AP U.S. History Politics of the Gilded Age

Welcome back to www.educator.com.0000

This lesson focuses on politics of the Gilded Age.0002

In this lesson, we are going to continue talking about the Gilded Age as an era of corruption, and also as an era of forgettable presidents.0007

In many ways, we are going to see that the two political parties during this time are not that much different from one another.0019

They do not have a lot of vision, either party.0026

And in fact, there is a lot of bickering back and forth, there is a lot of mudslinging.0032

And ultimately, we see that that politicians of the time and the presidents of the time lacked leadership,0038

and ultimately ignore a lot of problems that ordinary Americans were facing during this time period.0045

This will create a power vacuum and will eventually lead to grassroots movements like the populist movement,0053

and eventually, the progressive movement as well.0060

As most politicians during the Gilded Age continue to advocate for limited government, laissez-faire, capitalism0064

and self reliance that the government should not intervene.0074

They embrace the idea of social Darwinism.0077

Therefore, they are not helping the people who were struggling, they were not helping minorities, this type of thing.0079

The idea that the government would help, that was not even part of the picture at all, at this point in history.0085

The campaign tactics were pretty despicable during this time period.0094

There is no other way of putting it.0100

This was actually considered a low point in U.S. history and U.S. political history in particular.0102

The big issues of the age were civil service reform.0109

As increasingly we are seeing that the spoils system, the patronage system, is becoming a huge corrupt problem in government.0113

And people are demanding change, they want to clean up government and make it work effectively, efficiently, in a just way.0124

The other issue that is going to be somewhat controversial is the money question.0133

And of course, the populists are going to be instrumental in getting that conversation started.0138

We will talk about women in politics, as increasingly more women will get involved in various political issues, especially temperance.0145

We will also talk about suffrage, eventually.0155

And then, we will finish out the lesson with talking about significance of the election of 1896.0157

Let us get into it.0167

As I was saying, that the laissez-faire approach of the Gilded Age governments will ultimately result in a do-little government.0169

They do not do a lot, they do not take a lot of action.0179

This is going to cause resentment that will continue to build throughout the later 19th century.0182

Both of Republicans and Democrats avoid taking strong positions on issues.0190

They will bicker about the tariffs, civil service reform.0196

But they do not take bold action, they do not have a clear vision.0200

A lot is not going to get done.0207

Therefore, we do not remember a lot of these presidents.0209

There were some close elections during this age between 1876 and 1892.0212

You may remember this, when Hayes was elected.0220

And in fact, that ended up only happening because of a backroom decision in Congress.0224

And ultimately, they compromise, they allow the Republican to come in and0232

they say that they will institute home rule and that ended Reconstruction.0237

Then, we will also talk about the significance of the 1892 election as well, that ultimately, people are pretty divided.0242

And they do not have a strong feeling one way or the other, Democrat or Republican.0250

And of course, the Populist Party is becoming an important voice in the political discussion.0255

But they still do not have enough of the following to win in the elections in the 1890’s.0261

Campaigning grew immensely and voter turnout was high.0271

This could possibly be viewed as a positive aspect, especially the voter turnout.0275

Despite this being a low point in U.S. political history.0281

Campaigning was on the rise but we will see in some instances that the campaigning gets dirty.0286

And a lot of the candidates will use low brow tactics where they dig up dirt on their opponents0292

and they try to expose scandals or secrets in their personal lives to try to embarrass and smear their reputation.0304

Most people, even today, would say that that is one thing that turns them off with politics,0316

turns them off against politics where they do not just want to participate.0321

That the idea that all politicians are corrupt, they do not care, I do not have a voice, and so forth.0326

This is a time period when it is kind of interesting because people are getting more involved, they are paying attention,0333

they are getting pulled into the debate.0339

Yet, we are not seeing high quality civil servants at this time.0342

Party patronage was a huge theme and party identity was extremely important.0348

This will also become popularized by Republican Senator Roscoe Conklin who was from New York.0354

He was the leader of the stalwart faction.0364

The stalwarts tended to favor Hayes and his very kind of laid back approach to dealing with the spoils system.0371

The stalwarts are conservative Republicans who will ultimately oppose civil service exams.0386

And that is going to become a contentious issue, that in many ways, will divide the Republican Party into a couple different factions.0392

