Chapter 20 Politics and Expansion in an Industrializing

Chapter 20 Politics and Expansion in an Industrializing Age 1877 -1900

Introduction • What were the issues and the political spoils that the Democrats and Republicans fought over? • What caused the rise of the grange, Farmers’ Alliances and the Populist Party? • What was at stake in the election of 1896 and what was the outcome? • Why did the United States go to war with Spain in 1898 and what was the result of the American victory?

Contested Political Visions • The Republicans and Democrats differed on tariffs and money supply • Both parties believed in limited government rights to regulate business or protection of worker’s welfare • Both parties were willing to subsidize corporate growth • State and local governments addressed the economic and social concerns of the people

Patterns of Party Strength • Main Democratic support came from the South, recent immigrants and Catholics • Republican support came from rural and small town New England, Pennsylvania and the upper Midwest. Most were native born and Protestant

The Hayes White House • The main accomplishment of Rutherford B. Hayes was restoring honesty to the White House and to overcome the scandals of the Grant Administration

Regulating the Money Supply • How much money should the government should issue and what should back it? • Bankers, Creditors, Businessmen, Economists and most Politicians believed in a tight money supply backed by the Gold Standard • Southern and Western Farmers riddled by debt wanted a softer money supply backed by the Gold and Silver Standard • They believed that a larger money supply would raise farm prices and make it easier for them to pay off debts. 1870 Greenback Party was formed to further the Gold and Silver Standard • Party did not last long but debate continued, 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act

The Spoils System • Initiated by Andrew Jackson • Carl Schurz and E. L. Godkin criticized the Spoils System and called for a Merit System of Civil Service

Civil Service Reform • James Garfield Assassinated by Charles Guiteau in 1881, second shortest serving President behind William Henry Harrison • Garfield supported Civil Service reform but Guiteau felt he was owed a job because of his support for Garfield. • Congress passed the Pendleton Act in 1883 • The Pendleton Act required Federal employees to pass a Civil Service Exam and did not allow Federal Employees to financially support political campaigns

1884: Grover Cleveland • 1884 - Republicans nominated James Blaine • Blaine seemed tainted by associated with the Grant Administration and his support for the Spoils System • Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland • Mugwumps (Republicans that supported the Pendleton Act) voted for Cleveland won him the Presidency

Tariffs and Pensions • President Cleveland believed in Lassiez-faire economics • He did try to lower tariffs to remove funds from the government that he thought were a temptation for corruption, decrease prices for consumers and slow the growth of trusts • Lower tariffs appealed to farmers in the West and the South but alarmed industrialists • Cleveland also angered Civil War veterans when he halted wholesale disability pensions

1888 Big Business Strikes Back • Tariff became a major issue in the election of 1888 • The Democrats nominated Cleveland again and the Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison • Industrialists contributed heavily to the Republicans • Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the electoral college • 1890 Harrison and the Republicans passed the highest tariff of all time, they also passed a generous pension for Civil War vets

The Grange Movement • Agricultural prices drop in the 1870’s • Oliver H. Kelley tries to help farmers organize cooperatives to market their crops and buy supplies. • Lobbied for farmers to regulate the railroads • States passed Granger laws which were opposed by railroads as unconstitutional • Wabash Case 1886 - States cannot regulate the railroads • Interstate Commerce Act created commission to oversee the practices of the railroads, did little to curb railroad abuses • Failures of the Granger laws led to a decrease in their popularity after the 1870’s

The Alliance Movement • Farmers felt their needs were not being met • With the failure of the Granger laws, farmers turned to alliances. • They joined the National, Southern and Colored Farmers Alliances. • Alliances called for tariff reduction, Graduated Income Tax, public ownership of the railroads, Silver standard, direct election of senators • 1892 Alliances formed the Populist party in Omaha Nebraska and nominated James Weaver for President

