-Republicans-- nominated Ulysses S. Grant for president and Schuyler Colfax as his running mate. Platform endorsed radical reconstruction.
-Democrats--nominated Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair for vice-president. Platform denounced redical reconstruction and called for continued payment of the war debt in Greenbacks.
RESULTS
-Grant won by a narrow victory. 15th Amendment (1870-Suffrage for Blacks) created by Republican leaders to obtain more votes in future elections.
Legislation Under Grant-
-15th Amendment (suffrage for blacks)
The End of Reconstruction
-marked by withdrawl of troops from the South in 1877. Ended primarily because the North lost interest, corruption in the government, and econmic hard times brought on by the Panic of 1873.
Liberal Republican-
- 1872, reform minded citizens banded together disgusted with Grantism to form the Liberal Republican Party. They nominated Horace Greely for the Presidency, Greely was denounced as an atheist and a communist.
Corruption under Grant
-Grant held no firm political postitions, placed his faith in a number of dishonest men, and found that several scandals marked his presidency...
-Black Friday Scandal- Jim Fisk and Jay Gould schemed to corner the gold market. Grant naively complied and many buisnessmen were ruined as the price of gold was bid up furiously on "Black Friday."
-Credit Mobilier Scandal- officials of the Union Pacific Railroad used a dummy construction company called the Credit Mobilier to skim off millions of dollars the government was paying the Union Pacific for building a transcontinental railroad. Scandal was uncovered during a congressional investigation in 1872.
-Whisky Ring Fraud- robbed the Treasury of millions of dollars in exise-tax revenues on whisky.
-Salary Grab Act (1873)- 100% pay raise for the president and a 50% increase for Congress, law was eventually repealed due to public outrage.
Economic Issues under Grant
-Panic of 1873- brought on by:
-the overexpansive tendencies of buisnessmen, bankers, and railroad promoters during the post-war boom.
-economic downturns in Europe
-the failure of Jay Cooke and Company- major American financial firm.
-"Crime of '73"- demonitization of silver and going strit to a gold standard ( called for inflation )
- Specie Resumption Act(1875)- called for all paper money to be redeemed in gold.
Election of 1876
CANDIDATES
-Democrats--Samuel Tilden- broke the Tweed political machine of New York city. Won the popular vote and was one vote shy in the electoral votes needed for election.
-Republicans--Rutherford B. Hayes- in favor of hard money, cilvil service reform and opposed govenment regulation of the economy. Used a tactic known as "waving the bloody shirt" in campaigning.
RESULTS
-Congress created a special comission to decide the extremely close race for presidency.
-The comission voted and granted the presidency to Hayes.
Politics of the Gilded Age- (1870's-1890's)
-Compromise of 1877- remaining union troops were removed from the old confederacy.
Factions of Republican Party-
- Stalwarts led by Roscoe Conkling, favored the spoils system.
-spoils system- system of government in which government positions are given in exchange for political patronage.
- Half-Breeds, led by James G. Blaine, favored civil service reform and merit appointments to government posts.
Election of 1880
CANDIDATES-
-Republican--James A. Garfield was a Republican Half-Breed and his Vice Presidential running mate,Chester A. Arthur, a Stalwart. Their platform declared for a protective tariff and for reform of the civil service.
-Democrat- Winfield S. Hancock- former civil war general, appealed to veterans as a hero wounded at Gettysberg, popular in the south. Platform called for civil service reform and a "tariff for revenue only."
RESULTS-
- Garfield won, however was assassinated in 1881by Charles J. Giteau.
- Vice President Arthur took the Presidency in 1881 and endorsed reform of the spoils system by passing the Pendleton Act of 1883 which created open competitive exams for civil service positions.
Greenback Labor Party-
- Promoted the inflation of farm prices and the cooperative marketing of agricultural produce.
- The party's presidential candidate, James Weaver, polled only 3% of the vote in the 1880 presidential election.
The Economy, 1877-1882-
- The standard of living rose sharply during this period, but the distribution of wealth was very uneven. An elite of about 10% controlled 90% of the nation's wealth.
- Industrial expansion and technology assumed large roles in this period . The U.S. moved from forth largest manufacturing nation to the world's leader through...
-capital accumulation
-natural resources-especially iron, ore, and coal
-massive immigration which provided an abundance of labor
-railway trasportation
-communications
-mechanization
- In 1876 the telephone was introduced by Alexander Graham Bell.