I will get more into that later.0402

Republicans were known for waving the bloody shirt and for supporting business, protectionism, temperance, or prohibition.0405

And they tended to have support from Protestant Americans.0412

Democrats were definitely polled in big cities.0418

Political machines, we are also going to see many ethnic groups like the Irish, the Germans,0425

they tended to be against temperance or prohibition.0429

We will see this ethnocultural divide as well, in terms of party identification.0434

And then again, this is an important theme to keep in mind that the Gilded Age was plagued by corruption.0440

Who were these forgettable Presidents of the Gilded Age?0450

The first one, Rutherford B. Hayes.0454

He is known for being the first President after Reconstruction.0456

He helps to end Reconstruction.0465

In many ways, this is going to be the first President of a newly redefined, refashioned Republican Party .0467

That is where I’m trying to get at.0474

The presidency was ultimately decided by one vote.0476

Troops were withdrawn from the south and that put an end to Reconstruction.0479

During his presidency, it was an era of immigration, we have talked about in the last lesson, industrialization and the rise of labor unions.0484

He tried to run an honest administration but was not very successful in terms of getting Congressional support for legislation.0495

He was not very well liked and in many ways, we are going to see a divided Congress during his administration.0503

He was not able to get a lot done.0509

Then, James Garfield became President but as you could see, he was not in office for very long, as he was assassinated.0511

He was shot by a man whom he denied a job.0520

This practice of patronage of the spoils system that had been instituted0524

all the way back to Jacksonian times had evolved and become a very corrupt system.0529

People are very supportive of civil service reform or adamantly against it.0538

In this case, we could see Guiteau is extremely against.0545

He went to extremes to express his point of view.0551

Patronage again, still part of how he appointed government employees despite Congressional demands for good civil service laws.0557

There is a move toward instituting civil service that only qualified people should be in positions of power and get the job,0565

not because you know someone, not through your connections, not for doing political favors.0574

We will see that Garfield was actually open to civil service reform but that also made him enemies.0579

This is going to highlight that this is a problem.0587

This whole civil service issue that government, Federal government, in particular, needs to face it head on.0591

This is a cartoon depicting Roscoe Conklin trying to solve the great presidential puzzle0600

and deduce who would be the Republican's best candidate in 1880.0605

Conklin was very influential, very much involved in the stalwart faction.0610

He hoped to see Ulysses Grant nominated for third term.0618

He was always a very good friend of his and worked hard in his campaign.0622

But many Republicans including James A. Garfield opposed a third term.0627

Here you can see how he was very influential, in terms of bringing people in0633

and having a lot of influence over the political system at the time.0640

Chester Arthur who was President from 1881 to 1885.0647

When he became President, the murder of Garfield affected him deeply.0655

He realized that as President, that his duty was to all the people not just to one party.0658

He worked to carry on Garfield's work and ask for a new civil service law.0664

Huge backlash from the stalwarts but we will see that eventually they do pass the Pendleton Act.0669

This will effectively put into place civil service reform.0676

This is when we are going to apply for certain jobs, people have to take a civil service exam.0683

That they are qualified to have a position in government.0688

This is a step in the right direction for progressive minded people.0694

For people who believe in civil service and it should not be who you know but what you know that gets you the job.0697

During his second term, he did interfere with the railroad state strike because of the mail service.0705

We talked about that before with the American Railway Union, that was crushed by the Federal troops that were sent it.0710

Grover Cleveland was another key President during the time.0720

He is the only President to have served two un-consecutive terms.0726

He was known as Grover the good, he worked to improve the Civil Service System,0731

kind of build upon these civil service laws that had been put in place.0738

He forced the railroads to return 81,000,000 acres of government land that they had taken illegally.0743

He is a bit different than the other Gilded Age Presidents in that regard,0750

that he starts to change policy regarding these robber barons, if you will.0755

He did have to deal the tariff issue and in the election of 1888, Cleveland and the Democrats stood for low tariff.0764

The election was close and eventually Harrison won the electoral vote, although Cleveland won the popular votes.0771

As you will see, he is not President between these years.0778

During his second term, he will interfere with the railroad service as well.0783

I have another image here for you, another President who had a rise in the world, from the towpath to the White House.0791

