Gilded Age Politics:

1
Gilded Age Politics it aint beanbag!
2
A Two-Party Stalemate
3
Two-Party Balance
Politics as spectator sport
Both parties roughly equal in strength
Elections focused on personalities and patronage,
not issues
4
Very Laissez Faire Federal Govt.

• From 1870-1900 ? Govt. did verylittle
  domestically.
• Main duties of the federal govt.
• Deliver the mail.
• Maintain a national military.
• Collect taxes tariffs.
• Conduct a foreign policy.
• Exception ? administer the annual Civil War
  veterans pension.

5
The Presidency as a Symbolic Office

• Party bosses ruled.
• Presidents should avoid offending anyfactions
  within theirown party.
• The President justdoled out federal jobs.
• 1865 ? 53,000 people worked for the federal
  govt.
• 1890 ? 166,000
  

Senator Roscoe Conkling
6
The Grant Administration

• Scandal-ridden seen as one of the most corrupt
  in history
• Use of the spoils system

7
The Grant Administration

• 1872 Credit Mobilier stock given to key
  members of Congress to avoid a bribery
  investigation vice-president Colfax and future
  president Garfield implicated

8
The Grant Administration

• 1876 the Whiskey Ring excise tax money
  embezzled by members of Grants administration,
  including personal secretary
• 1869- 1877 widespread theft/embezzlement of
  government funds i.e. Indian Affairs

9
Corruption in the Cities

• The rise of political machines organization
  that traded favors and services for votes
• Provided immigrants with basic services
  embezzled or stole millions of from state and
  local governments

Most notorious Tammany Hall of NYC
10
Boss Tweed

• William Marcy Boss Tweed ran Tammany Hall
  until 1872
• Convicted of embezzlement of govt.
• Impact of cartoons by Thomas Nast

11
1880 Presidential Election
12
1881 Garfield Assassinated!
Charles GuiteauI Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is
President now!
13
Chester A. ArthurThe Fox in the Chicken Coup?
14
Pendleton Act (1883)
Chester Arthur

• Civil Service Act.
• The Magna Carta of civil service reform.
• 1883 ? 14,000 out of117,000 federal govt.jobs
  became civilservice exam positions.
• 1900 ? 100,000 out of 200,000 civil service
  federal govt. jobs.

15
1884 Presidential Election
Grover Cleveland James Blaine
(DEM) (REP)
16
Republican Mugwumps

• Reform minded Republicans who supported Democrat
  Grover Cleveland and opposed Conkling and Blaine

Cleveland
James Blaine
17
A Dirty Campaign
Ma, Mawheres my pa?Hes going to the White
House, ha ha ha!
18
Rum, Romanism Rebellion!

• Led a delegation of ministers to Blaine inNYC.
• Reference to the Democratic Party.
• Blaine was slow torepudiate the remark.
• Narrow victory forCleveland he wins NYby only
  1149 votes!.

Dr. Samuel Burchard
19
1884 Presidential Election
20
Clevelands First Term

• The Veto Governor from New York.
• First Democratic elected since 1856.
• A public office is a public trust!
• His laissez-faire presidency
• Opposed bills to assist the poor as well as the
  rich.
• Vetoed over 200 special pension bills for Civil
  War veterans!

21
The Tariff Issue

• After the Civil War, Congress raisedtariffs to
  protect new US industries.
• Big business wanted to continue thisconsumers
  did not.
• 1885 ? tariffs earned the US 100 mil.in surplus!

22
1888 Presidential Election
23
Coming Out for Harrison