Politics: Relublican Dominance, 1890-1912

Question 1

How long did Republican dominance last for?

Answer 1

Between (1865-1932)
-Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson only to presidents to interrupt long chain of Republican presidency

Question 2

What were the two significant political forces that j influenced the major US party’s?

Answer 2

-progressivism (1912, national progressive party formed)
-populism

Question 3

How was the US political nation completed between 1865-1920?

Answer 3

(1867-1912) 12 new states added
(1889-90, six states added)

[had new voters with new priorities]

Question 4

What was the Democratic Party like between 1890-1896?

Answer 4

-had support in solid south in small farmers & western states & blue collar workers /immigrants in northeast
-grieve Cleveland presidant in 1892, backed gold standard, and kept laissez fare politics
-(1893 panic) made party more radical and divided

(1895) J.P Morgan lent government $62million to prop up gold reserves- increase republican power

Question 5

What was populism?

Answer 5

(1890) had gained support in western plains, south, & rocky mountains

(1892) created manifesto “Omaha platform” in election

DEMANDED:
-governmant ownership of railroads
-farmers gain land from business & foreigners
-was an graduated income tax
-want free silver ‘bimetallism’
-currency uncontrolled by bankers

Question 6

What was the Omaha platform ?

Answer 6

-populist political manifesto (1892)
-fighted corruption in legal system & government
-claimed “poeple demoralised “ “public opinions silenced” “land is concentrated in hands of a few capitalists”

Question 7

What occurred in the build up to the 1896 election?

Answer 7

•democrats need new candidate to combat populism rise
• party set up national nominating convention
- agreed to adopt cause of free silver
- William Jennings Bryan won nomination
[=democrats gain support from populist]

Question 8

What was the gold standard?

Answer 8

Maintain value of currency by tying currency to fixed price backed by gold reserves

Question 9

Who was William Jennings Bryan?

Answer 9

-lawyer from Illinois
-(1890) elected to House of Representatives as democrat
-fundamentalist Christian
-Had charismatic political presence
- supported prohibition & ‘free silver’
- democrat presidant nominee (1896) (1900) (1908) but lost all of them
- (1913) was security of state in Wilson administration

Question 10

What was the Republican part like by 1890?

Answer 10

-fewer African American voters
- less support from south (disregarded them)
-voters from big business and urban workers
-supported high tariffs & protectionist economics

Question 11

What had occurred in the US election of (1896)

Answer 11

Involved
• Democrat Campaign:
[bryan made ‘whistle stop’ tours by train, 600 speeches to enthusiastic crowds & had biblical punchlines]
• Republican Campaign
[Mckinley campaign run by rich businessman, mark hanna, spent $7 million, had volunteers send letters to voters in undecided states and sent 1500 speakers] (gain support from New York times )

Resulted in Mckinley winning 600,000 votes with 57% against Bryan’s 51% (273 electorate votes to 176 )

Question 12

What were the reason for the democrats failure in the 1896 election?

Answer 12

•democrat party divided: eastern conservatives less supportive of Bryan ( anti urban wing & bourbon democrats)
• Poeple unconvinced free silver could work
• Republican had superior campaign

[Result in populist to start disappearing]

Question 13

Who was William McKinley and why occurred during his presidency?

Answer 13

-fought for Union in civil war
- (1876) senator of Ohio
-(1891) governor of Ohio
-(1896) won presidency
-(1900) won re-election, Roosevelt as vice presidant , he not get on well with
-(1901) assassinated in pan American exposition, was shot by an young anarchist from polish-German descent and died 8 days later

Presidency:
• filled administion with wealthy men

• had pro-business policies

• (1897) pass singly tariff act to increase tariff rate -( support high tariffs and gold standard)

• (1900) introduce currency act to maintain gold standard

• position strengthen by Spanish America war

Question 14

Who was Theodore Roosevelt?

