Chapter 19: Politics of the Gilded Age, 1877–1900

TIMELINE

1877	Munn v. Illinois decided
1883	Pendleton Act passed
1886	Wabash v. Illinois decided
1887	Interstate Commerce Commission established
1892	Populist Party formed
1893	Panic of 1893 begins
1894	Coxey’s Army marches to Washington, D.C.
1896	William Jennings Bryan runs for president on Democratic ticket with Populist support

IMPORTANT PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS, AND CONCEPTS

William Jennings Bryan

Granger movement

Panic of 1893

“waving the bloody shirt”

Coxey’s Army

Munn v. Illinois

Pendleton Act

“Cross of Gold” speech

Populist movement

spoils system

Granger laws

Mugwumps

Wabash decision

“You come and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon the broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in every city street in the country….”

—from the “Cross of Gold” speech by William Jennings Bryan, 1896

INTRODUCTION

Gilded Age politicians have not fared well in history books. The era was rampant with corruption, as politicians were tempted by the great wealth amassed by industrialists. Further, little real leadership came from the White House. The most potent political movement of the Gilded Age was the Populist movement—the agrarian uprising that William Jennings Bryan appealed to in the speech quoted above.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Political Parties

A two-party system, essentially still in effect today, developed during the Civil War period. Although the Democrats and the Republicans attracted roughly similar numbers of voters, the Republicans held onto the White House from Lincoln’s administration through Woodrow Wilson’s election in 1912, with the exception of Grover Cleveland’s two nonconsecutive terms. Republicans dominated most Northern states, while Democrats had strength in the Southern states and in industrial cities. While no major issue polarized the parties as slavery had in the past, there were still differences. Republicans tended to push for laws limiting what they saw as immoral behavior—notably, drinking. They also were in favor of restrictions on immigration. Democrats, with more support from immigrants and workers, tended to oppose laws limiting “immoral” behavior, or blue laws. Strong in the rural South, Democrats tended to hold traditional rural positions, such as favoring a low tariff and limiting the role of government. The cautious Republican candidates for the White House were more likely to “wave the bloody shirt”—to emphasize the Democrats’ role in supporting secession and plunging the nation into war—than to engage in heated ideological debate.

The Forgotten Presidents

The presidents of the Gilded Age—Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881), James A. Garfield (1881), Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885), Grover Cleveland (1885–1889 and 1893–1897), and Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)—are sometimes referred to as the “forgotten presidents.” Their individual accomplishments might not stand out, but a familiarity with the issues of the age and their context is important.

Politics, Big Business, and Corruption

Politics in the Gilded Age was largely dominated by big business. The government essentially professed a laissez-faire, or hands-off, approach to business. While it is true that government did not regulate business, it did aid it in several ways, such as with highprotective tariffs and subsidies to railroads. Several scandals involving government corruption epitomized the era.

The Spoils System

The spoils system—the practice of assigning civil service jobs to party loyalists—had been a contentious issue as far back as the Jackson administration. However, its prevalence during the Gilded Age aroused indignation. Many “good government” Republicans, who became known as “Mugwumps,” broke with their party in 1880 out of disgust with the spoils system and supported the Democratic candidate. Republican candidate Garfield won, but was assassinated four months after taking office by a party loyalist who felt he had been passed over for a position. Garfield’s assassination brought the issue of the spoils system to the fore; the Pendleton Act (1883) was passed to create a civil service based on merit rather than patronage.

Tariffs

As industry grew, protective tariffs became a contentious issue. Republicans generally supported higher tariffs to benefit American industry; Democrats generally supported consumer-friendly lower tariffs. Republican President Harrison, for instance, dramatically raised tariffs.

The Panic of 1893

During the Panic of 1893, thousands of businesses collapsed, banks closed their doors, and unemployment soared. The laissez-faire approach of Gilded Age government was evident in the lack of a response to the terrible depression following the Panic. Jacob Coxey organized a group, Coxey’s Army, to march to Washington, D.C., (1894) to protest President Cleveland’s seeming insensitivity.

UNREST AMONG FARMERS (1867–1896)

The Populist Party of the late 19th century posed one of the most formidable challenges to the two-party system. The origins of the movement, and of the Granger movement and the alliance movement that preceded it, can be traced to a series of difficulties farmers faced in the second half of the 19th century. These problems included the pricing practices of the railroads, debt, and deflation. The decline of the movement can be attributed to its inability to forge links with discontented workers in urban centers.

The Grange

The Grange, a farmer organization founded in 1867, organized opposition to railroad practices, banks, and grain wholesalers. Many western states passed Granger laws to regulate railroad rates. The Supreme Court upheld a state’s right to regulate railroad rates and, indeed, to regulate private industry in the case of Munn v. Illinois (1877). In the 1886 Wabash decision, however, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not set rates on commerce between states—a damaging decision to the Granger movement. The federal government set up the nation’s first independent regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, in 1887 with mixed results. It wasn’t until Theodore Roosevelt’s administration that the ICC had real teeth.

The Populist Party

In 1892, a more significant agrarian formation—the Populist Party—developed as the Grange declined in influence. Western farmers found themselves in an economic bind. Mechanization may have increased production, but this led to a decrease in the prices farmers received for their crops. At the same time, farmers went into debt buying expensive new farming equipment. In addition, a tight money supply in the United States caused deflation. While deflation benefited consumers, it was deadly for farmers. First, lowered prices meant farmers got less money for their crops. As a result, it was more difficult for farmers to pay off their debts to creditors. The strong dollar made it seem like farmers were paying back more than they had borrowed (leaving interest aside).