This is a page of a Puck magazine with a cartoon showing Chester Arthur kicked out of the New York customs house0800

by a man holding paper charges in front of a sign pointing to Washington.0806

This is just supposed to point out the issues with the political machines,0813

how much they had been affected by corruption and that the President even is not having too much luck.0823

The politics of the status quo.0839

One of the main goals during the Gilded Age for the Presidents was to dispense political patronage after Garfield and reform the spoils system.0841

Again, the law that I was talking about here, some actual description of it.0850

Pendleton Act was passed, we have a civil service commission being instituted0855

that would ensure that government jobs were given to qualified people.0861

This sounds all fine and dandy, but in reality we are going to see that, the day to day,0866

that ultimately most jobs continued to be given based on patronage.0874

This is going to continue to, people have to keep fighting for and enforcing this law.0881

One of the other most contentious issues is what to do with the excise tax and tariff.0887

This became a major fighting point between Democrats and Republicans.0892

What will help the economy, having a tariff and a protectionist policy or not?0896

How do we get revenue and so forth, how can we trade effectively and build our capitalist system.0901

Democrats favored states’ rights and Republicans historically supported government intervention until early after Reconstruction.0909

This is a time period where we see very laissez-faire approach with both parties.0918

There are some minor differences, but for the most part, they did not have different agendas.0924

I want to talk a little bit about cultural politics and the people.0931

We are going to see an ethnocultural differences.0935

We do see, before I get into that actually, more and more people are voting.0939

Proportionally, there is an increasing voter turnout for President during the elections of 1876-1892, and politics became a form of entertainment.0945

Although, party loyalty was a serious matter and people chose their parties based on their background,0955

and some of the issues that they are connected to.0962

There were sectional differences, in the south for instance, they voted solidly Democratic.0967

Religion and ethnicity also affected party loyalty.0974

Democrats tended to be foreign born and Catholic.0979

Republicans tend to be native born and Protestant.0982

There were other issues, education, the liquor question, and the observance of the Sabbath.0985

These were also party issues.0992

For instance, the Irish and the German immigrant groups tended to be against prohibition,0994

whereas Protestant groups that were very much involved in the temperance movement supported republicans.1001

One thing that also cause problems in politics was that1011

there was a lot of division and factionalization even within, especially, the Republican Party.1015

The Democrats were pretty much dominated by southern ideology, states’ rights.1022

But the Republican factions were, I think much more severe.1029

The two major factions that I would like focus on here, the stalwarts, I mentioned these before.1035

They are conservative Republicans who opposed civil service exams.1041

They grew out of Roscoe Conklin's faction.1045

As a Congressmen, he considered himself person.1050

He had a very high view of himself.1055

He criticized lenient policies of the Hayes administration.1058

The half breeds were moderate Republicans who backed Hayes and moderate civil service reform.1062

These grow out of James G. Blaine’s faction that dealt with Chester Arthur’s administration after Garfield’s death.1068

The usage of these terms, however, ended.1077

These terms were used in the early part of the Gilded Age but these divisions are going to have a long-term impact.1082

This is a shocking cartoon.1097

This is to help illustrate that smear campaigns were part of the Gilded Age politics.1104

And this tension between Senator Blaine and Roscoe Conklin was pretty harsh and pretty messy, you could say.1111

They had this huge rivalry and it got ugly, as these two factions are going to be battling it out in the voting booths,1123

and certainly during campaigns.1134

We are going to see in fact, when Cleveland was running for office, that Blaine is going to actually be targeted.1139

We are also going to see that, in this picture, this is James Blaine.1151

And in fact, there was a famous saying and this ties into what happened in 1884,1161

there were supporters of the Republican Party candidate James Blaine,1168

who coined the jingle that alluded to an illegitimate child that his opponent Grover Cleveland had allegedly fathered.1172

And that slogan went, mama, where is my pa? Going to the White House, haha.1177

Cleveland responded and this ties into this picture here.1186

Blaine, Blaine, James D. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine.1190

Blaine actually had been associated with the Credit Mobiler scandal.1197

If you remember from the Grant administration.1202

This again was kind of exposing that he is full of scandals.1205

He is tattooed with scandals underneath his clothing.1210

This is kind of messy.1214

I’m going to show you the cartoon that goes with the Cleveland.1217

The other saying regarding Cleveland, in a minute.1223

I also would like to talk about the mugwumps, here is another group of Republicans, former Republicans.1228

