Transcript CHAPTER 17 POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE

HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Chapter 8
POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE
Section 1: Political Machines
Section 2: Restoring Honest Government
Section 3: The Populist Movement
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Section 3: The Populist Movement
Objectives:
 What factors led to economic hardships for
farmers?
 What did the farmers’ movements hope to achieve,
and what weakened their efforts?
 Why did farmers support money backed by silver?
 What issues did the Populist Party support?
 How did silver affect the economy and the 1896
presidential election?
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Section 3: The Populist Movement
Economic hardships for farmers
 heavy debts
 high freight and machinery costs
 falling crop prices
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Section 3: The Populist Movement
Farmer’s movements
 hoped to pressure states to regulate freight and
grain-storage rates
 formed cooperatives
 offered low-cost insurance
 lobbied for graduated income tax
 weakened by government limits on the power
of ICC
 weakened by racial segregation
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Section 3: The Populist Movement
Money backed by silver
Farmers supported money backed by silver because
they wanted to increase the paper money supply. As
long as only gold was allowed to back paper, the
money supply was restricted by how much gold the
treasury had.
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Section 3: The Populist Movement
Populist Party issues
 graduated income tax
 bank regulation
 government ownership of railroad and telegraph
companies
 free coinage of silver
 immigration restrictions
 shorter workday
 voting reforms
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
HOLT
The American Nation
IN THE MODERN ERA
Section 3: The Populist Movement
The effects of silver
 Silver was a central issue in the 1896 presidential
campaign.
 Populists supported Bryan because of his stand on
silver.
 William McKinley won the election with the support
of business leaders who opposed free silver.
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON