Gilded Age Politics and Agrarian Revolt

30 Pages·2015·3.52 MB·English

by  Brandon Franke

Chapter 21
Lecture Outline
Gilded Age
Politics and
Agrarian Revolt
© 2013 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
19th Century Political Life
Paradoxical Politics
• Politics during the Gilded Age
– Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined the term
“Gilded Age” to depict the corruption and greed
– New York City’s William “Boss” Tweed of Tammany Hall
– Politics during this time period were deeply personal
Paradoxical Politics
• National Politics
– At the national level, politics still concentrated on post–Civil
War battle lines, with many viewing battles for supremacy
between the two parties a stalemate.
Paradoxical Politics
• Partisan Politics
– The power of patronage to appoint supporters to
governmental positions often resulted in incompetent and
corrupt individuals being named to important offices
• Political Stalemate
– Republicans: mainly Protestants of British descent (North)
– Democrats: often Southern whites, recent immigrants, and
Catholics.
– For sixty years from the start of the Civil War, Republicans
dominated the presidency, Dems winning only twice: Grover
Cleveland.
– Chief Executives were rarely considered strong, with one
exception: Theodore Roosevelt.
Paradoxical Politics
• State and Local
Initiatives
– the federal government
was not considered the
agency to look to for direct
support.
– State and local
governments were
considered more important
to daily life (taxing and
spending).
– These were first to curb
abuses of corporate
interests
Corruption and Reform: Hayes to Harrison
• Hayes and Civil Service Reform
– courts overturned most regulations that states tried to enact
on corporations
– When Rutherford B. Hayes became president, he tried to
reform Civil Service programs (government jobs) to abolish
the “spoils system” of patronage.
Corruption and Reform:
Hayes to Harrison
Corruption and Reform:
Hayes to Harrison
• The 1880 election
– James Garfield was Rep candidate and won the presidency.
– Garfield was assassinated only four months into office
– Chester A. Arthur, a Stalwart, now became president
– Pendleton Act - promoted merit over partisanship in
awarding government jobs.
Corruption and Reform:
Hayes to Harrison
• The Campaign of 1884
– James Blaine (R) vs Grover Cleveland (D)
• Cleveland and the Special Interests
– Believed the relationship between the federal government
and its people was one-way:
• the people supported the government, and the government did
not support the people