Mugwumps were pompous, self important people, that is where the name comes,1234

who left the Republican Party who were reformers.1239

In many ways, they did not like the factionalization that was happening, understandably so.1242

They supported Democrat Grover Cleveland.1247

Remember, he was known as Grover the good, the reformist Governor of New York.1251

And ultimately, they are going to help give him the numbers, helping him to win the margin New York.1256

They denied the machine system legitimacy and injected an elitist bias into political opinion.1264

Mugwumps, they are fence sitters who could not make up their minds.1272

Goody goody is also associated with this word.1276

I have some visuals to go along with this.1281

The idea is that you have one cheek on one side and one on the other.1283

Northern states, just to also tie into this elitist bias.1290

Northern states began to impose literacy test.1295

Northern states also began to impose literacy test to limit voting rights of immigrants,1301

and the adoption of the secret ballot in the early 1890’s abetted the mugwump’s campaign.1306

Here we have some cartoons regarding the mugwumps, as well as the famous cartoon that relates to the mama where is my pa?1317

Gone to the White House, ha ha ha.1328

That was supposed to smear Cleveland's reputation as having this illegitimate child.1330

This is another one, this grim back-page Judge cartoon depicts a harsh end for four leading independent Republicans, the mugwumps,1343

who were guilty of the crime of supporting Democratic Presidential nominee Grover Cleveland.1352

Their hands on the rope indicate that they have committed suicide, rather than been lynched.1358

The victims are, from left to right, the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, former Interior Secretary Carl Schurz,1365

New York Times editor George Jones, and Harper's Weekly editor George William Curtis, in a girdle with attached fan,1373

which of course is supposed to smear them and be very critical of their position.1383

Here is the great American mugwump.1389

Sits on a fence with this mug on one side and the wump on the other.1392

A little bit more on Grover Cleveland.1401

He was the first Democrat to be President since the end of the Civil War.1404

One of the questions to think about was that was he really consistent with the Democratic party regarding laissez-faire.1408

Was he a friend or a foe of the railroads, the railroad workers.1416

He actually vetoed pensions for Civil War veterans, that does not make him very popular.1419

He was against the high tariff, when he faced an economic depression,1426

he dealt with the treasury crisis by repealing the mildly inflationary Sherman Silver Purchase Act,1430

and with the aid of Wall Street maintained the treasury's gold reserve rather than with business failures.1441

Farm mortgage foreclosures and unemployment.1447

This you can see is going to infuriate the farmers and motivate them to get involved in the populist movement, to make that connection.1450

This act did not do enough to help the farmers.1459

He is going to be criticized for his policies as well.1466

Speaking of the money issue, there is going to be a huge debate during this era and how fast the money supply should grow.1471

Those who wanted an increase in circulation vs. sound money people who wanted the opposite.1478

This is pretty important, kind of the soft money vs. the hard money.1484

Due do to the U.S. Banking Act of 1863, there was a decrease in freewheeling activity of state chartered banks issuing bank notes to borrow funds.1490

By 1875, the circulation of greenbacks came to an end and the U.S. entered an era of chronic deflation and tight credit.1498

This is going to have a destabilizing effect ultimately on the economy.1510

Silver prices plummeted. There were modest victories one with the Bland-Allison act of 1878 that require the U.S. Treasury1515

to purchase in coin between two and four million dollars of silver each month, that would make the pro silver faction happy.1524

The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, it says even more was to be purchased but many believed that this did not go far enough.1534

Then we are going to see that the populist mayor from Ohio known as Jacob Coxey,1547

organized an industrial army to protest the Federal government's inaction in the face of the economic crisis.1553

He ends up gathering a bunch of people forming this army and ends up promoting his program.1560

He proposed many programs that would later win acceptance during the New Deal.1569

He was very much a visionary, you could say, progressive minded.1575

Although, we would not see immediate results, his ideas will have a long-term impact.1581

