Politics in the Age of Enterprise, 1877–1896

As we approach this Chapter we need to : 1. Consider the role of parties in domestic politics before 1900.What choices did the parties afford voters?

2. Consider how and why political affairs played a central role in American culture in the late nineteenth century? How did women participate in political culture?

3. Analyze and discuss the origins and aims of the Populist movement.

4. Describe the political structure in the South after 1877, and explain how blacks were gradually disenfranchised.

5. Consider how and why racial segregation intensified in the late nineteenth century?

The Politics of the Status Quo, 1877–1893

Political stalemate was the rule for most of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. After the end of Reconstruction, national politics became less oriented around vital issues. Neither Republicans nor Democrats could muster the power to dominate national politics.

The National Scene

Five presidents from 1877 to 1893: – Rutherford B. Hayes (R), – James A. Garfield (R), – Chester A. Arthur (R), – Grover Cleveland (D), – Benjamin Harrison (R)

Spoils System

The president’s biggest job was to dispense political patronage Pendelton ACT 1883 Federal Funding Tariff

How do we assess the contributions of the Presidents of the period? In particular I might ask why did the presidents from 1877 to 1897 not make a larger mark on history?

The Ideology of Individualism

Many of the wealthy, and those who aspired to become wealthy, adopted the tenets of Social Darwinism, which touted prosperity as a sign of personal and social “fitness,” and attacked government aid to the needy as destructive to social evolution.

The Supremacy of the Courts

Politics and the People

Cultural Politics: Party, Religion, and Ethnicity Organizational Politics Women’s Political Culture

Race and Politics in the New South

Biracial Politics One-Party Rule Triumphant The Case of Grimes County

In this powerful 1876 drawing, Thomas Nast depicts the end of reconstruction as the tragedy it was. As white supremacists in the South piled up more and more bodies, supporters of civil rights accused the Grant administration of failing to protect black Southerners and legitimately elected governments. They pointed specifically to the constitutional requirement that "the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them . . . against domestic violence” (Article IV, section 4).

The Crisis of American Politics: The 1890s

The Populist Revolt Money and Politics Climax: The Election of 1896

Chapter 19:

Politics in the Age of Enterprise, 1877–1896

Map 19.1 Presidential Elections of 1880, 1884, and 1888 (p. 570) Map 19.2 Disfranchisement in the New South (p. 585) Map 19.3 Presidential Elections of 1892 and 1896 (p. 594) Figure 19.1 Voting Patterns in the Midwest, 1870–1892 (p. 575)