1. What characterized election campaigns during the Gilded Age and why did nearly 80 percent of eligible voters participate?

2. How did regional, religious, and ethnic ties influence voter behavior during this era?

1. Why was winning government jobs more important than policy debates for politicians during the Gilded Age?

2. What were Mugwumps and why were they ridiculed by other politicians?

1. What did Republicans mean by 'waving the bloody shirt' and how did this strategy help the party?

2. What groups formed the core of Republican strength and what economic policies did they support?

1. What was the 'solid South' and how did it benefit the Democratic Party after 1877?

2. How did the religious and ethnic composition of Democratic voters differ from Republican voters?

1. Why did the close electoral competition between 1876 and 1892 discourage both parties from taking strong positions on issues?

2. How did divided government in Washington affect the priorities of politicians during the Gilded Age?

1. What political reforms did the Populist Party demand in their Omaha Platform?

2. What economic reforms did Populists advocate and how did these challenge laissez-faire capitalism?

3. How did Thomas Watson attempt to unite poor farmers across racial lines in the South?

1. What was significant about James Weaver's performance in the 1892 presidential election?

2. Why did the Populist ticket fail to attract urban workers and lose badly in the South?

3. What factors contributed to Grover Cleveland's victory in 1892?

1. What caused the Panic of 1893 and what were its effects on American workers and farmers?

2. How did President Cleveland's conservative approach to the depression reflect his economic beliefs?

1. Why did Cleveland repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and what was the public reaction to his deal with J. Pierpont Morgan?

2. How did Cleveland's handling of the Pullman strike damage his political support?

1. What did the Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 accomplish and why was the income tax provision short-lived?

1. What was Coxey's Army and what did the marchers demand from the federal government?

2. How did William H. Harvey's Coin's Financial School appeal to discontented Americans during the depression?

1. How did William Jennings Bryan's 'Cross of Gold' speech secure the Democratic nomination and what did it reveal about party divisions?

2. What was the Democratic platform on silver coinage and how did this affect the Populist Party?

3. Why did conservative Democrats either form a separate party or vote Republican in 1896?

1. What was William McKinley's background and what role did Mark Hanna play in his nomination and campaign?

2. What did the Republican platform promise and how did it differ from the Democratic platform?

1. How did Bryan and McKinley conduct their campaigns differently and what strategies did each use?

2. What factors in the campaign's final weeks helped McKinley defeat Bryan?

3. What were the results of the 1896 election and what regions did McKinley win?

1. Why did the Populist Party decline after 1896 and what happened to the party's reform agenda?

2. What lesson did Thomas Watson and other Populist leaders learn about uniting poor farmers across racial lines?

1. How did the 1896 election result in Republican dominance of American politics for the next two decades?

2. What innovations in campaign organization and financing did Mark Hanna introduce and how did they influence future campaigns?

3. How did the Republican Party's identity change from the Civil War era to the Gilded Age?

1. What did the 1896 election reveal about the shift in American values from rural to urban and industrial priorities?

2. How did McKinley represent a new type of presidency and what changes did he bring to America's role in world affairs?