exam 2 - unit 5 - ch 20 Flashcards
in the years following the civil war, american politics were _______, ________, and at the federal lever, largely ________ in terms of addressing the challenges that americans faced
disjointed, corrupt, ineffective
who dominated through systematic graft and bribery
local and regional politics, and the bosses who ran the political machines
americans realized that the solutions to the mounting problems would not come from D.C. but from
their local political leaders
who coined the phase “gilded age”
mark twain
who did mark twain co-author “the gilded age: a tale of today” in 1873
charles dudley warner
what did the gilded age: a tale of today satirize
the corruption of post-civil war society and politics
what only thinly glossed over the stark economic inequalities and various degrees of corruption of the era
popular excitement over national growth and industrialization
politicians of the time largely catered into ______ ______ in exchange for _____ ______ and_______
business interests
political support
wealth
many politicians participated in ____ and _____-
graft and bribery
what excuse did politicians use to justify their actions
that corruption was too widespread for a successful politician to resist
what is mark twains real name
samuel
very few measures offered direct assistance to americans who continued to struggle with the transformation into an ______ ______
industrial society
what made the passage of effective legislation difficult
the inefficiency of a patronage-driven federal gov, combined with a growing laissez-faire attitude among the american public
at the heart of each president’s administration was the protection of the
spoils system
what is the spoils system
the power of the president to practice widespread political patronage
what is patronage, in that case
it took the form of the president naming his friends and supporters to various political posts
why was the maintenance of political machinery and repaying favors with patronage important to all presidents, regardless of party affiliation
the close calls in presidential elections during the era
what did president jackson do immediately upon assuming office in march 1829
he swept employees from over 900 political offices, amounting to 10% of all federal appoitments
who was hit the hardest from jackson
us postal service
jackson appointed his supporters and close friends to over 400 positions in the service t/f
t
what did president chester a author sign into law in 1883
the pendleton civil service act
what was the pendleton civil service act
the first significant piece of antipatronage legislation
what did the pendleton civil service act create
the civil service commission
what did the civil service commision do
listed all government patronage jobs and set aside approximately 10% of the list as appoinments to be determined through a competitive civil service examination process
what else did the law do, specifically to prevent future presidents from undoing this reform
the law declared that future presidents could enlarge the list but never shrink it by moving a civil service job back into the patronage column
what factors left the country’s farmers in increasingly desperate straits
overproduction and high tariffs
the government’s inability to address their concerns left the farmers….
disillusioned and worried
uneven responses from state governments had many farmers seeking…
an alternative solution to their problems
farmers took notes from ____ and began to organize into alliances similar to workers unions
labor movements growing in industrial cities around the country
what were models of cooperation where larger numbers could offer more bargaining power with major players such as railroads
the alliances farmers organized
alliances were able to initiate widespread change for their benefit t/f
f
what was a major problem for farmers
debt
drawing from the cohesion of purpose, farmers sought to …
create change from the inside: through politics
the farmers hoped that the creation of the populist party would lead to a president who…
put the people (farmers) first
when was the populist party created
1891
what was the farmers alliance
a conglomeration of three regional alliances formed in the mid-1880s
the farmers alliance took root in …
the wake of the grange movement
who led the southern alliance
dr. charles macane
what was the southern alliance
was based in TX and had over 100,000 members by 1886
who urged the creation of a national alliance between the northern, southern, and colored alliance
dr. charles macane
what was the largest aa organization in the US
the colored alliance
who led the colored alliance
tom watson
where was the colored alliance founded
tx but quickly spread throughout the old south
how many members were in the colored alliance
1 M
aa origionally advocated for self-help t/f
t
did african americans begin to understand the benefits of political organizations and the unified voice to improve plight
yes
what kept the alliance splintered among the three component branches
racism
the farmers alliance brought together over ____ members
2.5 M
how much of the farmers alliance was black and white
1.5M white 1M black
who did populists choose to model themselves after as the 1892 pres election approached
democratic and republican parties
what did the populists write at their national convention the summer of 1892 in nebraska
the omaha platform
what did the populists hope to do
shock the country with a “third-party” victory
what did the omaha platform do
more fully explain to all americans the goals of the new party
who wrote the omaha platform
ignatius donnelly
who did the platform statement vilify as being part of a widespread conspiracy to control farmers
railroad owners, bankers, big businessmen
the platform called for adoption of the
subtreasury plan
what was included in the subtreasury plan
gov control over railroads, end to national bank system, creation of federal income tax, direct election of us senators, and more measures.
what was the aim of the subtreasury plan
a more proactive federal gov that would support the economic and social welfare of all americans
the populist movement began to grow bc
the federal gov continued to offer few solutions
who did democrats chose as their candidate
william jennings bryan
what politician largely fit the mold of the populist platform
william jennings bryan
who was born in nebraska and had the avocacy of the silver standard
william jennings bryan
did the populists support bryan and why or why not
yes, bc they hoped to see a candidate in the white house who would embody the populist goals, if not the party name
did bryan win the election
no, he lost to william mckinley
what happened after bryan lost
the populist party lost much of its momentum
what is the free coinage of silver
silver standard
what are tariffs
taxes on imported goods
bryan _____ the importance of a ______-______ monetary system and urged the gov to coin more ______
defended
silver-based
silver
bryan was very familiar with the _____ _____
famers plight
bryan saw some merit in the _____ _____ _____
subtreasury system proposal
did mckinley or bryan run a typical 19th century style front porch campaign
mckinley
what is the front porch type campaign
you would stand on your front porch and people would come to your house and listen to you give speeches
who delivered speeches throughout the country , bringing the message to people that republicans “shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold”
bryan
the result of the election finally saw a pres win a majority of the popular vote for the first time in
24 yrs
_____ defeated ____ by a popular vote of 7.1M to 6.5M
mckinley defeated bryan
bryans popular vote exceeded that of any other pres candidate in american history, win or lose t/f
t
what was the wizard of oz actually about
politics and money