Answer 14

-(1867) went to Harvard university
-(1880s) rancher in donors mid west
-Fought corruption as police minister in New York (1895)
-(1897) assistant secretary to navy
-volunteer soldier of Spanish American war (gained fame)
-(1889) governed of New York
-(1900) vice president
-(1901) & (1904) presidant

Had bombastic personality
Sympathetic to progressivism
{from wealthy background}
-used “bully pulpit” to directly appeal to poeple against special interest (enemy of big business)
-believe big businesses essential
-denounce wealthy criminal class of big corporations
-encourage preservation of nature
-didn’t serve 3rd term presidency

Question 15

What is the “wealthy criminal class”

Answer 15

Combinations that control America industry/finance

Was 4000 millionaire’s in America (1901)

(John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie)

Question 16

What is progressivism?

Answer 16

Angry idealistic reaction against perceived evils of monopoly capitalists
- they wanted social & political reform
- an urban middle class /national movemant

Demanded:
• attack on political corruption (towns run by corrupt officials, wealthy businessmen men control candidate nomination, national level)
• regulate bussines & break down cartels (introduce silver & gold) (more laws)
• female suffrage & women’s right
• protection of workers against unjust employees
• higher standard of public morality (prohibition, work conditions)
• protect environment from pollution/ land grabbing

[interventionism]

Question 17

What were the reasons for the emergence of progressivism? (6)

Answer 17

[Economic problems]
1893 panic, small farmers struggle to compete

[social problems]
Poor living conditions , unclear water
No welfare system, 72 hour work week

[political reform]
Oppose corruption in big bussines
(Democrats too conservative & Republican too pro-bussines)

[regulate big bussines]
-bussines powerful enough to threaten monopoly establishment & create less competition

[media influence]
Increase newspapers and magazines circulation exposing corruption
- (1902) lures magazine had sold 750,000 copies by (1904)

[fear of revolution]
-concern with trade union strength (socialist beliefs) which made middle class professionals fearful

Question 18

Who is William Howard Taft?

Answer 18

• enormously fat ( ‘big will, Taft )
• was judge in appeals court (1891)
• governor general of Philippines (1900)
• secretary of war (1900)
•(1909) elected presidant
• (1910) election appointment mostly conservative’s to cabinet
• pleased conservative wing of republicans [he had an conservative vice president]
• appointed chief justice of Supreme Court in (1921)

Question 19

What policies were involved during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency? (7)

Answer 19

• (1902) mediated settlement of great coal strikes . (He took miners side) prepared to send troops if needed

•(1902) blocked creation of northen securities company controlling railroad via using Sherman antitrust act

•(1904) Supreme Court ordered northern securities to be broken up

• (1906) Hepburn act passed; ensured closer regulation of railroad companies

• pushed measures to curb corruption of timber & mineral exploitation

•increased nature Forrest by 173 million from (1898-1909). Was 53 new wildlife areas and 5 new national parks
{1908 national conservation conference}

•(1906) led federal program of meat inspection and passed food & drug act. :[Starting process of ending food adulteration ]

Question 20

What happened during the 1907 panic and why is it significant towards progressive reformation?

Answer 20

-the stock market collapsed
-governmant was bailed out by j.p Morgan who injected millions dollars to repair stock market

[showed finances still had power over government] =continuity in political corruption

Question 21

What were William Howard Tafts policies during his presidency?

Answer 21

•sacked Gifford Inchon, Roosevelt’s forest service chief

• passed Payne-Aldrich tariff act: setting tariffs at high level
(have power to interstate commerce commission to set railroad rates)

• had trade oriented policies in Latin America

• (1910) [people unsatisfied with policies] progressive republicans had teamed up with democrats to attack ultra conservative speaker of the house

• initiated 80 antitrust suits under Sherman antitrust act

• introduce 8 hour work day for government employees

•introduce federal income tax & corporation tax which supported government spending

Question 22

What were the differences between Taft & Roosevelt?

Answer 22

-Taft more lowkey than Roosevelt’s flaming personality
- Roosevelt didn’t approve of Taft conservative policies
-Taft caused party , Roosevelt united party
-Taft initiate more antitrust legislations
-Taft use political machine to gain votes
-Taft attempted to reform tariffs unlike Roosevelt