Chapter 23 Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age
The “Bloody Shirt” elects Grant • Most people believed that Generals would make good presidents so they turned to the highest—Grant • He was a good leader but he knew nothing about politics • He was elected on a platform of continued reconstruction • The Democrats could only agree on ending reconstruction • Put up Horatio Seymour • Grant won 214 to 80, 3 million to 2.7 million • Only won by keeping some southern states from voting and by getting the black vote
The Era of Good Stealings • Government and business seemed very corrupt due to a few people • Jim Fisk and Jay Gould • Plotted in 1869 to corner the gold market • Used Grant and his brother in law and the Secretary of the Treasury • Almost worked but not quite • Boss Tweed • Used bribery, graft, fraud, etc. to steal as much as $200 million • In 1871 the New York Times found evidence against him and Thomas Nast a popular political cartoonist charged after Tweed • Tweed ended up dying in jail awaiting
A Carnival of Corruption • Federal Gov’t was also full of corruption • Credit Mobilier Scandal 1872 • Construction company used as a front for the UP RR, they built the RR lines at inflated prices • They bribed congressman and the VP not to say anything • It was discovered by a newspaper reporter • Whiskey Ring • Deprived the government of excise taxes • Grant’s personal secretary got acquitted of charges with Grant’s help • Secretary of War Belknap was also guilty of accepting bribes from suppliers to Indian Reservations
The Liberal Republican Revolt of 1872 • The Liberal Republicans were formed as an anti Grant party, to reform government and make it less corrupt • They put Horace Greeley (editor of the New York Tribune) up as their candidate to run against Grant • Grant won 286-66; 3.5 to 2.8 million votes • The Republicans ended up “cleaning house” in response to the 3rd party • General amnesty act, removed high protective tariffs, and civil service reform
Depression, Deflation, and Inflation • Panic of 1873 • Caused by over speculation in most areas of industry; RR, mines, factories, even farms • Prices dropped and companies couldn’t pay their loans, lead to bank closures, deflation, etc • Blacks were hit very hard • Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company loaned money to banks to loan to Freedmen but they went bankrupt and blacks lost seven million worth of investments • Debtors wanted cheap money—inflation • Helps them pay off their debts faster
Creditors wanted deflation instead of inflation • They didn’t want the money they loaned out paid back in depreciated dollars • Grant “grants” the hard money advocates a victory • He vetoes a law that would have allowed more paper money printed • Resumption Act of 1875 • Further withdrawal of paper money • Silver • Used this precious metal as another method of trying to obtain inflation • Contraction • The decreasing the amount of money in circulation—leads to deflation
Pallid Politics in the Gilded Age • There was a balancing scale between the two parties; just a few votes could throw the elections the other way • Every president barely won • House majorities changed six times from 1869-91 • Candidates had to straddle every fence and were too timid to try anything that would create a wake • The two parties were almost identical save by name • Voter turn out was at its highest ever almost 80% • Why was there so much political consensus while there was so much partisan fervor? • Republicans were very Puritan based • Strict codes of morality, gov’t involved in economy and enforcing a moral code • Democrats had a strong influence of Catholic and Lutheran immigrants • These religions stressed tolerance of differences and didn’t want government to interfere with a moral code • Voting bases • Democrats had the south and industrial centers in the north • Republicans had Midwest and the rural areas in the northeast, the GAR, Grand Army of the Republic, former Union soldiers • Patronage • Both parties existed and continued to exist through giving followers jobs in return for votes, kickbacks, and service
The Hayes-Tilden Standoff 1876 • Republicans had Rutherford B. Hayes (The Great Unknown) run in 1876 against Samuel Tilden • Tilden won the popular vote 4.2 to 4 million votes but the electoral college was unclear • 20 votes were in dispute and Tilden only needed one of them • The states in dispute turned in two votes, one democrat and one republican, it depended on who read the votes as to who would win • Compromise of 1877 • Democrats threatened to go to war again • Electoral Count Act • Set up a commission of congressmen, senators, and judges to decide on the disputed votes • Democrats allowed Hayes to become president and in return the Republicans promised to withdraw all federal troops from the South • The Republicans officially abandoned the freedmen in order to have a Republican president
Jim Crow • South turned back into a solid Democratic block following 1877 and blacks were abandoned by the federal government • Blacks were forced into sharecropping • Crop-lien system • Whites loaned supplies and food in return for a share of next years harvest • Kept blacks perpetually in debt • By 1890 the South set up a system of legal segregation called Jim Crow Laws, also had literacy tests, poll taxes, voter registration • Plessey vs. Ferguson 1896 Separate but equal • Blacks in fact had far inferior facilities, schools, etc
Class and Ethnic Conflicts • 1877 Great RR Strike • 4 largest RR cut wages 10%, workers struck and Pres. Hayes called in federal troops to stop it • People all across the country went on strike in support • Ended weeks later and accomplished nothing • Chinese • By 1880 there were 75,000 most went to California for the gold rush, most went back to China the rest performed menial labor • Irish • Had class conflicts with the Chinese over competition for labor • Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 • US closed the door on Chinese immigration until 1943 • US vs Wong Kim Ark 1898 • If a person is born in the US they are automatically a citizen
Garfield and Arthur • Garfield as Pres and Arthur as VP beat Hancock by 39,000 votes • Garfield was assassinated in September 1881 • Showed the corruptness of the Spoils System and led to reform • Pendleton Act of 1883 • Exams for federal jobs, divorced politics from patronage and wed politics and big business
The Blaine-Cleveland Mudslingers of 1884 Cleveland • Corrupt Blaine vs. Cleveland the Reformer • Sank to an all time low, very few differences and no main issues, resorted to mudslinging • Cleveland won 219-182, 4.879 to 4.850 million • 1st Democrat president since before the Civil War (Buchanan) • Firm believer in Laissez-faire • Claimed he was for civil service reform but he fired 2/3rds of the 120,000 federal employees
Tariff Battle • Republicans in the north benefited from high tariffs ever since the war, hurt the south, also had a 145 million dollar surplus • He threw the idea right into the middle of Congress • Hurt Cleveland’s reelection chances in 1888 • Republicans ran Benjamin Harrison (grandson of old Tippecanoe) • The main issue was the tariff • Harrison won 233 to 168 but lost the popular vote 5.537 to 5.447 million
Billion Dollar Congress • Speaker of the House “Czar” Reed went to extraordinary measures to conduct business, Democrats refused to show up so a quorum wasn’t present • Spent a billion dollars—1st time in US History • McKinley Tariff 1890 48.4% on goods, highest peace time rate ever • Off year election the Republicans lost big the tariff hurt farmers and it brought Cleveland back
Drumbeat of Discontent • Populist Party started in 1892 out of the Farmers’ Alliance • Platform included: unlimited coinage of silver, graduated income tax; government ownership of RR, telegraphs, telephones; direct election of senators; one term presidential limits; initiative and referendums; etc • A wave of strikes in 1892 raised their prospects of bringing down the capitalist system • Homestead Steel Strike at Carnegies steel mill • Pinkertons tried to break it up, 10 dead, 60 wounded • Federal troops called in • South didn’t join the party because of race, gave the south the final push for ending black suffrage, populists became very racist • Won 22 electoral votes and over one million but couldn’t get the industrial workers to join them
Cleveland and Depression • Reelected in 1892 took office in 1893 along with the centuries worst depression • Same old story of overspeculation • US was running out of gold only $41 million left in the treasury and $100 million was considered safe • Turned to JP Morgan who lent the government $65 million in gold and took other measures to bring gold back from Europe • Cleveland lost all credibility for turning to Morgan • Republicans won back Congress
