Transcript Gilded Age Politics

Gilded Age Politics
•After the Civil War
•Democrats vs. Republicans
• Partisan Politics
• Local Governments
•Economy
• Tariffs
• Money Supply
• Gold vs. Silver
• Inflation vs. Deflation
Paradoxical Politics
William “Boss” Tweed
Tweed is represented here as
having a moneybag face and a
$15,500 diamond stickpin.
Political Machines
The political scene in crowded
cities were controlled by small
groups of powerful political
insiders who influenced elections
and government.
“The Bosses of the Senate”
This 1889 cartoon bitingly portrays the period’s
corrupt alliance between big business and politics.
“Another Voice for Cleveland”
This 1884 cartoon attacks “Grover the Good” for
fathering an illegitimate child.
“King of the World”
Reformers targeted the growing power of
monopolies, such as that of John D. Rockefeller’s
Standard Oil.
“I Feed You All!”
This 1875 poster shows the farmer at the center
of society.
National Panic of 1873
The New York Stock
Exchange on the
morning of Friday, May
5, 1893.
• Overbuilding, over
speculation, and
agriculture depression
• Over investment in
quickly spreading
railroads
• Sherman Silver
Purchase Act Repealed
• Eventually depleted
the gold reserve in the
treasury.
The Granger Movement
• Granger movement - coalition of U.S.
farmers, particularly in the Middle
West, that fought monopolistic grain
transport practices during the decade
following the American Civil War.
• They saw a need for unified action
against monopolistic RAILROADS and
grain elevators (often owned by the
railroads) that charged exorbitant
rates for handling and transporting
farmers’ crops and other agricultural
products
• Munn v. Illinois - A private enterprise
that affects the public interest is
subject to governmental regulation.
William Jennings Bryan
His “cross of gold”
speech at the 1896
Democratic Convention
roused the delegates
and secured him the
party’s presidential
nomination.
William Jennings Bryan
• How did Bryan’s
“cross of gold” speech
divide the Democratic
party?
• How did McKinley’s
strategy differ from
Bryan’s?
• Why was Bryan able
to carry the West and
the South but unable
to win in cities and
the Northeast?
The Wizard of Oz - Populism
• Frank Baum (1856-1919)
• Editor of a small paper in Aberdeen,
SD in the 1880s and 1890s.
• Published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
in 1900.
The Wizard of Oz - Populism
• Symbolic and Satirical Representation
• To Entertain. Not to persuade.
• Dorothy
• Ideal of the American People
• Twister
• Populist Cyclone that Swept Kansas
• Wicked Witch of the East
• Financial interests of the EAST
• Conspiracy to enslave little people
• Good Witch of the North
• Upper Midwest
• Populist Movement
The Wizard of Oz - Populism
• Scarecrow
• Farmers (brainless, not so dumb after all)
• Tin Man
• Industrial Workers
• Lion
• William Jennings Bryan
• Critics thought him cowardly
• Emerald City and Wizard
• Politician (from Omaha)
• Omaha had been the location of the populist convention
• Green = Greenback Movement
The Wizard of Oz - Populism
African-American Leadership
REVIEW - “Separate but equal.”
Ida B. Wells
While raising four children,
Wells sustained her
commitment to ending racial
and gender discrimination.
Booker T. Washington Founder
of the Tuskegee Institute.
“Cast down your bucket.”
W.E.B. Du Bois
A fierce advocate for black
education.
Fiscal Policy
Fiscal policy is the use of
government revenue collection
(taxation) and expenditure
(spending) to influence the
economy.
The two main instruments of fiscal
policy are changes in the level and
composition of taxation and
government spending in various
sectors.
Monetary Policy
Monetary policy is the process
by which the monetary
authority of a country controls
the supply of money, often
targeting a rate of INTEREST
for the purpose of promoting
economic growth and stability.
Populist Documents
• INSTRUCTIONS
• Read all of the documents related to
Populism in the Gilded Age
• For EACH document:
• Underline or Highlight important people,
terms or ideas
• Write down the MAIN idea of the document
AND
• How you would use the document in a
potential DBQ about Populists