Bryan.
The Conservative Victory
 Business backed the Republican Party with 7 million
dollars and the Democrats $300,000.
 Bryan was the first to go across the country to campaign.
He told people why he was running instead of what he
stood for. He lost. And soon after the Populist Party
began to dissolve.
McKinley and Recovery
 Supported high tariffs on goods
 Passed the Gold Standard Act of 1900 – made gold the
standard for money
 Prosperity began to improve in 1898
 A new issue was rising in America – the United States
presence in world affairs and the possibility of America
becoming an imperialist nation
Ch 20 –Imperial Republic
 American had been expanding since its beginning. Pushing those
in their way.
 Many believed it was the nation’s “Manifest Destiny” to expand
 The New Manifest Destiny of the 1890s included acquiring
possessions outside the U.S.
1) New Manifest Destiny
a. With the Depression of 1893 – business looked for new
markets. Foreign
b. Foreign Trade was important
i. 1870 392 million
ii. 1890 857 million
iii. 1900 1.4 billion
2) Leaders of the time felt we needed to expand
a. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge and others expanded Charles
Darwin Social Theory
i. “Nations like biological species struggled constantly
and only the fittest could survive.”
b. John Fiske in 1885 wrote that English speaking people (and
America the most) would control every land not already with
an established civilization
c. The best of the leaders was Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan.
United States Navy – not a great naval captain (had the
ability to ram hi own ships). He layed out a plan for America
in his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890).
i. Countries with sea power were great nations in history
1. Egypt
2. Rome
3. Spain
4. England
ii. In order to have a great sea power you must have:
1. A productive domestic economy
2. foreign commerce
3. a strong merchant marine
4. a navy to defend trade routes
5. colonies for raw goods, etc. and naval bases
iii. Mahan felt that the US should
1. Construct a canal across the Isthmus of Central
America
2. acquire defensive bases on both sides of the canal
3. take possession of Hawaii and other Pacific
islands
d. By 1900 the US Navy was the 3rd largest in the World
i. England
ii. Spain
iii. US
3) Hemispheric Hegemony
a. James Blaine (Sect. of St) organized in Oct 1889 the PanAmerican Congress (the idea was to create an organization to
have all of the Americas work together – in reality it was a
way to look for a place to sell our goods)
i. Soon the Pan-American Union was created to serve as a
clearinghouse of information for its members
b. In 1895 – President Cleveland supported Venezuela in a
boarder dispute with Great Britain. Using the Monroe
Doctrine – the US forced Great Britain to arbitration.
4) Hawaii –
a. American businessmen had been in Hawaii for many years
on Sugar plantation. Instead of using local labor – Asian
were brought in.
b. In 1887, the US had a treaty to open a naval base at Pearl
Harbor
c. Natives did not like the way we had treated them. In 1891
they brought to power Queen Liliuokalani, who challenged
the US control.
d. In 1893, American Planters staged a revolt with the help of
the US Navy.
e. President Cleveland did not annex Hawaii because he felt the
natives did not want it.
f. President Harrison signed annexation in Feb. 1893 – however
it was not acted upon. President Cleveland did not annex
Hawaii because he felt the natives did not want it.
g. In 1898 – Republicans returned to power in the Senate and
took Hawaii.
5) Samoan Islands – had served American ships. In 1889, the US and
Germany divided the islands. The US kept Pago Pago as a base.
War with Spain
1) In 1895 – the Cubans rose up again
a. Spanish Gen Weyler (the butcher) killed thousands of
Cubans to put down the revolt.
2) Yellow Journalism – specialized newspapers in lurid and
sensational news, when such news did not exist, editors were not
above creating it.
a. The conflict in Cuba came at a good time for newspapers.
i. Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World
ii. William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal
iii. “You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war.”
iv. HAND OUT
3) McKinley becomes president in 1897 and took a strong issue with
Spain over Cuba. Two campaign promises – protect American
business and Free the Cuban people.
a. No settlement was possible because of:
i. February 9, 1898 – de Lome Letter. A Spanish
diplomat sent a letter back to Spain that McKinley was
a weak leader. Teddy Roosevelt said that McKinley had
the backbone of a chocolate éclair.
ii. February 15, 1898 - USS Maine blew up in Havana
harbor. 260 American sailors killed after mysterious
explosion. “Remember the Maine” became a battle cry.
iii. February 25, 1898 – Teddy Roosevelt orders Admiral
Dewey to sail to the Philippines. Be ready for war.
4) SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR
a. April 11, 1898 – President McKinley asks Congress to
declare war on Spain. April 25, 1898 – war is declared.
b. May 1, 1898 – Dewey sinks the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay
c. June 1898 – the US invades Cuba
i. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders trained in San Antonio.
ii. Attack San Juan Hill
iii. America destroys Spanish Fleet in Cuba July, 3, 1898.
d. August 12, 1898 – war over
i. 385 – 460 American battle deaths
ii. 5,200 killed because of disease and poisoned meat
e. Back home – white and black soldiers had racial problems
f. Treaty of Paris, December 1898
i. Spain recognizes the independence of Cuba
ii. Gave Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines to America
iii. Teller Amendment – pledged that the US would
guarantee self-rule for Cuba
iv. Platt Amendment – restricted Cuban foreign policy and
gave US land for coaling or naval station (still today)
g. Philippine War – 1898-1902
i. Philippines wanted independence
ii. On July 4, 1946 – finally gave islands their
independence
5) Election of 1900
a. William McKinley runs for re-election with Teddy Roosevelt
as his Vice-President
Empire
1) China and “Open Door” Policy
a. England, Germany, Russia, France, Japan, and Italy
2) Modern Military System
a. Regular army to 100,000
b. National Guard established – no more volunteer militia for
wars
c. Army Staff College (later Command and General Staff
School)