-Thomas Edison invented the electric light (1879), phonograph, and moving picture.
- Cities also grew up as well as out with the invention of the skyscraper and mechanical elevator.
- Andrew Carnegie- developed the modern steel industry. Pioneered the creative tactic of "vertical integration" which combined into one organization all phases of the manufacturing from mining to marketing. By 1900 he was producing 1/4 of the nations Bessemer steel.
-Bessemer Process- invention in the 1850's of a method of making cheap steel.
-Carnegie later decided to dedicate the remaining years of his life to giving away money for public benefit. In total disposing about $350 million.
-John D. Rockefeller- Rockefeller perfected a system that allied competitors to monoplize a given market. This was known as horizontal integration. He also perfected a device known as the "trust" which became a word used to describe any large scale buisness combination. In the petroleum industry, Rockefeller ontrolled 95 per cent of the U.S. oil refineries by 1877.
-Jay Pierpont Morgan- made a legendary reputaion for himself and his banking house by finacing the reorgainization of railroads, insurance compaines, and banks. He eventually bought out Carnegie for over $400 million. Launched the U.S. Steel Corporation which was the United States' first billion dollar corporation.
-Union Pacific Railroad- comissioned by Congress to be built westward from Omaha, Nebraska.
-Construction began in 1865.
-Central Pacific Railroad- pushed eastward from Sacramento and through the Sierra Nevadas.
-The Big Four were the chief finacial backers of the transcontinental railroad enterprise which included...
-Leland Stanford- had useful political connections.
-Collis P. Huntington- a lobbyist
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- A wedding of the rails occured in Ogden, Utah in 1869. Completion of the trascontinental line welded the west coast more firmly to the union and facilitated a lourishing trade with Asia.
- Four other transcontinental lines were completed before the centuries end.
-The Northern Pacific- stretching from Lake Superior to Puget Sound
-The Southern Pacific- from New Orleans to San Fransisco.
-The Great Northern- from Duluth to Seattle and was a creation of James J. Hill, one of the greatest railroad builders of all time.
-The New York Central- masterminded by Cornelius Vanderbilt.
- All of these except for the Great Northern recieved generous land grants from the federal government.
Wrongdoing in Railroad-
- stock watering- technique used by railroad stock promoters who inflated their claims about a given a given lines assets and profiability and sold stocks and bond far in excess of the railroads actual value.
- pool- an agreement to divide the buisness in a given area and share the profits.
- rebates- kickbacks made to powerful shippers in return for steady and assured traffic.
Revolution By Railways-
- The railroads touched countless phases of American life, bound together by ribs of iron and steel. Created an enourmous domestic market for American raw materials and manufactured goods. They opened up fresh markets for goods and sped raw materials to factories. They stimulated immigration and made millionaries.
AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT-
- Agricultural discontent expresed through the activities of the National Grange (aka Patrons of Husbandry) and Farmers' Alliance included efforts to promote currency inflation, higher farm prices, silver and gold bimetalism, debt relief, cooperative farming methods, and regulation of monopolies and railroads by federal and state governments. The National Grange was led by Oliver H. Kelly.
- Wabash Case-1886- decreed that individual states had no power to regulate interstate commerce.
- A number of so called Granger Laws were badly drawn and were bitterly fought through the high courts by well paid lawers.
- Farmers greviences found a vent in the Greenback Labor Party. In the presidential election of 1880, the Greenbacks nominated General James B. Weaver.
The New South-
- By 1880 Northern capital erected the modern textile industry in the New South by bringing factories to the cotton fields.
Social Darwinism-
- "Gospel of Wealth"- Based on the idea that God granted wealth as He had given grace for the material and spiritaul salvation of the select few.
- Idea supported by William Graham Sumner and relied heavily on the survival-of-the-fittest philospohy associated with Charles Darwin.
LABOR UNIONS-
- When capital over-expansion and over-speculation led to the economic panic of 1873, massive labor disorder spread through the country leading to the paralyzing railroad strike of 1877.
- The National Labor Union(1866)- had a membership of 600,00 but failed to withstand the impact of economic adversity when it collapsed in 1872. Included skilled and unskilled laborers, few blacks, few women.
