Chapter 23: Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age (1869-1896)

Ulysses S Grant

Ulysses S Grant

18th President of US whose presidency was marked by Reconstruction-era policies and rampant political corruption

• Civil War hero who helped secure Union victory

freedmen, KKK

Despite having a troubled presidency, Ulysses S. Grant had good intentions

• he promoted civil rights for ?

• curbed the activities of the ?

Panic of 1873

Ulysses S. Grant presided over the ? which caused economic instability in the country

Boss Tweed

A powerful and corrupt political figure who led New York City’s Tammany Hall in the 19th century

• catered to immigrant communities, particularly Irish, in exchange for political support

• Was exposed by Thomas Nast’s cartoons

Tweed Ring

An exploitive crime ring controlled by Boss Tweed that manipulated the municipal government to embezzle millions of dollars

political corruption

Boss Tweed symbolized the ? during the Gilded Age

• triggered public outcry

Tammany Hall

a political machine associated with the Democratic Party that Boss Tweed took advantage of to control local politics

Credit Mobilier Scandal

A scandal that uncovered a fraudulent construction enterprise that bribed congressmen and government officials with shares of stock to secure federal contracts

• tarnished the reputation of Vice President Schuyler Colfax

• discovered during the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad

greed, trust

Not only was Credit Mobilier a prime example of corporate ?, it undermined public ? in the government

Liberal Republicans

A political party that rose in opposition of the corruption of Ulysses S. Grant’s administration and the excesses of Reconstruction

• led by reform-minded people

• struggled to gain widespread support

Horace Greeley

The president of the Liberal Republicans

• a newspaper editor

South, military

The Liberal Republicans campaigned to reconcile with the ? and end ? occupation there

awareness

The Liberal Republicans raised ? about government corruption

Gilded Age

A period of rapid industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth in the US

• characterized by extreme wealth and widespread inequality

• got its name from Mark Twain

  • gold on the outside, corrupt underneath

corruption, monopolistic, reform

The Gilded Age was a time where political ? and ? corporations dominated

• this age highlighted the desperate need for ?

Compromise of 1877

A compromise that resolved the presidential election of 1876

• Rutherford B. Hayes gets to become president as a Republican while the Democrat Samuel Tilden loses

• Republicans promise to withdraw troops from the South

Rutherford B. Hayes

The candidate who got to become the 19th president after the Compromise of 1877

• The Compromise was just a deal, it had nothing to do with Congress

freedmen, Democrats, Jim Crow

The Compromise of 1877 left ? vulnerable and disenfranchised most of them

• Allowed Southern ? to regain control

• Solidified the power of ? Laws

Sharecropping

A system of agricultural labor that replaced slavery

• freedmen and poor white farmers rented land from wealthy landowners

• in exchange, the farmers must repay the landowners with their crops

debt, poverty, South’s

Sharecropping typically trapped farmers in cycles of crippling ? and immense ?

• became the cornerstone of the ? new exploitive economy

• disproportionately affected African Americans

Jim Crow Laws

State and local regulations enforcing racial segregation in the South following Reconstruction

• institutionalized discrimination against African Americans

federal

Jim Crow Laws represented the ? government’s reluctance to intervene with racial discrimination

Plessy v Ferguson

A supreme Court case that upheld segregation under the pretense that African Americans are “Separate, but Equal”

racism, 15th

Plessy v Ferguson legitimized system ? for decades and somehow managed to bypass the ? Amendment

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The first US federal law to explicitly ban immigration based on nationality

• targeted Chinse laborers

  • accused of undercutting wages

  • accused of taking jobs from white workers

Chinese, xenophobia

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 represented anti-? sentiment and a growing idea of ? in the US

James A Garfield

20th President of the US who served only a few months before his assassination in 1881

• strong stance against political corruption, particularly the Spoils System

Chester A Arthur

James A Garfield’s vice president who shortly became president after Garfield’s assassination

• despite his ties to the Spoils System, notably signed the Pendleton Act to end it

corruption, reform

James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur both represented an increasing fight against political ? and working towards ?

Pendleton Act

An act signed by Chester A. Arthur to establish the Civil Service Commission in order to oversee government appointments based purely on merit

ethical

The Pendleton Act reflected the public demand for ? governance and accountability

• helped reduce corruption

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th president of the US who was known for honesty and his commitment to a limited government

• opposed political corruption

• pushed for fiscal conservatism

• overshadowed by Panic of 1893

pension, reform

Grover Cleveland vetoed excessive ? bills and ? tariffs

integrity

Grover Cleveland is remembered for upright ? and resistance to political pressure

Thomas B Reed

Speaker of the House during the late 19th century

• revolutionized congressional procedures with strong leadership and the “Reed Rules”

  • limited obstructionist tactics

• made the 51st Congress known as the Billion-Dollar Congress

Billion-Dollar Congress

The 51st Congress that ran under Speaker of the House Thomas B. Reed

• known for

  • unprecedented spending

    • military pensions

    • infrastructure projects

  • efficiency

debt, industrialists

The Billion-Dollar Congress was criticized for increases the national ? and favoring wealthy ?

legislative, majority

Reed’s reforms helped modernize the ? processes and consolidated the power of the ? party in the House

• he got rid of “disappearing quoroms”

  • basically, if you were present at a meeting, you are required to vote

  • people in the minority party would sometimes not vote in order to screw over the overall decision to benefit themselves

Populists

A new party that emerged in the 1890s to address the grievances of farmers and laborers who felt neglected by the government

• advocated for free silver, government ownership of railroads, and direct election of senators

• also known as “People’s Party”

progressive, Democrats

The Populist party influenced ? reforms in the 20th century

• eventually merged with ? in 1896

Homestead Strike

Violent labor dispute between the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel Workers, and the Carnegie Steel Company

• workers protested wage cuts at the Homestead Plant

• Management led by Henry Clay Frick hired Pinkerton guards to break the strike

dead, organized

The Homestead Strike left several ? and was a major defeat for ? labor

corporate

The Homestead Strike highlighted the government’s siding with ? interests over labor rights