A.P. US
Mods 6/7/8
Artem Kholodenko
0109
Notes for pgs. 687 – 694
Introduction
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Party Rivalries,
Agrarian Stirrings, and
Civil-Service Reform
Pendleton Act of 1883
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Patterns of Party
Strength
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Local Elections
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“Swing States”
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Anti-Women Suffrage
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The Stakes of Politics
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Late 19th century politics drew a lot of attention and
interest from the people
Issues like veteran pensions, tariff rates, and other were
discussed to get attention of the ordinary Americans
The government was not changing with the times, and
the local government was the authority to people, not
Washington
Civil service reform swept the nation because of “spoils
system” and presidential assassination
At the turn of the century US defeated Spain to get the
Caribbean & Pacific Island territories
In the 1870s & 80s 2 issues were important to
lawmakers: nature & size of money supply; the staffing
of government bureaucracy
The act was a move toward giving people jobs on merit,
not connections
While only 1 (D) pres. was elected between 1857 & 1912
(Cleveland), the elections were close and unpredictable,
with parties having zones of strengths: (D) in the south,
(R) in the north
Democratic political machines with Bosses made sure
that the party also got votes
The upper and west north was (R), with many veterans
living there & forming the Grand Army of the Republic
(GAR), which always voted republic
The divisions reflected economic interest
The (R) tried to get south immigrants to vote, while the
(D) went into N. England and Midwest for support
Local politics involved choosing the candidate, and if he
won, public jobs would be given to party members
Bosses, like “Big Jim” Pendergast, a (D) of Kansas City
and others controlled big-city politics
Those who voted for and made sure the candidate won
were rewarded generously
With the party matched, states like CT, NY, NJ, IN, and
IL were the decisive votes in the elections
The voter turnouts were high, with 80% not being
unusual (century later it would be ½ of that)
Mostly men voted, so parties were male social groups
The anti-suffrage arose because women voting would
tamper with the subculture of men
Late century campaigns centered on tariffs, currency
supply, and war veteran benefits
For appeal, southern runners were racist, to get white
votes, while (R) in the north reminded that their party
led the country into Civil War
Mostly the government ignored the impact of
industrialization on the people
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Economic Involvement
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Schooling
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Gilded Age Politics
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Hayes in the White
House
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Greenbacks and Silver
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Different $$$ Ideas
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Coinage Act of 1873
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Bland-Allison Act of 1878
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The reason for that is because the presidency had
become a diminished position because of the Johnson,
Grant, and Hayes years
In the legislature branch senators guarded their turf
without caring for the national interest
The parties were suited to win elections, not govern
By some views, the government was not suppose to
regulate, but to promote the industries, and when the
people did turn to it for help, they went to local or state
governments
The local and state governments also fought for control
and many sates could change taxes and other laws
without the state approval
In NYC Protestants and Catholics fought over tax support
to parochial schools and in 1889 the native-born (R)
legislators passed a law requiring all children to go to
English language schools
This assaulted the Catholic and Lutheran schools taught
in German, Swedish, or Norwegian
These politics were made of individuals, groups, and
parties with different interests in city halls, statehouses
and Washington D.C.
Appealing, but pliable men were chosen to take the
presidential office during these local-government years
Rutherford B. Hayes was perfect, being a lawyer and
wounded general form the Civil war
He restored the office after the Grant scandals, in part
with the help of his wife, Lucy
Hayes was a moderate drinker and recognized the
political strengths of temperance movements
Because of his wife’s support of the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union, he banished alcohol from the White
House, but not everyone welcomed that
In the 1870s the issue of adequate money supply was
important, with the prewar era seeing disorder with
many different banks and banknotes
A national currency was needed, but only gold and silver
were universal
A clash of ideas took place, with business people and
economists believing that a strictly limited supply was
needed in the country
Debtors and southern & western farmers thought an
expanded supply would better suit the USA
The electoral era was filled with the money issue in the
1870s with the creation of the Greenback Party
Congress ordered the US mint to stop making silver coins
because the silver supply was not enough, but the
discoveries of silver in Nevada increased the supply, and
same debtor groups wanted silver coins again
Passed over Hayes’s veto, it required $2-$4mil of silver
bought and coined into dollars
But the coining was sabotaged by conservatives that
dominated the treasury, who bought and made the coins,
Sherman Silver Purchase
Act of 1890
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The Spoils System
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Stalwarts & the HalfBreeds
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Civil Service Reform
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Assassination of Garfield
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Pendleton Civil Service
Act of 1883
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but did not distribute the money
It instructed the treasury to buy 4.5 ounces of silver
monthly and to issue notes redeemable in gold or silver,
increasing the money supply slightly
Politicians rewarded those who supported their
campaigns by giving those public positions if they won
The bad thing was that unqualified people often filled the
roles of cabinet posts and ambassadorships, etc.
The 2 factions of (R) party were greatly in a split in
1870s, arguing about who would control the party
machinery and distribute jobs
The Stalwarts were led by Roscoe Conking of NY and
Half-Breeds led by Senator James G. Blaine of Maine
As the government grew more complex, a professional
civil service became essential
In 1877, when Hayes launched a NYC investigation, 2
men refused to cooperate, forcing their positions to be
resigned (Chester A. Arthur, and other who had ties to
Conking)
At a (R) convention in 1880, when neither of the factions
could win, James A. Garfield was chosen as a dark
horse because he had connections to the Half-Breeds,
and Chester A. Arthur was made his running mate
The (D) nominated Winfield Scott Hancock and
Greenbacks, James B. Weaver
Garfield won by under 40,000 votes (9.2mil cast) and
Weaver trailed behind with 308,578
Garfield appointed James G. Blaine, Half-Breed leader as
secretary of state and named a Cockling opponent as
NYC customs collector, the Stalwart leaver Roscoe
Cockling tried a backfiring maneuver
Along with Thomas Platt “Me Too” he resigned from the
senate, hoping the NY legislature would reelect him, but
another senator was elected, ending his carrier
On July 2, 1881, as Garfield was walking through
Washington railway station a man pulled out a pistol and
shot him twice – he died on Sep. 19, 1881
The assassin was Charles J. Guiteau, who thought that
Stalwarts would give his a good job and was insane, yet
still tried and hung
Chester Arthur came to power with his corruption
The act set-up a civil service commission to prepare
competitive examinations and establish standards of
merit for a variety of federal jobs; political candidates
were forbidden to solicit contributions from government
workers
At 1st covering 12% of the federal employees it expanded
marking an important step for civil service
Arthur proved to be an okay president, showing
independence in the office and not letting Conkling take
control
Frustrated with the (R), House elected Grover Cleveland