Gilded Age Flashcards
who came up with the term ‘Gilded Age’
Mark Twain
what was the Gold Scandal and what year was it?
1869 - Gould and Fisk tried to manipulate the Government’s gold reserves
What was the Whiskey Ring Scandal and what year was it?
1875 - a group of distillers conspired to defraud the government of millions in taxes
what was the Congress salary grab and what year was it?
1873- increased wages by 50% and made it retrospective for 2 years
what was the republican party divided over in 1880?
finding a successor for Hayes
who did the Stalwarts support?
Conkling
who were the Half-breeds?
a reformist group led by James Blaine
what years were Hayes president?
1877-81
what year was Garfield president?
1881
what years were Arthur president?
1881-84
what years were Cleveland president?
1884-88
who ended reconstruction?
Hayes
What was the southern compromise?
Hayes made a deal to win presidency, offering to remove federal troops from the South and provide federal aid
How did Hayes try to reform the civil service?
in the 70s, the Civil service was made up of incompetent and demoralised people. Because of this he tried to disregard the spoils system in favour of meritocracy but failed as he could not convince congress
what were the Railroad strikes of 1877?
longest labour disturbance, in protest of wage cuts, Hayes was prepared to send in federal troops when requested by several governers
Garfield ____________ control of the New York Customs House and removed _______
Strengthened
Conkling
How did Garfield reform the Post Office?
he forced the leaders of the Star Routes to resign
what was the 1883 Pendleton Act?
the first law specifically intended to begin the professional handling of the civil service - the beginning of the end for the spoils system.
who was excluded by Federal Immigration Law?
paupers, criminals, the mentally ill, the Chinese
How much did the the Tariff Act of 1883 reduce Tariffs by?
1.47%
what was different about Cleveland
he was a democrat
what did Mugwumps claim? who did they support?
they would rather support a honest democrat than a corrupt republican
Texas Seed bill
Cleveland vetoed - refused to intervene and allow congress to purchase $10,000 of seed for Texas after drought ruined crops
when was the Civil Service Reform League formed?
1881
when were the Sherman Anti Trust Act and the Sherman Silver Act passed?
1890
what did the EC Knight case 1895 show, how?
The Sherman Anti Trust Act was not effective and had loopholes - the sugar company (EC Knight) got away with owning 98% share of USA’s sugar refining
