Forgettable Presidents
6 Presidents, a page and a half in
your textbook—what could go
wrong?
It all goes back to Grant (1868-1872)…
• Scandals created division
• R party—Stalwarts and Halfbreeds
• D almost win election—Compromise of 77
R party split: Stalwarts? Halfbreeds?
Stalwarts
• Strongly supported Grant
• Wanted Patronage
• Led by Roscoe Conkling of
NY
Half-Breeds
• Clean up gov’t?
• End patronage?
• Led by James G. Blaine of
ME
Party Differences
Republican
• “Party of Morality”
• Anti-Immigrant
• Pro-temperance
• Pro-business
• “Grand Army of the
Republic”—Civil War vets
• Blacks in S
• Whites in N
• Farmers in N
Democrats
• “Solid South”
• Recent Immigrants/people
sympathetic in N
• Farmers/miners in W when
not voting for
Grange/Populists/Socialists
How do elections turn out
• Really only 6 states in play—of those NY and
Ohio are the largest
Another Republican Faction:
Mugwumps
• R who decide to support Cleveland (D)
because the R candidate (Blaine) is so corrupt
Major Issues of Debate?
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Government Corruption/Civil Service Reform?
Tariff? Protective?
Veteran’s Pension Bill?
Greenbacks?/Gold?/Bi-Metallism?
Immigration?
Problem: Neither side is radically different
until 1896
Populist Movement
• Farmers in Midwest band together—Grange
• Then Alliance Movement
• Populist party in 1892—Notables: Mary
Elizabeth Lease and “Sockless” Jerry Simpson
• http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/210800/
page/1
Some of what they wanted…Omaha
Platform, 1892
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Graduated Income tax
Unlimited coinage of silver (16:1)
Direct election of Senators
Secret ballot
Government Control of RR and Utilities
Gov’t should lend $ to farmers for surplus crops
Reduction of Tariff
Vote for women
Results, 1892
• Got 9% of the popular vote, 5% of electoral
• Is this significant?
1896
• Democrats change strategies
• William Jennings Bryan and Dems come out
with POPULIST platform
• Populist moves to support
• Why does Bryan lose?
By 1896/Results
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Tariff/Income Tax debate
(1894 2% on incomes above 4k—about 90K today)
Gold Standard
Pendleton Act-’83 (Arthur)reforms Civil Service reduces
patronage good?bad?
Arthur modernizes the Navy
Harrison and Veteran’s Pension Bill
Campaigns shift to attracting $ from big donors—Mark
Hanna
Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 begins trend that is
interrupted by WWI