Machine Politics
SECTION 3: POLITICS IN THE
GILDED AGE
• As cities grew in the
late 19th century, so did
political machines
• Political machines
controlled the
activities of a political
party in a city
• Ward bosses, precinct
captains, and the city
boss worked to ensure
their candidate was
elected
ROLE OF THE POLITICAL BOSS
• The “Boss”
(typically the mayor)
controlled jobs,
business licenses,
and influenced the
court system
• Precinct captains
and ward bosses
were often 1st or 2nd
generation
immigrants so they
helped immigrants
with naturalization,
jobs, and housing in
exchange for votes
Boss Tweed ran NYC
MUNICIPAL GRAFT AND SCANDAL
• Some political bosses were
corrupt
• Some political machines
used fake names and voted
multiple times to ensure
victory (“Vote early and
often”) – called Election
fraud
• Graft (bribes) was common
among political bosses
• Construction contracts
often resulted in “kickbacks”
• The fact that police forces
were hired by the boss
prevented close scrutiny
THE TWEED RING SCANDAL
• William M. Tweed,
known as Boss Tweed,
became head of
Tammany Hall, NYC’s
powerful Democratic
political machines
• Between 1869-1871,
Tweed led the Tweed
Ring, a group of
corrupt politicians, in
defrauding the city
• Tweed was indicted on
120 counts of fraud
and extortion
• Tweed was sentenced
to 12 years in jail –
released after one,
arrested again, and
escaped to Spain
Boss Tweed
Political Machines & Social
Welfare
• No social “safety net” existed
– No welfare, no food stamps, no workers’
compensation, no unemployment insurance, no
employment agencies
• Political machines filled a real need
–
–
–
–
–
Christmas turkey basket
Patronage
Social network
Career ladder
Ease transition of immigrants into American life
(see The Reckless Decade, pg 105-6)
– Plunkitt of Tammany Hall – Ch 23 Handout
An Era of Stalemate
• “forgettable” presidents
– No two consecutive terms for anyone
• Politicians who largely ignored problems
arising from the growth of industries &
cities
• Two major parties avoided taking
stands on controversial issues
An Era of Stalemate
• Why?
• Belief in limited government
– Laissez-faire economics
– Social Darwinism
– Federal courts narrowly interpreted the
government’s powers to regulate business
An Era of Stalemate
• Why?
• Campaign strategy
– Close elections between 1876-1896
– Divided government in Washington
• One party controls presidency; the other party
controls one or both houses of Congress
– See handout
– Objective was to get out the vote and not
alienate voters on the issues
• Issue-free campaigns
An Era of Stalemate
• Why?
• Party Patronage
– Politics was chiefly a game of gaining
office, holding office, and providing
government jobs to the party faithful
– Who got the patronage jobs within the
party was the most important issue
• Led to President Garfield’s assassination
1. A Two-Party Stalemate
Pallid Politics In The Gilded Age
• Balance of two political parties during
the Gilded Age from 1869-99.
• Majority in Congress flipped back and
forth six times in the 11 terms between
1869-91
• Few controversial stands
• Few dramatic policy differences
between parties.
• Voter turnout /voter loyalty.
• Political machines and patronage
The 3rd Party System: Republicans Rout
Democrats in Presidential Elections
Republican Dominance:
President
Party
Years
Rep
Home
State
Ohio
Hayes
Garfield
Rep
Ohio
1881
Arthur
Rep
New York
1881-1884
Cleveland
Dem
New York
1884-1888
Harrison
Rep
Indiana
1888-1892
Cleveland
Dem
New York
1892-1896
McKinley
Rep
Ohio
1896-1900
1876-1880
2. Intense
Voter Loyalty
to the
Two Major
Political Parties
3. Well-Defined Voting Blocs
Democratic
Bloc
 White southerners
(preservation of
white supremacy)
 Catholics
 Recent immigrants
(esp. Jews)
 Urban working
poor (pro-labor)
 Most farmers
Republican
Bloc
 Northern whites
(pro-business)
 African Americans
 Northern
Protestants
 Old WASPs (support
for anti-immigrant
laws)
 Most of the middle
class
Republicans v. Democrats
• Republicans:
– Embodied the old Puritanical ideals.
