AMSCO 6.13 Politics in the Gilded Age

Overview

AMSCO Topic 6.13, Politics in the Gilded Age, covers national politics from the Compromise of 1877 through the election of 1896. The big story: two evenly matched parties avoided controversial issues for two decades, then agrarian anger exploded into the Populist Party and the dramatic 1896 showdown between William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley. For the AP exam, you need to explain how Republicans and Democrats were similar and different during this era, why the Populists demanded a stronger government role in the economy, and why 1896 marked a turning point toward modern politics.

Political Stalemate: Why Nothing Got Done

After the Compromise of 1877, the federal government entered an era of stalemate and inactivity. Presidents were "forgettable" (none served two consecutive terms), and both parties dodged the real problems created by industrialization and urban growth.

Three factors explain the complacency:

• Popular politics. Campaigns were entertainment: brass bands, flags, picnics, free beer, big speeches. Nearly 80 percent of eligible voters turned out for presidential elections, driven by strong party loyalty tied to region, religion, and ethnicity. People voted for their party, not for policy.
• Party patronage. With no real legislative agenda, politics was a game of winning office and handing out government jobs to loyal supporters. Who got patronage jobs mattered more than any policy. Reform-minded politicians who refused to play the game were mocked as "Mugwumps," sitting on the fence with their "mugs" on one side and "wumps" on the other.
• Razor-thin elections. From 1876 to 1892, presidential elections were extremely close, so neither party risked taking strong stands. Democrats won only two presidential contests in the Electoral College (four in the popular vote) but controlled the House after eight of ten general elections. Result: divided government in Washington.

Republicans vs. Democrats

The two parties contended over tariffs and currency while appealing to lingering Civil War divisions. Here's the comparison the exam wants you to know:

Political machines thrived in cities partly because they provided immigrants and the poor with social services that no one else offered. That's why immigrant voters stayed loyal to Democratic machines even amid corruption charges.

Rise of the Populists

Agrarian discontent in the West and South disrupted politics as usual in the 1890s. The Farmers' Alliances elected U.S. senators, representatives, several governors, and majorities in four western state legislatures, then built a new party on that foundation: the People's (Populist) Party.

The Omaha Platform (1892)

Delegates met in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1892 to write a platform aimed at the concentration of economic power held by trusts and bankers. Populists saw government as the tool to fix it.

Political reforms:

• Direct popular election of U.S. senators (instead of election by state legislatures)
• Initiatives and referendums so citizens could vote directly on laws

Economic reforms:

• Unlimited coinage of silver to expand the money supply
• A graduated income tax (higher incomes pay a higher percentage)
• Government ownership of railroads, telegraph, and telephone systems
• Federal loans and warehouses to help farmers stabilize crop prices
• An eight-hour day for industrial workers

The movement seemed revolutionary for two reasons: it attacked laissez-faire capitalism, and it tried to unite poor White and Black voters politically. In Georgia, Thomas Watson appealed to poor farmers of both races who shared economic grievances.

The Election of 1892

Populist candidate James Weaver of Iowa won over 1 million votes and 22 electoral votes, a rare Electoral College showing for a third party. But the ticket failed to attract northern urban workers, and it lost badly in the South, where fear of poor White and Black voters uniting drove conservative Democrats to disfranchise African Americans.

In the major-party rematch, Grover Cleveland beat President Harrison, helped by the unpopularity of the high-tax McKinley Tariff. Cleveland became the only former president to return to the White House after leaving it.

Depression Politics: The Panic of 1893

Cleveland took office in March 1893, and the country almost immediately fell into one of the worst depressions in its history. The stock market crashed from overspeculation, dozens of overbuilt railroads went bankrupt, farm foreclosures hit new highs, and unemployment reached 20 percent. Cleveland responded by defending the gold standard and otherwise keeping his hands off the economy.

Gold Reserve, J.P. Morgan, and the Pullman Strike

Falling silver prices led investors to trade silver dollars for gold, draining the Treasury's gold reserve. Cleveland repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, but the drain continued. He then borrowed $65 million in gold from Wall Street banker J. Pierpont Morgan to prop up the dollar. The deal convinced many Americans that Washington was a tool of rich eastern bankers. Workers grew even angrier when Cleveland used court injunctions and federal troops to break the Pullman strike in 1894 (covered in AMSCO 6.7 on labor).