-The Knights of Labor- began in 1869. Sought to include all workers in one big union, welcomed skilled and unskilled, men, women, whites, and underpriveledged blacks. They campaigned for economic and social reform and were under the leadership of Terence V. Powderly.
- The American Federation of Labor- created in 1846 was the brainchild of Samuel Gompers. Sought better wages, hours, and working conditions. Authorized "closed shop", or all union labor. He used the
walkout and the boycott as weapons.
Weapons of Corporations
- Yellowdog contracts- agreements signed by employees not to join a labor union.
-Corporation could issue injuctions ordering strikers to cease striking.
- Employers could use a procedure called the "lockout" in which they could lock their doors against rebellious workers and starve them into submission.
- Haymarket Riot- May 4,1886, a protest rally that eventually broke into a riot killing 4 people.
REACTIONS TO NEW IMMIGRATION-
- America's government system did almost nothing to ease the incorporation of immigrants into American society. City governments proved overwhelmed by the scale of urban growth.
- nativism- also known as anti-foreignism, touched off in the 1840's and 50's.
Social Gospel-
- Idea supported by Jane Addams and Washington Gladden which preached that churches should tackle social issues of the day.
- Jane Addams- middle class woman dedicated to uplifting the urban masses. Established Hull House, the most prominent American settlement house. She was inspired by philosopher William James. Won a nobel peace prize in 1931.
- Florence Kelly- battled for the welfare of women, children, blacks and consumers.
- Mary Baker Eddy- founded the Church of Christ in 1879. Preached that the true practice of Christianity heals sickness.
Feminism-
- Women's Christian Temperence Union- active in prohibition. Orgainized in 1874 by Francis E. Willard.
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton- helped organize the first women's rights convention in 1848. Founded the National Women's Suffrage Association.
- Carrie Chapman Catt- one of the most effective leaders of the National Women's Suffrage Association, desired to give women the vote.
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman- published Women and Economics, a classic of feminist literature.
LITERATURE/EDUCATION-
- Booker T. Washington- emerged in 1881 as the president of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a school devoted to teaching and vocational education for African Americans with a mission to encourage self- respect and economic equality of the races.
-W.E.B. DuBois- first black to earn a PhD at Harvard. Helped to found the national association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1910.
- Horatio Alger- his stories promoted values such as hard work, honesty, and good fortune.
- Mark Twain- Wrote The Gilded Age, a satire on post-Civil War politicans and speculators.
- Henry George- wrote Progress and Poverty, a 3 million copy seller, which advocated one single tax on land as the means to redistribute wealth for greater social and economic justice.
- Other writters of the Gilded age included, Bret Harte, William Dean Howell, Henry James, and Lew Wallace.
- Yellow Journalism- distorted or untrue journalistic practices that are meant to boost newspaper circulation.
- The Chautauqua Movement made an effot to include adults in the public education system in 1874.
- Morril Act (1862)- provided a generous grant of public lands to the states for support of education.
-New Morality
- Comstock Law (1873)- a federal statute that proved the immorality of late 19th century America over sexual attitudes and the place of women.
NATIVE INDIAN POPULATIONS-
- The Native Indian tribes were eventually vanquished and compelled to live on isolated reservations. In addition to superior military force, disease, railway construction, alcoholism, and the virtual extermination of the bison contributed to their defeat.
Indian Wars-
- The Indian wars in the west were often savage clahes. Agressive whites at times shot peaceful Indians on sight just to make sure they would give no trouble.
- Fetterman's Massacre- In 1866 a Souix war party, attempting to block construction of the Bozeman trail to Montana, ambushed captain William J. Fetterman's command and killed all in their path.
- The federal government tried to pacify the Plains Indians by signing treaties with the chiefs of various tribes during 1851 and 1853. The treaties marked the beginnings of the reservation system in the west. They established boundaries for the territory of each tribe and attempted to separate the indians into colonies. In the 1860's the government intesified this policy and hearded the Indians into smaller confines.
- In 1874, Colonel George A. Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills of South Dakota and annouced that he had discovered gold. As a result masses of gold seekers rushed to the Dakota territory and invaded the Souix land despite the Souix treaty guarantees. This expansion and discovery of gold in the early 1870's led to the Souix War, 1876-1877, and eventually to George A. Custer's "last stand".
- Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)- Colonel Custer's 7th Cavalry set out to return the Indian to their reservation, attacking what seemed to be a superior force of well armed warriors. Custer and his cavalry were completely wiped out . White reinforcements later arrived and the indians who defeated Custer were hunted. The Souix tribe was led by Sitting Bull. In 1890, Sitting Bull was identified with the antiwhite religious movement known as the Ghost Dance.
- In 1877 the Nez Perce War in Idaho resulted from similar causes of gold discoveries on their land and prompted the government to shrink their reservations by 90%. Chief Joseph surrendered his renegade of 700 Indians after a tortuous 3 month trek across the continental divide toward Canada. The Nez Perce were then forced to a reservation in Kansas where 40% of them died from disease.
- The Apache tribes of Arizona and New Mexico were the most difficult to subdue. Led by Geronimo, they were persued into Mexico by federal troops and were persuded to surrender.
- Battle of Wounded Knee- Battle that took place on December 8, 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek when Custer's 7th Cavalry caught up with a group of Souix Indians led by Big Foot.
Indian Legislation
- The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887-
- dissolved many tribes as legal entities
- wiped out tribal ownership of land
- set up individual Indian family heads with 160 free acres.
Native American Literature-
- By the 1880's the National conscience began to uneasily stir over the plight of the Indians.
- Helen Hunt Jackson- wrote A Century of Dishonor which chronicled the ruthless government record in dealing with the Indians.
Tariff Legislation-
- Tariff of 1883 lowered duties by an average of 5%.
ELECTION OF 1884-
-Candidates
- Grover Cleveland(Democrat) Thomas A. Hendricks- vice-president
-Platform- supporter of civil service reform and tariff reduction.
- James G. Blaine( Republican) John Logan- vice-president
Platform- supported civil service reform
-Campaigning-
- Sank to one of the lowest levels in American History. Personailites not principles claimed the headlines as insults and illegitimate campaigning controlled the race.
-Cleveland's illegitiamte child
-The Mulligan Letters
-Results-
- Cleveland swept the south however the electoral and popular votes proved the election to be a clsoe race.
- Mugwumps- Republicans who had defected from the Republican party and supported the Democratic pary. Mugwumps supported civil service reforms and cost Blaine the Presidential election.
Grand Army of the Republic-
- Also known as the GAR. Sorted out pension disputes among veterens and the government.
Presidential Succession Act (1886)-
- Prompted by the death of Vice President Hendricks in 1885.
- Changed the line of succession from the president of the Senate to the Cabinet officers in order of creation of their departments to maintain party leadership.
Interstate Commerce Act (1887)-
- Prohibited rebates and pools and required railroads to publish their rates openly.
- Forbade unfair discrimination against shippers.
- Set up the Interstate Commerce Commission to enfore the new legislation.
THE GREAT WEST-
The Long Drive-
- A feeder of new slaughtering houses where coyboys drove heards of cattle.
- The Long Drive proved profitable. From 1866 to 1888 four million steers were driven northward from the beefbowl of Texas.
Homestead Act (1862)-
- Provided that a settler could aquire as much as 160 acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it, and paying a nomial fee.
-The frontier was closed as all unsettled areas were now broken into by isolated bodies of settlement.
POPULISM-
- In 1892, the newly formed peoples party (populists), burst on the scene. They sought a simpler democracy by advocating the direct election of U.S. Senators, a one term limit on the presidency, and the use of initiative and referendum to allow citizens to propose and review legislation.
- agreed on the need to nationalize railroads, abolish national banks, institute a graduated income tax, and create a new federal sub treasury.
- Mary Elizabeth Lease-
- one of a number of people who sprang forward to lead the populists.
- The Homestead Strike of 1892- met by a defiant force of strikers Pinkerton detectives were forced to surrender. This occurence raised the prospect that the Populists could bring aggrieved workers together with farmers in a revolutionary assault on the capitalist order.
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF THE GILDED AGE-
-Jacob S. Coxey
-His platform included a demand for government relief of unemployment. Led marches of rugged armies of the unemployed victims and victims of the Depression, and demonstrated for help.
-Eugene V. Debs
- helped organize the American Railway Union of about 150,000 members. The Pullman Palace Car Company was hard hit by depression and cut wages about one-third. The workers finally struck, and paralized railway traffic.
