Politics

Question 1

Election of 1868
Republicans- Grant

Answer 1

War Hero, vowed to continue congressional reconstruction on the 5 military towns down in the south.

Question 2

Election of 1868
Democrats- Horatio Seymour (NY)

Answer 2

Democrats are split over currency. East elites, some of who are democrats, want to get rid of the greenbacks and use gold. Debtors want soft money to keep money in circulation to pay off their loans.

Question 3

Election of 1868
Grant wins

Answer 3

Argue Grant was waving the “Bloody Shirt”, saying “remember the war? The democrats where on the side that fought against us.”

Question 4

Corruption
Tweed Ring (NYC)

Answer 4

Boss tweed (William Tweed), was a party machine, in charge of Tammany Hall. Was in control of The city government, using money, illegal, and unfair strategies like bribery, fraudulent elections for his benefit.

Question 5

Corruption under Grant
Credit Mobilier Scandal 1872

Answer 5

Union pacific railroads hire their own construction company, and then pay the Credit Mobilier in checks. They then turn around and buy their own stocks at higher prices. They tried to bribe congress to keep them quiet, and press will blame the republican party. Personal secretary accused of stealing. Secretary of war accused of corruption and selling the rights to native lands.

Question 6

Election of 1872
Republican Split

Answer 6

Liberal republicans want to get corruption out of the party and want to end reconstruction. They nominate Horace Greely, while the other part of the Republican party nominates Grant again. Grant wins again by waving the bloody shirt.

Question 7

Depression
Panic of 1873

Answer 7

Led to currency issues, caused by the over production of goods and speculation bursts from overspeculation in stock, watering stock, and the stock exchange. Creditors want to use hard currency to make the currency based of of gold to decrease the prices

Question 8

Depression
Creditors win/Republicans lose- Resumption act of 1875

Answer 8

This reduces the supply of greenbacks until all the money will be based on gold by 1879

Question 9

Depression
Creditors win/Republicans lose- Brand Allison Act 1878

Answer 9

Coins 2-4 million dollars worth of silver a month, while they only do the bare minimum. It wasn’t doing as much as the debtors would have wanted

Question 10

Depression
Creditors win/Republicans lose- Republican Resistance

Answer 10

Greenback Labor party tries to unify the farmers and laborers, drawing many of it’s members from former republican farmers. This makes republicans lose a lot of positions in congress and government over the split with the Greenback Labor party

Question 11

Election of 1880
James A. Garfield Vs. Chester A. Arthur

Answer 11

Republicans are still split between half-breeds/reformers, and stalwarts/spoilssystem/pro-business republicans. Garfield is assassinated, so Arthur Takes over the elction of 1880

Question 12

Election of 1880
Pendleton Act 1883

Answer 12

Requires government jobs to be awarded to individuals based on merit and not political affiliation. Shifts the source of corruption to the businesses who will pay for a specific person to take and prepare for these tests.

Question 13

Election of 1884
Grover Cleveland (D) Wins

Answer 13

He wants reform and mor morality. Democrats finally win for the first time since 1856, because the Republicans alienated the Irish vote in NY by saying the Democratic party was the party of Rum, Romanism, and rebellion.

Question 14

Cleveland’s Presidency
Reform

Answer 14

Supported civil service reform, to get rid of the corruption, spoils system, and handing out jobs.

Question 15

Cleveland’s Presidency
Pension Bill

Answer 15

Votes against a pension Bill for the Grant Army of the Republic twice. Veterans are looking for a pension for the lost wages while they were at war

Question 16

Cleveland’s Presidency
Reduce the Tariff

Answer 16

Because there is a surplus of taxes, the more the government can spend. Feels like it’s wrong to keep the tariff so he reduces it

Question 17

Interstate Commerce act of 1887

Answer 17

addressed the problem of railroad monopolies by setting guidelines for how the railroads could do business.

Question 18

Election of 1888
Benjamin Harrison Wins the electon

Answer 18

Congress spends 1 billion dollars out of their surplus fund. Introduce the pension act of 1890, paying the GAR, and gains their vote

Question 19

Sherman Silver purchase act 1890
Supporting Farmers, Debtors, mine owners

Answer 19

Raises the government purchase to 4.5 million ounces per money coining and putting it into circulation. Causes inflation and makes it easier to get a hold of currency. Says that the government debts will be paid in gold and silver.

Question 20

Sherman Silver purchase act 1890
Supporting Creditors, businesses

Answer 20

McKinley Tariff Bill 1890 spends the surplus of money and keeps the tariff, raises the tariff to 48.4%, allowing US companies to raise their prices up to that line. This hurts the republicans and farmers. Cleveland will win the next election because of this

Question 21

Depression of 1893-1897
Caused by

Answer 21

Overspeculation of investment, no regulation of sales and stock. There is an over production in the railroads, labor strikes, which causes agricultural depression, and devaluates US currency, frightening foreign investors to tap out.

Question 22

Depression of 1893-1897
JP Morgan

Answer 22

Government goes and asks him to help out to government loaning 65 million in gold as a temporary measure to save the union.

Question 23

Election of 1896
Democrats- William Jennings Bryan

Answer 23

Gives a speech that the cross of Christ is sacred, but that we shouldn’t made gold as sacred to their nation.

Question 24

Election of 1896
Populists (People’s party)

Answer 24

Wins some western states, but it’s party suicide when the democratic party takes on some of their issues, so they vote for the democrats instead.

Question 25

Election of 1896
Republicans- McKinley

Answer 25

McKinley is pro-tariff, and blames the depression on Cleveland. Attacks bi-metalism, saying that gold and silver will never be practical on a world scale. He scares the labor vote on a fixed income and wage, and wins the north and the election.