Chapter 8 POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE

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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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SECTION 1
Political Machines
Ways in Which Machines Recruited and Rewarded
Immigrants
Why Immigrants Were Important to Machines
welcomed immigrants upon arrival found
immigrants temporary housing and jobs helped
immigrants become naturalized citizens
helped immigrants with finances, funerals,
and so on
represented a huge supply of supporters and
voters tended to be particularly loyal to
machines/ POLITICAL PARTIES
POLITICAL MACHINES AND IMMIGRANTS
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Political machines
Section 1 Political Machines

• during the late 1800s well-organized political
  parties dominated city governments in the U.S.
  because of their success in getting their members
  elected to local political offices, these parties
  were called political machines.
• Political machines controlled votes by offering
  jobs, political favors, and services to loyal
  supporters.

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• I know what Parks (NYC Politician) is doing,
  but what do I care? He has raised my wages. Let
  him have his (illegal gains)
• Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control
  appointments, and wield considerable influence in
  other political processes. They do not
  necessarily hold public office themselves. In
  fact, most historical bosses did not.

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Blue Low Red High
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Importance of immigrants
Section 1 Political Machines

• easily accessiblecould be welcomed on arrival
• had many needs for housing, jobs, and services
• represented a huge supply of supporters and
  voters
• tended to be loyal to machines

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I am the BOSS of this Boat

• YOU CAN CALL ME SKIPPER
• BECAUSE THE WAY I TURN THIS MONEY OVER YOU CAN
  CALL ME FLIPPER

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Corruption and illegal activities
Section 1 Political Machines

• Machines hired men to vote early and often.
• Bosses took bribes, payoffs, and kickbacks.

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• William Magear "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823
  April 12, 1878) was an American politician and
  head of Tammany Hall, the name given to the
  Democratic Party political machine that played a
  major role in the history of 19th century New
  York City politics.
• He was convicted and eventually imprisoned for
  stealing millions of dollars from the city
  through political corruption. He was of
  Scottish-Irish descent.

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Collapse of Tweeds support
Section 1 Political Machines

• Thomas Nasts cartoons revealed Tweeds
  corruption, even to people who couldnt read very
  well.
• The New York Times published a series of articles
  exposing Tweed.

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Restoring Honest Government
SECTION 2
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SECTION 2
Restoring Honest Government
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Desire for reform
Section 2 Restoring Honest Government

• Americans wanted political reform and honest
  officials because corruption had become so
  widespread. This desire split the Republican
  Party into the Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds.

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President Arthur
Section 2 Restoring Honest Government

• Arthur began to support reform after the
  assassination of President Garfield, and this led
  to reform Republicans voting for Cleveland, the
  Democratic candidate, in the election of 1884.

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Harrisons response to Clevelands reforms
Section 2 Restoring Honest Government

• returned to political patronage
• spent money on Republican pet projects

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SECTION 3
The Populist Movement
Effortsto Help Farmers
Factorsthat Weakened Efforts
FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS
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Economic hardships for farmers
Section 3 The Populist Movement

• heavy debts
• high freight and machinery costs
• falling crop prices

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Farmers movements
Section 3 The Populist Movement

• hoped to pressure states to regulate freight
  andgrain-storage rates
• formed cooperatives
• offered low-cost insurance
• lobbied for graduated income tax
• weakened by government limits on the powerof ICC
• weakened by racial segregation

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Money backed by silver
Section 3 The Populist Movement

• 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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Populist Party issues
Section 3 The Populist Movement

• 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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The effects of silver
Section 3 The Populist Movement

• 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.