-Richard Olney
-urged the dispatch of federal troops during the Pullman Strike.
-Marcus Alonzo Hanna
- Made his fortune in the iron Buisness and created the political presidential candidate of William McKinley. Believed that the prime function of government was to aid business.
ELECTION OF 1888
Candidates
-Grover Cleveland- democrat
-Benjamin Harrison- republican
Results
- Benjamin Harrison won after waging a victoriuos campaign to protect American industrial interests with a high protective tariff.
- In Congress, Republicans won control of both the House and Senate.
-Thomas B. Reed
- Republican speaker of the House in 1890, and changed the rules of operation to make himself a veritable tsar with absolute control in running the house. Was involved in the "Billion Dollar" Congress.
Legislation Under Harrison-
-Dependent Pensions Act (1890)-
- Congress granted service positions to Union veterns and their dependents for the first time.
-Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890)-
- The treasury was to buy a total of 4.5 million ounces monthly and pay for it in notes redeemable in either silver or gold.
-McKinley Tariff Bill (1890)-
- Sponsored by William McKinley. Boosted rates to their highest peacetime level yet on dutiable goods. It raised tariffs on agricultural products.
-Sherman Anti Trust Act (1890)-
- Corporate monopolies which controlled whole industries were subject to federal prosecution if they were found to be combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade.
- labor unions and farm associations were said by the Supreme Court to be under restriction by the act.
ELECTION OF 1892-
Candidates-
- Grover Cleveland- (democrat), Adlai E. Stevenson vice president
- Benjamin Harrison- (republican), Whitelaw Reid vice president
Results
- Cleveland won the election.
- Voters generally reacted in favor of Cleveland's conservative economic stance and his advocation of the gold standard brought him the support of various businesses.
Legislation Under Cleveland-
- Repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1893)
- After the economic Panic of 1893, Cleveland tried to limit the outflow of gold reserves by asking Congress to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. The Democratic party split over this issue.
ELECTION OF 1896-
Candidates
- William McKinley- (republican), Garret Hobart vice president
-Platform- in favor of the gold standard and a protective tariff.
- William Jennings Bryan- (democrat), Arthur Sewell vice president
- Platform-
- coinage of silver at a 16:1 ratio
- condemnation of monopolies, protective tariffs and anti union court injuctions
- criticism of Supreme Courts removal of a graduated income tax from the Wilson Gorman tariff bill.
- Bryan delivered a speech in which he declared that the people must not be "crucified upon a Cross of Gold". This was known as the Cross of Gold Speech.
- William Jennings Bryan (populist), Thomas Watson vice president
- Platform-
- Watson advocated the Jim Crow Laws which were designed to enforce racial segregation in public places.
Results
- McKinley won a close election.
Legislation/Economy Under McKinley-
- Dingley Tariff (1897)
- raised protection to new highs for certain commodities.
- Depression of 1893-
- causes included...
- the dramatic growth of federal deficit
- withdrawl of British investments from American market and the outward transfer of gold
- loss of buisness confidence
- closure of the National Cordage Company which was the first among thousands of corporations that closed banks and buisnesses.
- Led 20% of the work force to be be eventually unemloyed.
- Lasted 4 years. Recovery was helped by preparation for war.
- Immigration declined by almost 400,000 during the depression.
- Gold Standard Act (1900)
- provided that the paper currency was to be redeemed freely in gold.
- American Protective Association, (1887)
- also known as the APA, persued nativist goals by urging voting against Roman Catholic candidates for office and sponsored publications.
Prohibition-
-Anti Saloon League-
- formed in 1893. Women were concerned about the increase of drunkenness during the depression.
- 18th Amendment-
- National Prohibition.
ELECTION OF 1900
Candidates-
- William McKinley(republican), Vice President Theodore Roosevelt
-Platform- upholding the gold standard, building a canal in Cnetral america, full economic recovery.
- William Jennings Bryan (democrat), Vice President Adlai Stevenson
-Platform- condemned imperialism and the gold standard.
- Wharton Baker (populist), Vice President Ignatius Donnelly
-Platform- pro-inflation
- Eugene V. Debs (socialist Democratic Party), Vice President Job Harriman
-Platfrom- uring nationalization of major industries
- John Wooley (Prohibition Party), Vice President Henry Metcalf
- Platform- called for a ban on alcohol production and consumption.