The platform of the Populist Party, therefore, included a call to increase the money supply. The gold standard, in which the amount of money in circulation is tied to the amount of gold in the treasury, was seen as the enemy. The Greenback Party had advocated simply printing paper money backed by nothing. The Populist platform called for backing money with silver as well as gold; hence the party nicknames “Bimetallists” and “Free Silverites.” In addition, the platform called for a graduated income tax, direct election of senators, an eight-hour day, restrictions on immigration, and secret ballots (all of which were eventually adopted). It also called for nationalizing banks, railroads, and telegraph lines (none of which were adopted). Frustration among workers and farmers mounted during the depression that resulted from the Panic of 1893, but the Populist program did not gain the support of most workers. In 1896, the Populists and the Democratic Party jointly nominated William Jennings Bryan for president. He attacked the gold standard in his “Cross of Gold” speech. Bryan’s loss in the election signaled the end of the Populist challenge.

SUMMARY

The intense labor battles and the agrarian unrest of the Gilded Age shed light on tensions that existed within American society. Organized labor failed to make substantial gains. In fact, unions would not enjoy a larger degree of success until the Wagner Act was passed, ensuring laborers’ right to organize. The farmer alliances of the 19th century were short-lived. The Populists were not able to become a viable third party or forge significant links with urban workers. Though its influence waned as power shifted from the farm to the city, many Populist initiatives were taken up by the Progressive movement and eventually adopted.

•  Bimetallists: Grangers, Populists, and agrarian activists of the late 19th century who advocated basing money on silver as well as gold (See Free Silverites.)

•  Blue laws: Laws enacted in many states based on religious bans of personal behavior deemed immoral; for example, laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol on Sundays

•  Free Silverites: Populists and “Silver Democrats” who in the 1890s argued in favor of an immense increase in silver coinage as a way of stimulating a faltering economy (See Bimetallists.)

•  Laissez-faire: Government policy of noninterference in business practices and in individuals’ economic affairs; literally translated as “to let do”

•  Protective tariff: A high tax placed on imports with the purpose of making domestic goods cheaper than foreign goods, thus “protecting” domestic industry

•  Two-party system: This is a political system dominated by two parties. Voters’ reluctance to support third parties reinforces the two-party system. The first two-party system, dating back to the 1790s, included the Federalist and Republican Parties. The current two-party system of Democrats and Republicans dates from the Civil War.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.   The term spoilsmen is most appropriately applied to

(A)    politicians who supported civil service reform.

(B)    miners who destroyed important natural areas.

(C)    generals who profited off of America’s victory in the Spanish-American War.

(D)    urban “bosses” who received kickbacks from contracts between the government and private firms.

(E)    party loyalists who expected jobs in exchange for their political work.

2.   Coxey’s Army was

(A)    a disgruntled band of poor farmers and indentured servants in colonial Virginia.

(B)    a group of farmers who protested the excise tax on whiskey during Washington’s administration.

(C)    an African American regiment that fought in the Civil War.

(D)    an agrarian protest movement against the government’s inaction in the wake of the Panic of 1893.

(E)    World War I veterans who marched to Washington, D.C., during the Depression to demand their bonus payments.

3.   A major source of farmers’ problems in the late 19th century was

(A)    the inability to attain new, mechanized farm equipment.

(B)    a declining urban market for their goods.

(C)    inflation due to an increase in the money supply.

(D)    the unwillingness of the next generation to stay in farming.

(E)    overproduction and lowered prices on their crops.

4.   Granger laws, passed in several states in the 1870s and 1880s,

(A)    outlawed the sale and consumption of alcohol on a county-by-county basis.

(B)    increased the supply of money.

(C)    established homesteading on the Great Plains.

(D)    regulated the rates railroads could charge farmers.

(E)    reformed electoral practices.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

1.    E

The term is derived from the war adage “to the victor goes the spoils.” The implication is that the winner of an election is entitled to appoint loyal people to government positions. The spoilsmen were the benefactors of this system. Spoilsmen did not want to see the spoils system ended through civil service reform. There is no common term used to describe miners who cause ecological damage, nor is there evidence of substantial war profiteering following the Spanish-American War. Urban “bosses” and their kickbacks refers to some of the corrupt political machines that ran cities during the Gilded Age, such as Tammany Hall in New York run by “Boss” Tweed.

2.    D

Coxey’s army, led by Jacob Coxey, marched on Washington to protest Cleveland’s laissez-faire approach to the depression following the Panic of 1893. Most of the other choices refer to other protests in American history. Choice (A) describes Bacon’s Rebellion, choice (B) describes the Whiskey Rebellion, and choice (E) describes the Bonus March. The most famous African American regiment in the Civil War was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.

3.    E

Ironically, mechanization and the increased yields of American farms in the late 19th century proved to be problematic, as prices fell and farmers were unable to repay the loans they had taken out to buy the new equipment. Farmers often want inflation so that they can more easily pay off loans for farm equipment and land. Farmers were generally able to obtain loans for new farm equipment. The urban market was not on the decline; cities were growing rapidly in the late 19th century. The problem of the next generation’s unwillingness to stay in farming has been more pronounced during the 20th century, as many former farming towns have become virtual ghost towns.

4.    D

The Grange was a farmers’ organization that was very concerned with railroad abuses. Granger Laws were early attempts to move away from a laissez-faire approach to the economy. “Dry laws,” or “blue laws,” pertained to the outlawing of the consumption of alcohol. The Grangers did want an increase in the money supply, but that is not what Granger laws refer to. Great Plains Homesteading is a reference to the Homestead Act of 1862. Reformed electoral practices could refer to a whole host of measures pushed by the Populists and later by the Progressives.