Guilded Age Politics

N Thomas
*Major political parties equivocated constantly
Political Parties avoided taking clear-cut stands on controversial issues
-delicate bal of power bet 2 parties
*rapid social and econ change created new problems w/ no apparent solutions
Begin w/ problems and criticism of Garfield admin and generation of politicians
1. Garfield: outstanding weakness-indecisiveness
a. Campg-char assassination, bribery, fraud
2. Issues:
a. bloody shirt
b. GAR-veterans pensions
c. currency reform
d. Civil Service Reform-both parties insisted it would destroy both parties
3. people looked to state and local govt to address soc/econ prob, not to DC
Political Parties
1. Remained essentially separate state organizations
2. Basic Issues to Vote D or R
a. *ethnic/religious affiliation
b. perception of civil war
c. rural or urban area
3. local/state issues interacted with rel and ethnic issues-shaped pol attitudes
a. therefore natl pol leadership based strategy/chose cand w/ an eye to local
and personal factors as well as natl concerns
4. Rel bet rel and ethnic background and pol party choice
Democrats
platforms almost identical
1. prot + ch emphasizes ritual & passive
accept of auth
2. Midwest Ger Lutheran ritualists
3. Southern
4. Catholic
5. recent immigrants in big cities
A-against tariffs: lead to econ disaster,
Hurt the family
B-Label Rep programs as ex of using
Excessive govt force

Republicans
1.prot+ch emphasizes simple service
& per piety, being saved
2. Northern
3. Rural, small town New Eng, PA
upper Mid-West
4. Native-born Prot
5. GAR-wave the bloody shirt
A.-support tariffs
B. men assoc loyalty to Rep w. masc

Both support laissez-faire, promote econ dev but not regulate industry
Swing states: NY, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois

Arguments to Regulate the Money Supply

??-How to create a $ supply adequate for a growing economy w/out producing inflation
In Fact-After Reconstruction-prices sharply decreased-Deflation
Benefits-bondholders, creditors
Injures-debtors, farmers hard hit
Therefore: support National Greenback Party (nom Peter Cooper-1876)
Dem and Rep favored deflation
Argument: gold/silver trustworthy
Strictly limited supply- business, bankers, creditors, politicians
Expand $ Supply-debtors
Debate-focused in single question-should greenbacks be retained/expanded or phased out
Panic of 1873-sharpened thisCrime of 73-STOP backing money with silver
Bland-Allison Act-back money with both silver and gold
Reform
Greenbacks seemed to threaten inflation
Strong sentiment for w/drawing them
Parties dont take sides
Specie Resumption Act(1875)-all greenbacks redeemable in gold after 1879
Sherman Silver Purchase Act-1890-required govt to buy silver monthly-4.5 million worth
Repealed by Cleveland
Currency Act of 1890-US officially on Gold Standard
BUT
*few politicians before 1890 considered monetary policy a devise for regulating the econ
Panic1893-Depression of 1893-1897
Collapse in r/r industry that spread. Speculative mania, agric stagnation.
Weakened middle class response
Laissez-faire
Agricultural Depression triggered an outburst of pol radical-Alliance
Spread from S into Midwest
Populists- 1892-farners combine w/ reps of K of L and various prof reformers to
Organize the Peoples Party
Omaha Platform:
1. graduated income tax
2. nationalization of rail, telegraph, telephone
3. subtreasury plan (It would have allowed farmers to store their-harvest at federal
warehouses during periods of low prices, and to obtain federal loans worth 80
percent of the crops' market value. The plan's intention was to enable farmers to
keep commodities off the market when prices were low, and support themselves
with loans until they rebounded) Macune's Sub-Treasury plan, based on years of
cooperative experience, was both visionary and intensely practical . It proposed
that the federal government establish a warehouse to store crops after harvest in

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every county that raised at least $500,000 of farm produce each year. These "subtreasuries" would become the instrument of money creation -- a way for farmers
to borrow against their crops and land at low interest or to sell those crops at
market value and be paid in a new national currency. Money supply would rise or
fall flexibly, in tandem with the nation's productive capacities. The cost of credit
would shrink as farmers borrowed through their own national government rather
than a restrictive private banking system. And agricultural prices would rise from
their crushingly depressed levels)
unlimited coinage of silver
initiative and referendum
pop election of US Senators
8 hr day
immigration restriction