African-Americans after Reconstruction • Whites used intimidation and terror to deprive blacks the right to vote • After 1890 they used poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses • Segregation laws were passed in the South and lynching became more prominent • The Congress did nothing to protect black rights • Segregation was upheld by Plessey vs. Ferguson (1898) • Poll taxes and literacy tests were also upheld • Booker T. Washington- “Everybody’s money is green” • Frederick Douglass called upon blacks to demand full equality

1892: Populists Challenge the Status Quo • 1892 Grover Cleveland regains the Presidency from Benjamin Harrison • Populist James Weaver receives more than 1 Million votes

The Panic of 1893 • Nation suffers a financial panic • Partly caused by Land Speculation, agricultural surpluses and failure to repay banks

The Depression of 1893 -1897 • Banks and Businesses fail • 20 -25% of the labor force is unemployed • 1894 Jacob Coxey leads a march of unemployed in Washington, He was arrested and the March ended

Business Leaders Hunker Down • Cleveland believed in Lassiez-faire economics. • He appeared heartless when he ordered military intervention in Coxey’s March and the Pullman Strike • Angered farmers with repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in defense of the Gold Standard • Cleveland’s actions split the Democratic party which supported “Free Silver”

1894: Protest Grows Louder • 1894 midterm elections Congress goes Republican • Populists Party candidates rise 40% • Silver was looked upon as the economic savior by farmers • Critics felt it would cause inflation

Silver Advocates Capture the Democratic Party • 1896 Democratic Convention- Western and Southern delegates gain control • Platform included Populist ideas and Free Silver • Nominated William Jennings Bryan • Republicans nominated William Mc. Kinley who promised to maintain the Gold Standard and raise the tariff • Populists nominated Bryan as well but their own Vice president Tom Watson

1896 Republicans Triumph • Mc. Kinley was largely supported by Big Business • Republicans kept the majority in Congress and the Presidency • Republicans kept the Gold Standard and raised a protective tariff to the highest levels ever • Republicans won again in 1900 because the economy began a turn around • Populist Party disintegrated after 1896, but, the major political parties began to adopt progressive policies after the 1900’s

Roots of Expansionism • US follows the examples of Europe in Asia and Africa • Idea is overseas markets will maintain prosperity • Alfred T. Mahan- The Influence of Sea Power- advocates a 2 ocean Navy • Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge and John Hay see America as a great power and must continue to build and grow to maintain it’s position in the world • Josiah Strong advocates Christian Duty to spread Christianity and Civilization to inferior people groups • Social Darwinism

Pacific Expansion • Annexation of Hawaii • Queen Liliuokalani • Dole Pineapple

Crisis over Cuba • Cuba revolts against Spanish rule in 1895 • Spain tries to suppress the rebellion • William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer begin a Newspaper war for readership by sensationalizing the atrocities, Yellow Journalism • President Mc. Kinley sent the USS Maine to Havana Harbor to protect the lives and property of Americans living in the area. February 15, 1898 USS Maine explodes killing 266 crewmen • Yellow Journalism calls for retaliation and Mc. Kinley bows to pressure and asks for a declaration of war against Spain. Also, passed the Teller Amendment which stated that the US would allow Cuba to remain independent after hostilities

The Spanish-American War • • Fighting lasted less than 4 months Battle of San Juan Hill: July 1 st 1898 Spanish were driven out of Cuba by July of 1898 Admiral George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in August of 1898 • US occupied Cuba until 1902 in spite of the Teller Amendment • Platt Amendment recognized Cuba’s Independence in Domestic Relations, US controlled Foreign Relations

Critics of Empire • Carl Schurz, E. L. Godkin, William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain, Jane Addams found Anti-Imperialists League • Senate ratified treaty annexing the Philippines in 1900 and Mc. Kinley defeated Bryan again in 1900 election

Guerrilla War in the Philippines 1898 -1902 • Mc. Kinley was persuaded that the US should keep the Philippines to use as a way to penetrate Chinese and Japanese Markets • Filipino Rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo fought against the US. • US maintained control of Philippines until 1946