Politics in the Gilded Age City Bosses, Political Machines, and Populism

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Politics in the Gilded Age City Bosses,
Political Machines,and Populism
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Political Machines

• Political machines controlled the activities of
  political parties in the city. Ward bosses,
  precinct captains, and the city boss worked to
  ensure that their candidates were elected and
  that city government worked to their advantage.

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Role of the Political Boss

• The Boss (typically the mayor) controlled jobs,
  business licenses, and influenced the court
  system. Precinct captains and ward bosses, often
  1st or 2nd generation immigrants, helped new
  immigrants with jobs, housing, and naturalization
  in exchange for votes.

Boss Tweed ran NYC
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Municipal Graft and Scandal

• Some political bosses were corrupt and their
  political machines practiced election fraud by
  using fake names and voting multiple times to
  ensure victory. Bribes were common and
  construction contracts often resulted in
  kick-backs. Because the police were hired by the
  boss, there was no close scrutiny.

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The Tweed Ring Scandal

• William M. Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, was head
  of Tammany Hall, NYCs powerful Democratic
  political machine. Between 1869-1871, he led the
  Tweed Ring of corrupt politicians in defrauding
  the city. Convicted of 120 counts of fraud
  extortion, he was sentenced to 12 years in jail,
  but released after one. Rearrested, he escaped to
  Spain.

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Civil Service Replaces Patronage

• Nationally, some politicians pushed for reform in
  the hiring system, which had been based on
  Patronage (giving jobs and favors to those who
  helped a candidate get elected). Reformers pushed
  for adoption of a merit system (hiring the most
  qualified for jobs). The Pendleton Civil Service
  Act of 1883 authorized a bipartisan commission to
  make appointments for federal jobs based on
  performance.

Applicants for federal jobs are required to take
a Civil Service Exam
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The Plight of Farmers

• In the late 19th century, farmers struggled to
  survive. Between 1867 and 1887 the price of a
  bushel of wheat fell from two dollars to 68
  cents, railroads conspired to keep transportation
  costs artificially high, and farmers were caught
  in a cycle of debt.

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The Grange

• Farmers demanded help from state and federal
  governments. When this relief did not come,
  Midwestern farmers banded together in 1867 to
  form the Grange. By 1875, the Grange had more
  than 800,000 members.

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Education and Fellowship

• The Grange offered farmers education and
  fellowship through biweekly social functions, at
  which farmers shared their grievances and
  discussed agricultural and political reforms.

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Cooperative Action

• To increase farm profits, Grangers negotiated
  deals with machinery companies and set up
  cooperatives and grain storage facilities. They
  also fought against railroad companies for hiking
  prices for short-distance shipment. The efforts
  of the Grange played a big role in the passage of
  the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act.

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The Farmers Alliance

• By 1880, the Grange had faded and was replaced by
  the more political Farmers Alliance. Beginning
  as a local group in Texas in the late 1870s,
  alliances spread throughout the South and
  Northwest, and by 1890, boasted a membership of
  1.5 million nationwide.

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The Populist Party

• In 1892, Alliance members helped found the
  Populist Party, which drew support from urban
  laborers as well as farmers.

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Proposed Economic Reforms

• Populist economic reforms included
• An increase in the supply of money
• A rise in crop prices
• Lower taxes
• A federal loan program
• An 8-hour workday
• Reduced immigration

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Proposed Political Reforms

• Populist political reforms included
• Direct election of senators
• Single term presidencies

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Populists Made Small Gains

• In the 1892 Presidential election, the Populist
  party candidate won only 9 of the vote. However,
  in the West, the party elected five senators,
  three governors and 1,500 state legislators.

The smallest specimen yet (Populist party
candidates showing in the election)
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Note Democratic states are red and Republican
states are blue.
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Support for Populists Grew

• The Panic of 1893 gave the Populist Party new
  life. Railroads went bankrupt, the stock market
  lost value, 15,000 businesses and 500 banks
  collapsed. Three million people lost their jobs
  putting unemployment at 20.

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The Election of 1896

• The 1896 presidential election, which pitted
  Republican William McKinley against Democrat
  William Jennings Bryan, was a crucial turning
  point in U.S. history. Many contemporaries
  considered it the most important political event
  since Abraham Lincolns election in 1860.

1896
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Silver or Gold?

• The central issue of the campaign was which metal
  to use as the basis for the nations monetary
  system bimetallism (gold and silver) or gold
  alone. The Republicans preferred gold and the
  Democrats favored free silver (bimetallism at a
  ratio of 16 units of silver to one of gold).

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Bryans Cross of Gold Speech

• The Democrats hoped that free silver would
  increase the supply of money and provide more
  credit to farmers and workers. But despite
  Bryans stirring words, You shall not crucify
  mankind upon a cross of gold, McKinley won the
  1896 election.

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Republican Dominance

• Because the Populists had joined the Democrats in
  supporting William Jennings Bryan, they lost
  their ability to bring about constructive change.
  McKinleys victory established Republican
  dominance in Washington for over a decade.

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An Environment for Jim Crow

• Bryans defeat was a loss for the West and the
  South, but the realignment of 1896 helped create
  favorable conditions for Jim Crow segregation and
  the disfranchisement of black voters in the
  South.

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The End of Populism

• With McKinleys victory, Populism collapsed,
  burying the hopes of the farmer for a better
  life. The Populist Party was short-lived but left
  an important legacy
• A message that the downtrodden can organize and
  be heard
• An agenda of reforms that would be enacted in the
  20th century.