GROVER CLEVELAND 1885-1889 HONESTY Laissez-Faire
GROVER CLEVELAND1885-1889
HONESTY
Laissez-Faire
ELECTION OF 1884Democrats Regain Control
Cleveland (D) Blaine (R)
CLEVELAND WINS! Popular Vote Very Close
Mugwumps
The Illegitimate Son
“Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion”
219 ELECTORAL
VOTES
182
CLEVELAND ATTACKS PENSIONSVeterans Beware!
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
SORRY FARMERS!No Handouts!
DAWES SEVERALTY ACT1887
ASSIMILATION
INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT1887
ICC
LOWER THE TARIFFSCleveland’s Big Mistake
HIGH LOWProtection Freer Trade
BENJAMIN HARRISON1889-1893
BIG BUSINESS
ELECTION OF 1888Big Business Strikes Back!
Cleveland (D) Harrison (R)
HARRISON WINS! Cleveland Takes Popular Vote
War Chest
Murchison Letter
168 ELECTORAL
VOTES
233
BILLION DOLLAR CONGRESS
Pork Barrel Legislation
Goodbye Surplus?
Pensions for All!
48%
McKinley Tariff (1890)
SHERMAN SILVER PURCHASE ACT1890
4.5 million ounces per month
SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST ACT1890
FARMERS ORGANIZETowards a 3rd Party
The Alliance Movement
Southern Alliance
NW Alliance
Mary Lease
“Raise less corn and more hell.”
POPULIST PARTY1892-1896
THE OMAHA PLATFORM (1892) People’s Party of America
- Tariff reduction
- Graduated income tax
- Public ownership of railroads
- Ban on alien land ownership
- Support of the labor movement
- Direct election of senators and other electoral reforms
- Free and unlimited coinage of silver
HOMESTEAD STRIKE1892
Andrew Carnegie
Henry Clay Frick
“We… approve of
anything you do.”
ELECTION OF 1892Cleveland Again?
Cleveland (D) Harrison (R)
CLEVELAND WINS! Populists Fail to Make Impact
277 ELECTORAL
VOTES
145
Weaver (Pop)
22
DEPRESSION1893-1897
20-25% Unemployment
Laissez Faire
Defend Gold Standard
PULLMAN STRIKE1894
Eugene V. Debs
COXEY’S ARMY1894
WILSON-GORMAN TARIFF1894
2%
Lowers Rates Slightly
FREE SILVERThe Solution?
William Jennings Bryan
“Cross of Gold” Speech
ELECTION OF 1896Will the Farmers Be Heard?
Bryan (D-Pop) McKinley (R)
MCKINLEY WINS! Populists Fail Again
155 ELECTORAL
VOTES
292
Free Silver Across the Country
Beware Bryan and Silver
War Chest
Front-Porch Campaign
WHY DID BRYAN LOSE?The Failure of the Populists and Democrats
- Republican scare tactics
- Little appeal to factory workers, urban middle class, or farm families from Midwest
- Too moralistic
- Vision was outdatedWhat happened?
REPUBLICANS VICTORIOUSConservative Policy in Force
William McKinley (R)
Dingley Tariff (1897)
Currency Act (1900)
IMPERIALISM?
PLESSY v. FERGUSON1896
“Separate But Equal” = CONSTITUTIONAL