Chapter 7: Republican Dominance 1890-1912 Flashcards
Why were the main two American political parties still evolving by the early 1890?
- in response to the speed and scale of economic growth and social change
- adapting to the new forms of politics which were emerging
Why was Populism important?
Brought about fundamental change as well as deep divisions in the Democratic Party
Why was Progressivism important?
Deeply influenced Republican party especially Theodore Roosevelt
How many new states were added to the Union between 1867 and 1912?
12
How many of these states were added between 1889 and 1890?
6
Why were these new states politically important?
- contained important new voters with new political priorities
- this required the non political parties to adapt and change
Where was the core of Democrat support?
the Solid South- for a century after the Civil War the Democrat candidate won the South in every election apart from in 1928
Why was the strong Democrat support in the South important?
-meant the only thing that mattered in the election was which Democrat candidate would be nominated
-gave segregationist Southerners a stranglehold on the party
Where else could the Democrats rely on support from?
-industrial northeast (partly from business but predominately from blue collar workers and recent immigrants)
-small farmers in the Western states
Why was the political balance between the parties very even during the “era of weak presidents”?
relatively little difference between them in policy and ideology
Why were the 1890s viewed as turbulent years?
-financial panic
-economic depression
-violent strikes
-rise of populism
How were the main political parties affected by the turbulent 1890s?
-Democratic Party became more radical and more divided
-revitalised and pro business Republican party swept into power in 1896
What was Populism?
a grassroots mass movement which aimed to focus grievances and discontent into political campaign for radical reform
Where did Populism have strong support?
in the South, the Western Plains and the Rocky Mountains
What was the Omaha Platform?
Political manifesto set out by the Populist Party in Omaha in July 1892
What was the main theme in the Omaha Platform?
the need to fight corruption within the government and the legal system
What were the demands of the Populists?
-government ownership of railroads
-opportunity for settlers and farmers to be able to acquire land from corporations and foreigners
-a graduated income tax
-a currency that was not controlled by private bankers
-“free silver”
What was the gold standard?
a system of finance that maintains the value of the currency by tying the currency to a fixed price backed by gold reserves
What was “free silver”?
the end of the gold standard and unlimited use of silver to increase the money supply
How was the Populist Party formed?
-from the 1870s a range of protest movements e.g. Patrons of Husbandry had emerged
-these rural movements sometimes joined forces with workers groups e.g. Knights of Labour
-in the early 1890s these groups united to form the populist party
Who was William Jennings Bryan?
lawyer from Illinois and leader of the Populist Party
What problems were the Democratic Party facing in the 1890s?
-weakened by the Panic of 1893 and economic depression that followed
-party became divided after its poor performance in the 1894 mid elections
What were the Democrats’ economic policies?
-Grover Cleveland and the “Bourbon Democrats” stuck to traditional laissez-faire economics and maintaining the gold standard
- In 1895, the banker J. Pierpoint Morgan lent the govt. $62 million to prop up its gold reserves
Why were the Democrats criticised for their economic policies?
accused of siding with the money men of Wall Street rather than the general working public
