Chapter 21 Flashcards
(119 cards)
Who was Mark Twain?
wrote the Gilded age about corrupt politicians.
The most important feature of Gilded Age Politics
Localism
Who was Charles Dudley Warner?
wrote the gilded age about corrupt politicians
Woodrow Wilson
said there were no leaders, principles or parties
Gilded Age?
post civil war 19th century. Local politics and small federal govt. It means that on the outside it looked good, but on the inside of the gilded age there was corruption and madness.
Rings?
small groups of powerful political insiders who controlled politics in a region
Bosses
the leader of the ring who mediated disputes, helped the needy and distributed patronage
Patronage?
giving jobs to the people who help your party get elected.
Factors of National Politics distinctive texture
- Party Loyalty
- Close division of parties - avoided controversial issues
- Widespread political participation
Party Loyalty
often an emotional thing, spans generations and spans different ethnicities
Waved the bloody shirt
republicans reminding people the democrats caused the civil war & republicans saved the union
Republicans vs. Democrats - platforms, members, religions, economic differences, regions?
Republicans rule the northeast and Midwest with Protestants, British descendants, African Americans and Union Veterans with nativist policies. Democrats consist of jews, free-thinkers, Catholics, southern whites, immigrants, and people repelled by the “party of morality”
Carry Nation
lead the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Attacked saloons with a hatchet
Temperance
a republican issue; they hated the immigrants and the crime and corruption that came with saloons.
1869-1913 Republican dominated whitehouse
Grant through Taft (minus 2
nonconsecutive terms for Cleveland). Usual split between Republican and Democrat.
Rest of national politics extremely even
16 republican, 14 democrat states, Swing states
No presidents between Lincoln and Roosevelt could be considered “strong”
No parties dominated Congress
John Sherman
John Sherman—said legislative branch should dominate executive (Ohio Senator)
James Blaine of Maine
received bribes from an Arkansas railroad after helping it receive a govt. grant
Spoils?
“spoils”—giving jobs to members of your party after you win
Patronage?
basically the same as the spoils system. This was more like giving jobs to the people that voted for you. Not giving them federal spots, but just industrial work.
George Washington Plunkitt
can’t keep an organization together without patronage
Struggle for honesty in politics
Hayes wants to bring honesty to pres.
Stalwarts
supported Grant, radical reconstruction and spoils system