Chapter+16

=Chapter 16 Notes (Politics and Reform - 1877-1896)=

Because of the spoils system, or patronage, advancing effective legislation to improve America became almost impossible. (//Patronage// - government jobs go to supporters of the winning party in an election.) Corruption in government had reached new heights. Some politicians tried to change things. And that's what got the feud going within the Republican party (the party that generally held the White House during this era). The "Stalwarts" (NY senator Roscoe Conkling was the leading voice) criticized the "Half-Breeds" for backing reforms just for their own political advantage. The election of 1880 actually featured a pres candidate - James Garfield - that was a Half-Breed, and a vice pres candidate - Chester Arthur - that was a Stalwart. Both were Republicans. they won, but Garfield, the reformer, was assassinated early in his presidency and Arthur becomes president. He tried to become a reformer, but lacked credibility.
 * Stalemate in Washington**

//Pendleton Act// - created the Civil Service Commission which would place individuals in gov't jobs based on examinations. //Interstate Commerce Commission// - (ICC) In 1887, first federal law designed to regulate interstate commerce; limit railroad rates to what was "reasonable and just," forbade rebates to high volume users, and illegal to charge higher rates for short hauls. //McKinley Tariff// - lowered federal revenue and transformed our surplus into a deficit by cutting tobacco taxes and tariffs on raw sugar and raising tariffs on textiles to encourage people from buying foreign goods. //Sherman Anti-trust Act// - 1890 declared monopolies illegal. (more important for establishing a precedent than its immediate impact on breaking up monopolies)

The movement to increase farmers' political power and to work for legislation in their interest. - farm prices had dropped due to new technologies - more was being produced so increase supply means drop in prices - unfair railroad rates; unfair rules from the banks in which they borrowed money
 * Populism**

//Money Supply// - to help pay for the war the gov't increases __//greenbacks//__ (paper currency not exchangeable for gold or silver). This causes //__inflation__// - a decline in the value of money. So the gov't responded. They stopped printing greenbacks and coining silver. But they didn't take into account the growing US economy and this caused //__deflation__// - an increase in the value of money and a decrease in the general level of prices. There wasn't enough money in circulation (about $23 per person in 1895) So farmers couldn't pay bills (mortgage, equipment, seed, etc.) They called the decision to stop coining silver **"The Crime of '73"** __What to do about it?__

The Grange - our nation's first farm organization, the Patrons of Husbandry. Farmers gathered for social and educational purposes, then became politically active when the country went into a severe economic recession in 1873. Created the Greenback Party to support increasing money supply. Couldn't grow b/c most citizens feared paper money - thought it couldn't hold its value.

Farmer's Alliance - began in 1877 in Texas and grew under leadership of Charles Macune. By 1890 it had close to 3 million members in the South, KS, NE, ND, & SD. Formed exchanges to try to influence the unfair railroad rate problems.

Subtreasury Plan - plan for the gov't to set up warehouses to store crops to increase prices and gov't would provide low interest loans to farmers.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 -
 * Rise of Populism**

James Weaver for President in 1892 -

The Panic of 1893

Goldbugs and Silverites

William Jennings Bryan - democratic candidate that the Populist Party suuported. lost to McKinley. Remember what McKinley did? Front Porch?
 * Election of 1896**


 * The Rise of Segregation**

//__Sharecroppers__// - landless farmers who had to hand over to the landlord a large portion of their crops to cover the cost of rent, seed, tools, and other supplies. Ones that left the south for Kansas were known as "Exodusters" (after the Hebrew Exodus from Egyptian bondage) they had to form separate alliances from the white farmers, thus the __//Colored Farmers' National Alliance

Disenfranchising African Americans

15th Amendment//__ - prohibited states from denying citizens the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"

Requiring citizens to be literate Requiring citizens to own property Some required a poll tax (MS charged $2)
 * Southern governments got around that by:**

But the number of white voters began to drop due to these restrictions so a new strategy emerged: the Grandfather Clause - allowed any man to vote if he had an ancestor on the voting rolls in 1867. This made all former slaves virtually ineligible.

__//Legalizing Segregation//__

Segregation - separation of the races

Jim Crow Laws - statutes enforcing segregation (named after a white musical stage performer who darkened his face with makeup and crudely imitated supoosed African American behavior.

Supreme Court cased that upheld the "separate but equal" facilities for African Americans. This ruling established the legal basis for discrimination in the South for more than 50 years to come. Facilities were always separate, but far from equal.
 * Plessy v. Ferguson - 1896**

//__lynchings__// - executions without proper court proceedings (80% in south; 70% of victims were African Americans)

__//Call for Compromise//__


 * Booker T. Washington** - thought African Americans should focus on achieving economic goals not legal or political ones. He put his views in a speech called the Atlanta Compromise.

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 * W.E.B. DuBois** - disagreed with Washington and published his views in his book, //The Souls of Black Folk,// which argued that they should demand their full rights and not settle for less. Founded the N.A.A.C.P. (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

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