But at this point in time, considered too radical.1588

He advocated for the creation of government jobs.1590

This is going to happen after the Great Depression, when there is a huge vacuum1595

and people are unemployed and people are desperate.1600

Anyway, he advocates for the creation of jobs, hire unemployed men1605

to improve the nation's roads and build public works while also supporting their families.1608

The project he argued can be financed through the issue of government bonds.1614

In 1894, he led a group of unemployed workers that become known as the Coxey’s army to Washington1620

and they demand that the government assist the unemployed.1626

He is using his First Amendment right.1632

He was jailed for trespassing, when he tried to read a speech but he went on to found the newspaper Sound Money.1637

He is a great example of a progressive populist voice who is trying to persuade the government1644

to not be a do-little government but to do a lot, or to do something, to take action.1653

To have a positive effect and take measures to turn things around economically for the people.1660

Women in politics, as you know, more women were participating in the populist movement.1671

And in other areas of the U.S. society, we are going to see women getting more and more engaged in political issues.1678

Now we know there was a long history of keeping women out of party politics in the private sphere,1686

but we are going to see continued activity.1692

And I would say women are contesting those boundaries.1699

The women's suffrage movement which we will get into a little bit later but it is still around, it is growing but it met fierce opposition,1702

yet suffragettes will reunite in 1890 in the National American Women Suffrage Association.1711

They are still working, they are still advocating, they are still planning their approach.1722

Even though there is kind of divisive issue that will cause problems1727

whereas some feminists will advocate for a state by state approach to have suffrage passed,1733

whereas others will push for a Federal amendment.1741

At this point in time, however, we are going to see that the new goal,1748

that is what kind of held back the suffrage movement for many years.1752

The new goals are state campaigns instead of a constitutional amendment.1756

Later on, we will see that the idea of pushing for amendment, that is what is eventually going to happen.1761

It should be noted that in some states, they have the vote for women much earlier like in Wyoming,1766

this one that comes to the top of my head right now.1774

I forgot the exact year.1776

The doctor of separate spheres did open a channel for women to enter public life for a higher and more spiritual realm.1779

Women did become involved in ending prostitution, helping the poor, agitating for prison reform, and improving education for females.1786

In many ways, if you think back to, all the way back to the Second Great Awakening1797

and during all the different reform movements that grew out of that, the transcendentalist movement1802

and the reform movements like what Dorothea Dix was doing, for instance, with prison reform and the asylum movement,1808

and education reform, and so forth.1816

Christians kind of looking to take those ideas that they learned in the Bible and they learned in church,1819

and put them into practice.1825

We will see a resurgence of that, in many ways, one of the same ideas.1828

The Women's Christian Temperance Union became very active, it was formed in 1874.1834

Later under the leader Frances Willard, the WCTU adopted a do everything policy.1842

We will see that temperance and women's rights are going to be intertwined.1850

This group will link all women's concerns with women's political participation.1855

Francis Willard who was a suffragist, but not a supporter of Susan B. Anthony, had a different approach,1860

to offer home protection and only prayerful persistent please, for the opportunity of duties as wives and mothers.1867

That kind of approach but the majority of the group was looking for more participation.1875

But this particular leader not as supportive of the vote, I guess you could say, Susan B. Anthony.1884

She fought against liquor and then after being the national president of the WCTU,1892

she was the president of Evanston College for Ladies when it folded into Northwestern.1897

She is the first dean of women there.1903

She is going to have a huge influence and be an important role model for other women to get involved in the political sphere.1907

There is another interesting prohibitionist, activist, temperance activist, Carrie Nation, who came from Kansas.1915

You should read the biography of her.1925

She had a very tragic life and saw the negative effects of alcoholism in her own family.1927

She took matters into her own hands, ended up travelling throughout the Midwest and would smash, she go into saloons and smash them up.1935

This started to take on the life of its own, she developed this reputation being this crazy woman.1946

This is a picture over here, Bible in one hand, she was definitely very much inspired by religious ideas, and a hatchet in the other.1960

Carrie Nation, she was a character and she was pretty outspoken against alcohol.1969

Here is Frances Willard that we are talking about, the leader of the WCTU.1980

Here is a picture of women who were against alcohol abuse.1985

Lips that touch liquor shall not touch ours.1992

Women speaking out and getting more and more involved.1996

This, in many ways, will lead to their involvement in other reforms, especially suffrage movement.2001

The last topic of this lesson is the election of 1896.2010

Because of the economic problems in the 1890’s, we are going to see that the party that was in power,2020

the Democrats, were blamed for the economic crisis.2028

They will definitely blame Cleveland.2032

This happens throughout U.S. history, when there are tough times economically, usually,2034

the voting public will blame the President in-charge and the party that is affiliated with the President.2041

Many believed that Cleveland did a poor job of dealing with the crisis, by putting down demonstrators in strikes.2049

He was not really for the people.2056

That he did not live up to his reputation as a tariff reformer.2057

Allowing the Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 which did not make any changes significantly.2061

He also pushed Congress to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and abandoned a silver based currency.2069

Cleveland, instead, turned to JP Morgan in 1895, to arrange the gold purchases needed to replenish the treasury's depleted reserves.2077

This enraged the Democrats.2089

He affiliate himself with big business and the banking corporation that is of JP Morgan.2095

This is not going to go well for the Democrats.2106

Democrats repudiated Cleveland and they turn to William Jennings Bryan.2108

Do keep in mind that he was a populist and also a very religious man who advocated for a lot of moral causes, I should say.2114

The Democrats was paying attention to this grassroots movement.2126

And in many ways, grabbed onto it, capitalized on it, and realized that the wind was shifting, the tide was turning.2129

They saw the opportunity.2139

What we are going to start to see is the Democratic party is going to incorporate2144

a lot of the populist ideas and latch onto the Populist movement.2148

Brian will establish the Democrats as the party of free silver.2155

Remember, that the Populist were the ones who would originally advocated for free silver.2161

Populist accepted Bryan as their candidate and found themselves for all practical purposes absorbed into the Democratic silver campaign.2168

On one hand, this could be viewed as good for the Populist because one of the major parties is adopting their ideas.2178

However, we are going to see that this will eventually lead to the demise of the Populist Party.2186

It is indicative that third parties have a hard time challenging, they are unable to win against the two major parties.2193

But that is not to say that it could happen in the future, it is just our history thus far has indicated that.2207

By persuading the nation that they were the party of prosperity and many traditionally Democratic urban voters2217

that they were sympathetic to ethnic diversity, the Republicans turn both economic and cultural challenges to their advantage.2223

They are going to play the same game.2232

They are campaigning and they are trying to reach out to groups that2235

they traditionally do not reach out to, and they come back and win the election of 1896.2239

Remember that the Republicans were in power for a while, Cleveland is going to break that trend.2249

1896 set the stage as an arena for the national debate for the reform politics of the progressive era.2263

Bryan gives his famous speech known as the Cross of Gold speech and here is an excerpt.2270

Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests,2276

the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere.2281

We will answer their demand for our gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor,2284

this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a Cross of Gold.2290

Kind of this moralistic language uses the symbol to get his point across, to advocate for the laboring interests,2297

the toilers everywhere and to advocate for easy money supply and for bimetallism.2308

They are very much against the gold standard, that they see is this awful cross to bear.2322

Looking at comparison of the elections of 1892 and 1896.2330

Note, Cleveland’s breakthrough in the normally Republican states of the upper Midwest.2335

This is in here.2350

In the 1896 election, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction with McKinley's consolidation of Republican control over the northeast and Midwest.2352

This is kind of interesting, see how they shifted.2361

This was all Republican in 1896, whereas we see that this was kind of a mixture.2365

Quite a few Democrats here.2372

We are seeing a shift in politics and affiliation in the late 1890’s.2375

The 1896 election is extremely important and significant2383

because it marks the beginning of 40 years of Republican dominance in national politics.2387

Now we will see in the election of 1896 that William McKinley is going to win and defeat William Jennings Bryan,2394

although he was extremely popular.2403

And did give McKinley a run for his money.2408

We will pick up on McKinley next time.2412

Now we are going to actually move into the assessments.2415

This is from William McElroy who was a journalist from 'An Old Warhorse to a Young Politician',2418

published anonymously in the Atlantic monthly 1880.2427

My dear nephew, never allow yourself to lose sight of that fact that politics, and not poker, is our great American game.2434