Tariff Reform, Income Tax, and Coxey's Army

Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff in 1894, which moderately cut tariff rates and added a 2 percent income tax on incomes over $2,000. Since the average income was under $500, only the wealthy would pay. Within a year, the conservative Supreme Court ruled the income tax unconstitutional. (The 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, later made an income tax constitutional.)

Meanwhile, conservatives feared class war. In 1894, Populist Jacob S. Coxey of Ohio led thousands of unemployed marchers to Washington demanding $500 million in public works spending to create jobs. "Coxey's Army" got nowhere; Coxey was arrested for trespassing. That same year, William H. Harvey's cartoon-illustrated book Coin's Financial School taught millions that rich bankers had conspired to cause their troubles and that unlimited silver coinage would bring back prosperity.

The Election of 1896: Bryan vs. McKinley

The election of 1896 was one of the most emotional in U.S. history and marked the start of a new political era. The repeal of the Silver Purchase Act and Cleveland's handling of the depression had discredited conservative Democratic leadership, and Republicans buried the Democrats in the 1894 congressional elections.

Bryan and the "Cross of Gold"

At the 1896 Democratic convention in Chicago, pro-silver forces took control. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska, just 36 years old, electrified delegates with his "Cross of Gold" speech: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." The speech instantly made him the nominee.

The Democratic platform called for unlimited silver coinage at 16 to 1 (the market ratio was about 32 to 1, so this was inflationary). Because Democrats had taken the Populists' leading issue, the Populist convention also nominated Bryan in a "fused" free-silver campaign. Conservative "Gold Bug" Democrats, including Cleveland, bolted to a separate National Democratic Party or voted Republican.

McKinley, Hanna, and the Front-Porch Campaign

Republicans nominated William McKinley of Ohio, known for supporting a high protective tariff but also considered a friend of labor. Marcus (Mark) Hanna, a wealthy businessman, financed the nomination and campaign. The Republican platform backed a high tariff and the gold standard.

The two campaigns were a study in contrasts:

• Bryan traveled 18,000 miles by train and gave more than 600 speeches, convincing farmers and debtors that free silver was their salvation.
• Hanna raised millions from business leaders who feared "silver lunacy" would cause runaway inflation, then sold McKinley through newspapers and magazines while the candidate ran a safe front-porch campaign from home.

In the final weeks, rising wheat prices made farmers less desperate, and employers threatened to shut factories if Bryan won. McKinley swept the Northeast and upper Midwest, winning the popular vote 7.1 million to 6.5 million and the electoral vote 271 to 176.

Why 1896 Was a Turning Point

The election of 1896 ended the Gilded Age's stalemate and reshaped American politics in three lasting ways.

• Populist demise. The party declined after 1896 and stopped being a national force. In the South, Thomas Watson and others abandoned interracial coalitions, learning the hard lesson that racism was stronger than shared economic interests. Ironically, much of the Populist agenda (graduated income tax, popular election of senators) was adopted during the Progressive Era (1900-1917).
• Beginning of modern politics. Bryan's defeat launched an era of Republican dominance: Republicans won six of the next seven presidencies and controlled both houses of Congress for 17 of the next 20 sessions. The party of "free soil, free labor, and free men" became the party of business and industry. Hanna's high-finance, mass-media campaign became the model for modern campaigning.
• Urban dominance. 1896 was a victory for big business, urban centers, conservative economics, and middle-class values. It was rural America's last real shot at reclaiming political dominance. Some historians see it as the triumph of industrial, urban America over the rural ideals of Jefferson and Jackson.

McKinley got lucky: gold discoveries in Alaska in 1897 expanded the money supply, delivering the inflation silverites had wanted. Farm prices rose and the economy revived. Republicans passed the Dingley Tariff of 1897 (raising rates above 46 percent) and made gold the official currency standard in 1900. McKinley emerged as the first modern president, an active leader who took the U.S. onto the world stage through the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Key Terms to Know

Practice and Next Steps

Pair these AMSCO notes with the Fiveable course guide for Topic 6.13 Politics in the Gilded Age, and browse the rest of the APUSH AMSCO notes for the full Period 6 sequence. The Populists make more sense if you've reviewed the farmer struggles in AMSCO 6.2 on westward economic development and the strikes in AMSCO 6.7 on Gilded Age labor.

To check your understanding, drill multiple-choice questions with guided practice or write a response on the Populists or the election of 1896 with FRQ practice and instant scoring.