– Strict moral codes and belief that
government should be an instrument
in regulating economic and moral
affairs of the community.
– Strong in Midwest and in rural and
small-town New England.
– Got most of votes from Freedman
and from Union Civil War Vets.
Republicans v. Democrats
• Democrats
– More Roman Catholic and
Lutheran.
– South and northern industrial
cities
– Large immigrant base and strong
Dem. machines.
– Supported states’ rights and
limited powers for the federal
government
Republicans
Democrats
Where
Who
Midwest, rural
“native” Americans, Union
Northeast
veterans, African-Americans
South,
Immigrants, white south
Northeastern cities
Gilded Age Political Campaigns
• Brass bands, parades, flags, campaign
buttons, picnics, free beer, and crowdpleasing oratory
II. Why Republicans Win
A. Waving the Bloody Shirt: The Grand Army of the
Republic and Voting as you Shot
• Dems caused CW & murdered Lincoln
B. Rewarding
Your
Supporters:
Patronage and
the Spoils
System
C. Warning of the Immigrant
Menace: Ethnicity, Religion, and
Nativism
4. Very Laissez Faire Federal Govt.
 From 1870-1900  Govt. did very
little domestically.
 Main duties of the federal govt.:
 Deliver the mail.
 Maintain a national military.
 Collect taxes & tariffs.
 Conduct a foreign policy.
 Exception  administer the annual
Civil War veterans’ pension.
5. The Presidency as a Symbolic Office
 Party bosses ruled.
 Presidents should
avoid offending any
factions within their
own party.
 The President just
doled out federal jobs.
Senator Roscoe Conkling
 1865  53,000 people worked for the federal govt.
 1890  166,000
“
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“
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The Political System
• Weak presidents
– President’s job was to administer, not lead
• Inefficient Congress
– Most important branch, but
– Noisy and chaotic; little effective action
• Only 5 major bills through Congress from 1875-1896
• Federal Bureaucracy
– Small & limited
– 1870: 50k federal employees
• ¾ were postmasters throughout the country
• Only 6k in Washington, D.C.
Major issues of the day
• Civil Service reform
– Pendleton Act of 1881 set up Civil Service
Commission
• Competitive exams for certain jobs
• Business & financial regulation
– Interstate Commerce Act
– Sherman Antitrust Act
• Tariffs
The Tariff Issue
 After the Civil War, Congress raised
tariffs to protect new US industries.
 Big business wanted to continue this;
consumers did not.
 1885  tariffs earned the US $100 mil.
in surplus!
 Tariffs became a major issue in the 1888
presidential election.
Arguments in the Tariff Debates
Area Affected
High Tariffs (Big Business) Low Tariff (farmers,
labor, small business)
Industry
Promote industrial growth
Inflates corporate profits
Employment
Stimulates job growth
Restricts competition
Wages & Prices
Permit higher wages
Increases consumer
prices
Government
Provide government revenue Violates laissez-faire &
produces revenue that
tempts gov’t to activism
Trade
Protects the domestic
market
Restricts foreign trade
because other countries
retaliate; hurt farmers
who couldn’t sell surplus
Major issues of the day
• The “Money Question”
• Whether or not to expand the money
supply (create inflation)
– Reflected the tension between the “haves”
and “have-nots”
– Debtors, farmers, and start-up businesses
wanted more $ in circulation
• Could borrow @ lower interest rates
• Could pay off loans more easily with inflated $
Major issues of the day
• The “Money Question”
• Inflate the currency by printing paper money
(greenbacks) or minting more silver coins
(“free silver”)
• The other side: bankers, creditors, investors,
and established businesses stood firm for hard
money – currency backed by gold stored in
government vaults (“sound money”)
– $ backed by gold would more likely hold its value
against inflation
• The issue boiled down to: The Gold Standard
vs. Bi-metallism
SILVER OR GOLD?
• The central issue of the
1896 Presidential
campaign was which
metal would be the
basis of the nation’s
monetary system
• Bimetallism (those who
favored using both) vs.
those that favored the
Gold Standard alone
1881: Garfield Assassinated!
Charles Guiteau:
I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is
President now!
CHESTER ARTHUR TAKES COMMAND
• Not many expected much
from Arthur. Why?
• Displayed surprising
integrity, intelligence and
independence.
• Arthur threw his support
behind reform of spoils
system.
• Pendleton Act of 1883
– Details
– Unintended consequences?
CIVIL SERVICE REPLACES
PATRONAGE
Applicants for federal jobs
are required to take a Civil
Service Exam
• Nationally, some politicians
pushed for reform in the hiring
system
• The system had been based
on Patronage; giving jobs and
favors to those who helped a
candidate get elected
• Reformers pushed for an
adoption of a merit system of
hiring the most qualified for
jobs
• The Pendleton Civil Service
Act of 1883 authorized a
bipartisan commission to
make appointments for federal
jobs based on performance
Pendleton Act (1883)
 Civil Service Act.
 The “Magna Carta” of
civil service reform.
 1883  14,000 out of
117,000 federal govt.
jobs became civil
service exam positions.
 1900  100,000 out of
200,000 civil service
federal govt. jobs.
A Dirty Campaign
Ma, Ma…where’s my pa?
He’s going to the White House, ha… ha… ha…!
Rum, Romanism & Rebellion!
 Led a delegation of
ministers to Blaine in
NYC.
 Reference to the
Democratic Party.
 Blaine was slow to
repudiate the remark.
Dr. Samuel Burchard
 Narrow victory for
Cleveland [he wins NY
by only 1149 votes!].
Cleveland’s First Term
 The “Veto Governor” from New York.
 First Democratic elected since 1856.
 A public office is a public trust!
 His laissez-faire presidency:
 Opposed bills to assist the poor as
well as the rich.
 Vetoed over 200 special pension bills
for Civil War veterans!
Cleveland and History
• Cleveland the first sitting president to be
voted out of office since Van Buren in
1840. (Others: J. Adams, J.Q. Adams,
Harrison, Hoover, Carter, Bush)
• Cleveland last to win popular vote and
lose electoral college until Gore.
• Cleveland only president to have two
non-consecutive terms.
1888 Presidential Election
Political Gravy For All
•
•
•
•
Billion Dollar Congress
Pension Act of 1890
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Tariffs and Silver
– Easterners wanted a
higher tariff
– Westerners and farmers
wanted more silver minted
Changing Public Opinion
 Americans wanted the federal govt. to deal
with growing soc. & eco. problems & to curb
the power of the trusts:
 Interstate Commerce Act – 1887
 Sherman Antitrust Act – 1890
 McKinley Tariff – 1890
 Based on the theory that prosperity
flowed directly from protectionism.
 Increased already high rates another 4%!
 Rep. Party suffered big losses in 1890 (even
McKinley lost his House seat!).
III. What Do Republicans Do Once in Office?
1. Support Higher
Tariffs -- Ex.
McKinley tariff =
~48%
Tariff Ire
• Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890
• McKinley Tariff Bill
– raised tariff rates to their highest peacetime level—48%
• Farmers hated the new tariff. Why?
• Republicans punished in 1890
congressional election.
– Lose nearly 60 seats and Dems have a
huge majority in Congress
OLD GROVER CLEVELAND AGAIN
• Depression of 1893
• Causes:
–
–
–
–
Over-building and over-speculation
labor unrest
agricultural depression from low commodity prices
reduction of US credit abroad because of Silver
Purchase Act
– Problems with overseas banks, which were forced
to call in US loans.
• Cleveland does next to nothing— laissez faire