If this could be beaten into the heads of some presumably well-meaning but glaringly impractical people,2444

we should hear least idiotic talk about reform in connection with politics.2449

Nobody ever dreams of organizing a reform movement in poker.2453

Mr. Lincoln, a very estimable and justly popular, but in some respects an impracticable man, formulated widely different error regard to politics.2458

He held that ours is a government of the people, by the people, for the people.2469

I maintain, on the contrary, that it is a government of politicians, by the politicians, for the politicians.2474

If your political career is to be a success, you must understand and respect this distinction with a difference.2483

Voters demand a patronage reform in politics after,2497

President Garfield was assassinated, the mugwumps sided with the opposing party,2502

the greenback party won mid-year elections in 1878, Grover Cleveland threatened Republican dominance.2507

The answer.2520

McElroy ‘s letter uses humor to make a point, which of the following best reflects his true criticism?2524

Americans pay too much attention to politics, elections were so close that for candidates it was similar to gambling,2530

Lincoln was admired more than he deserved to be, politics was primarily for holding office for personal gain.2537

The answer.2546

Last one, based on the excerpt, which of the following groups or pieces of legislation would most likely support?2551

Bland-Allison Act of 1878, Coxey’s army, Pendleton Act of 1881, The stalwarts.2558

The answer, this advocated for civil service reform.2567

Short answer, briefly explain how two of the following influenced political party identification and loyalty between 1865 and 1900?2576

Region or location, social class, ethnicity, religion.2586

I’m going to choose ethnicity and religion.2592

This one you can actually talk about south being solidly Democratic.2596

Social class would be pretty easy too.2601

I’m going to do ethnicity and religion.2603

Here we go, ethnicity.2605

Ethnicity played a huge role in party identification, as Irish immigrants tended to support political machines2607

that were dominated by the Democrats.2614

African-Americans remained loyal to the Republican Party.2616

Religion was an important part of making political decisions, as most Catholics tended to vote Democratic,2622

while most Protestants voted Republican.2635

Many Protestants became involved in the temperance or prohibition movement that was supported by Republican candidates during the Gilded Age.2638

Briefly explain one reason that voter turnout was very high during this era.2650

Politics was a form of entertainment and people were increasingly engaged in the process because of the importance of party identity.2656

Pretty simple.2666

You could also add to that that people chose their parties based on ethnocultural positions.2668

I think I actually probably leave that out for voter turnout.2686

I guess you could bring in, just say party identity increased more and more which pulled more people into the political process2694

that was based on ethnocultural issues.2701

I think you could tie that in as well, if you wanted to add another sentence.2705

But I do not think it was necessary.2710

I think you could answer that pretty concisely.2711

Our last section here and this is short answer.2715

With an excerpt from Eric Felner, historian from Columbia University.2722

Join and bolts traditional aspirations for economic autonomy and local self government,2729

in a sense that only the national state could curb the power of corporations and make American society a united brotherhood of free man.2734

Populists sought to rethink the meaning of freedom to meet the excigencies of the 1890’s.2742

Like the labor movement, Populists rejected the era’s laissez-faire orthodoxy.2750

Populists hardly envisioned the massive programs of state sponsored social provision of the progressive era2755

and the New Deal would come to be seen as the antidote to economic inequality.2762

Yes, a generation would pass before a major party offered so sweeping a plan for governmental action2770

on the behalf of economic freedom as the Omaha platform.2775

This is from Foner, The Story of American Freedom.2782

I read this book in college, it is a good book.2789

Using the excerpt, answer A and B.2795

Briefly explain Foner’s interpretation of the Populist movement.2799

Foner viewed the Populist movement as part and parcel toward regulating corporate power and corrupt politics.2805

And he believed that the Populist movement laid the groundwork for progressive reform during the progressive era and New Deal.2812

Second part, briefly explain two ways that the Omaha platform can support Foner's statement2823

that a generation would pass before a major party offered so sweeping a plan for governmental action.2829

The Omaha platform advocated for the direct election of senators,2838

a progressive income tax rate and regulations of transportation, communications, and banking.2842

There you go, he is making that connection between Populist ideas that will later have a huge influence on the progressive movement,2853

the New Deal, and even today, you can see some of these ideas are still being advocated by progressive groups.2864

With that, I like to conclude our lesson on the politics of the Gilded Age.2874

And thank you for watching www.educator.com.2880