Happy Pre- Friday AH2

1. Happy Pre- Friday AH2 Bell Ringer - Review Labor Union “Video” Review Sheet Completion Intro Video to the Gilded Age Mini Lecture + Guided Notes 1 Page Summary Assignment Due Today Kahoot

3. Quote of the Day “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” -Poor Richard

4. 5.04 Describe the changing role of government in economic and political affairs.

5. Corruption in the Gilded Age and Government Improvements

6. The Gilded Age • Period of 1877 – 1900 • Term coined by Mark Twain • “Gilding” is when a thin layer of gold is put over a worthless metal to create the illusion of value • Twain described this period as a thin layer of prosperity masking the poverty and corruption underneath

7. Ulysses S. Grant • 1822 – 1885 • Republican • 18th President (1869 – 1877) • Administration was marred by dozens of scandals involving several members of his cabinet, mainly involving bribery • Joe Paterno

8. The Whiskey Ring • Scandal involving several members of Grant’s administration, including his personal secretary, where federal employees accepted bribes from whiskey distillers to help them avoid paying federal taxes on alcohol production • 110 people were convicted of defrauding the government out of at least $3 million in taxes

9. The Credit Mobilier Scandal • Several investors in the Union Pacific Railroad formed a construction company, then used their positions on the railroad’s board to hire their company to do construction work at exaggerated prices • The Union Pacific received their funding from federal grants; when grant money ran out, Ames gave other members of Congress shares in the Union Pacific to bribe them to approve more federal grant money

10. Political Machines • Lower level political group designed to gain and keep power • Growth of cities had outpaced the ability of city governments to meet the needs of citizens • Run by party “bosses” • Party bosses helped immigrants find jobs, housing, food, heat and protection; in return they told immigrants who to vote for in elections

11. Graft • Graft –money acquired through dishonest or questionable means • Example: party bosses would know when and where the city might want to build a park, so they would buy up the property cheap before it became public knowledge and then sell the land to the city for personal profit

12. William “Boss” Tweed • 1823 – 1878 • Ran Tammany Hall (The Democratic Party’s political machine in NYC) from 1858 – 1871 • Used his position to make himself wealthy • Arrested in 1871 and convicted of defrauding the city government of about $200 million

13. Thomas Nast • 1840 – 1902 • German immigrant • Worked for Harper’s Weekly as political cartoonist from 1859 to 1886 • Targeted Boss Tweed and political machines; was so effective that Tweed offered him a $500,000 bribe to go study art in Europe – Nast turned it down. • Creator of modern image of Uncle Sam, the Donkey and Elephant symbols for Democratic and Republican Parties

14. Why are political cartoons so effective in a diverse place like new York?

21. DO we remember the Spoils System?

22. Rutherford B. Hayes • 1822 – 1893 • Republican • 19th President (1877 – 1881) • Reformer • Replaced officials who had been appointed by party bosses • No spoils system in his administration!!!!

23. Stalwarts & Halfbreeds • “Stalwarts”: Republicans who supported the political machines and spoils system • “Half-breeds”: Republicans who supported civil service reform and an end to the political machines and spoils system

24. James Garfield • 1831 – 1881 • Republican • 20th President (1881) • Elected despite being implicated in the Credit Mobilier Scandal • A “Half-breed,” he was assassinated after only 200 days in office by a disgruntled office seeker who felt he had been cheated out of a good government job

25. Chester A. Arthur • 1829 – 1886 • Republican • 21st President (1881-1885) • A “Stalwart,” he was so affected by Garfield’s assassination that he switched to being a “Half-breed” and championed civil service reform • Did not receive nomination in election of 1884 due to terminal kidney condition

26. The Government Reforms!

27. Pendleton Act of 1883 • Ended the spoils system by creating the US Civil Service Commission • Federal employees would get jobs based on skills and merit, not political favoritism • Had to pass a civil service exam to enter politics

28. Grover Cleveland • 1837 – 1908 • Democrat • 22nd & 24th President (1885-89, 1893-97) • Fought for political reforms, but at the same time was willing to use military force to limit labor unions (Pullman Strike)

29. Mugwumps • Democrat Cleveland even won support from reform-minded Republicans • These Republicans were called “mugwumps,” an Algonquin Indian word meaning “important person” • The term Mugwump would mean someone who switches political party for generations following

30. Wabash v. Illinois • 1886 Supreme Court decision • Court ruled that states can not regulate railroad companies because railroads are engaged in interstate commerce which can only be regulated by the federal government

31. Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 • Reaction to Wabash v. Illinois decision • Created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads by restricting rates and ensuring that no discriminatory practices were used • ICC was disbanded in 1995

32. Benjamin Harrison • 1833 – 1901 • Republican • 23rd President (1889 – 1893) • Grandson of William Henry Harrison • Had the first “billion dollar government” • Ran on campaign of supporting high tariffs

33. Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 • First federal law limiting trusts, monopolies, and cartels, but not really enforced until Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency • Designed to protect competition among businesses and to protect consumers from the dangers of monopolies

34. United States v. EC Knight Co. • 1895 • First test of the Sherman Antitrust Act • EC Knight Co. was a sugar refinery that had a monopoly on sugar in US • Court ruled that Sherman Antitrust Act could limit monopolies only in distribution (interstate commerce), not in manufacture of goods • Proves that Sherman will not be enough

35. The Pendleton Act took care of APPOINTED government employees! But what about the employees who are voted into office?

36. Political reforms • Secret ballot: individual’s votes would be kept secret, not published • Referendum: allows citizens to vote directly on important issues rather than leave the issues in the hands of elected officials • Recall: allows voters to remove an elected official from office before their term is up • Initiative: allows voters to force elected officials to vote on a certain issue

37. Learning Menu 5.04 1. Create a Political Cartoon • Student must create a political cartoon symbolic of anything we have studied during the gilded age. Examples: Boss Tweed, Tammany Hall, Industrialization, Immigration, Urbanization, Robber Barons, ETC. 2. Create a Civil Service Exam • You are the governor of New York after the Pendleton Act is passed. Create a ten question multiple choice exam that politicians must pass to become a government employee. What knowledge should politicians demonstrate? Be thoughtful. 10 questions – Multiple choice