Supporters
Ignatius Donnelly-very instrumental in helping to draw up Omaha Platform
Thomas Watson-campg leader, supported movement
Mary Lese-speaker who shared ideas w/ the party
James B Weaver-Pres Cand- 1892- +million PV, OEV
Congressional and State races-disappointment
Opponents in South played on racial fears
Failed to gain support of urban workers
Arguments-Gold Standard and Silver Advocates
Gold Standard
North and East; businessmen/bankers, Republicans
Traditional Ratio of 15:1 (undervalued silver)
Silver Advocaates/Silverites
West-farmers and debtors
Populists
Points
Comstok Lode-depressed the price of silver, profitable to coin
But-Coinage Act of 1873 had demonetized it
Silver mines and Inflationists wanted a return to bimetallism; consers resisted
Bland-Allison Act (1878)-auth purchase of 2-4 million/month at market price
Little inflation, govt bought min
Sherman Silver Purchase Act-Increasing supplies, silver prices dropped
Cleveland believed controversy over silver caused the depression.
So forced the repeal of S S Purchase
Currency Act of 1890-officially on gold standard
S and W wings of Dem party desert Cleveland
Then-Coxeys Army and Pullman Strike further erode public confidence in Cleve.

o
Tariffs

Public-outraged when it took a syndicate of bankers led my Morgan to avert a run

on the treasury

McKinley Tariff-1890 rates at all-time high

Wilson-Gorman Tariff-1894 (Cleveland pres)
Decreased rates a little
2% income tax on businesses and per incomes over $4,000 (40,000 today)
Pollock v Farmers/ Loan and Trust Co-1895-unconst
Dingley Tariff-1897-almost as high
Coxeys Army

Farmers and the Populist Movement

Oliver Hudson Kelly -1867: The Grange
Originally-farm families to discuss social and educational issues
1870s-fighting the railroads
Farmers AllianceEducate farmers-obtain lower interest rates, protest railroads
Populist, Peoples, Party-1892
Populism: political and economic control for ordinary people
Platform: reforms to help farmers, make govt more democratic
i.e. direct election of senators, secret ballot, recall, referendum
Strong in the West
Many thought too radical
Actually, Wizard of Oz isnt a fairy tale, its just a big political cartoon about the Populist
party which, at the time, wanted to switch from the gold standard to the silver standard.
Baums father was a big gold standard man, so Baum writes a story about a tornado
(political movement) which sweeps across Kansas (like a popular political ideal) and
carries this young girl off. She lands in a place where shes given silver slippers and
walks on a gold road (get it?). She meets a scarecrow (farmers) who has no brain, a tin
man (industrial men) with no heart and a fierce lion (3rd party members) who has no
backbone to back up his ferocious exterior. They travel to Emerald City (Washington)
because of the promises of the Wizard (Populist politician), who doesnt really give them
anything and then rides away on hot air! Dorothy returns to Kansas and is wiser for
appreciating what she has and not getting carried away by the tornado (Populist
movement). www.chrismclaren.com/.../
Panic of 1893-caused by railroad overbuilding and shaky financing which set off a series
of bank collapses
Continued into 1895
Election of 1896
Issue-should paper money be backed with both gold and silver?

Bimetallism-govt would give either gold or silver in exchange for paper currency
or checks
Gold Bugs-back money with gold only
Republicans-gold bugs
William McKinley
Mark Hanna-campg manager
Comstock Lode-Nevada, largest silver strike in history

Democrats and Populists-Bimetallists

Both nominated William Jennings Bryan

Democratic Convention-Cross of Gold speech

Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling
masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall
not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify
mankind upon a cross of gold.
McKinleys election-end of Populism
-beginning of modern campaigns

Populisms Legacies
Less powerful people and groups can have a political impact
Agenda of reforms would be enacted in the 20th century