Chapter 21
POLITICS AND PROTEST (1865B1900)
1. Objectives - After completing the study of Politics and Protest, students will be
able
a. To identify the problems farmers faced during the late 1800's.
b. To discuss the rise and fall of the Grange.
c. To analyze the impact of the Interstate Commerce Act.
d. To explain the motivations of the groups that supported greenbacks and free
silver.
e. To describe the campaign and results of the election of 1896.
f. To discuss the Populist movement.
g. To trace women=s involvement in the temperance and suffrage movements.
h. To discuss the political ideas of Karl Marx and Henry George.
2. Content
a. Agrarian Unrest
(1) The Plight of the Farmers
(2) Railroad Abuses
(3) The Grange
(4) The Interstate Commerce Act
b. Rise and Fall of Populism
(1) Greenbacks and Free Silver
(2) The Populist Movement
(3) Cleveland=s Second Term
c. Other Forces of Reform
(1) Temperance and Women=s Rights
(2) Socialism
(3) Dissenting Voices
Section 1: Agrarian Unrest
I. Plight of Farmers
- Plague of ____________________ ruin crops in late 1800s
- Prairie ____________, __________storms, and
_____________ were enemies of farmers
- Fall in ______________due to overproduction
- New __________________cost a lot of ____________
- Many go into debt
- Farmers organizations began to appear to _______________
and _______________ crops, became known as the
___________________________
II. RR Abuses
A. Unethical Business practices
- Some _____________practices occurred during process of
obtaining RR “connections”
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- Millions in ______________ in exchange for special favors
such as: 1.___________________, 2._________________
3._________________________, 4.___________________
- _________________________: practice of increasing the #s
of shares of the company w/out adding to the company
assets.
B. Unfair Pricing
- Railroads ___________________for short hauls where there
was no competition.
- __________________: illegal agreements among individual
RR to divide the total volume of freight among their lines
and keep rates high.
III. The Grange
A. From Social Support to Political Action
- The ___________ was the main region where anti RR
sentiment was evident.
- “Patrons of Husbandry” or the “______________” became
early National Farming Organizations
- Founder = Oliver _____________________
- 1st fraternal organization to admit ______________on a
regular basis
- Panic of 1837 turned the Grange into a ___________lobby
- Local Grange Org. pooled farmers resources to set up mills,
_________________, _____________, insurance co., grain
elevators and ___________________: nonprofit stores
owned by Farmers
- Became involved in local and Nat’l affairs
B. Granger Laws vs. Business Interests
- _______________________: fixed max freight and
passenger rates, forbade RR to discriminate between places
or shippers and attempted to regulate monopolies
- Private business felt Granger Laws were Unconstitutional
(14th Amend.)
- Grangers maintained the Govt must regulate the _____ and
other monopolies in order to protect the public.
C. Supreme Court Decisions
- _________________________: S.C. decides in favor of
Granger Laws.
- Granger laws were still unsuccessful
- Membership declines after 1870’s
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- Some positives = 1. ________________________________
- Mont Ward and Co. founded in 1872
A. Final Blow to the Grange Laws
- ___________________________Decision – S.C. said that
state could control RR traffic only with in each state’s own
boundaries.
- National ______________________and
______________Union: Nat’l alliance formed from local
groups looking to replace the Grangers
IV. Interstate Commerce Act
- 1887 1st Fed’l law to regulate ________________commerce
- The Interstate Commerce Act: 1.______________________
2._____________________, 3._______________________
4.__________________________________________
Section # 2: Rise and fall of Populism
I. Greenbacks and Free Silver
- __________________: decline in value of money when
more money is printed resulting in increased prices of goods
and services.
- _________________: econ. Condition in which the volume
of available money or credit decreases, resulting in the
decline of the price of goods
- Post Civil War = Production of agric. Staples nearly
__________________while the supply of ______increased
very little resulting in low prices
A. Gold Standard
- _______________________: monetary system in which a
nation’s currency is based on the value of gold
- World production of ____________ out did world
production of __________
- Supply of _______ increased very little ---result
_______prices
B. The demand for free silver
- 1873 Gold Standard adopted by __________________
- _____________ miners outraged by thought that their silver
would not be coined
- Miners demanded that all silver brought to the mint should
be coined. Ex. __________________
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- Bland Allison Act 1878
- Passed over Pres. Hayes’ _____________
- Required that the treasury buy $___-$____million worth of
silver a month and issue currency against it.
- B.A. Act added to the money supply but didn’t lower _____
II. The Populist Movement
A. Government Policies
- __________________: minor political party
- 1892 ______________ Party received electoral votes
- Post Civil War Fed’l policy mostly favored industry over
__________________and the city over the ______________
- Farmers continued to be irritated by lack of effort to help
their situation
B. Forming a Party
- Populist party originated from 2 great farmers organizations
1.________________________, 2.__________________
- Both wanted: 1._________________, 2.________________
- 3.____________________, 4.___________________,
5.__________________________________________
- The _______________’s party was formed in Feb. 1892
- Nominated James B. _________________ for President
C. The Omaha Platform
- Wanted Govt rid of _______________________
- Wanted world wide adoption of ___________standard
stopped
- Agriculturists, not organized labor dominated the
_____________party
- Populists simply wanted to change the rules of the Capitalist
system, not overthrow it.
D. Election of 1892
- All ____ electoral votes received by populists were from
states west of the ____________________river
- Democrats w/ populist principles or “_______________”
elected Grover _________________
III. Cleveland’s 2nd Term
A. Cleveland loses Democratic support
- Blamed for “Panic of _________” even though Harrison’s
admin. Was the culprit
- Cleveland antagonrizes the ______________by defending
the ___________standard
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B.
C.
D.
E.
- Sherman ______________________Act: Cleveland feared it
would flood the Treasury with so much silver that it
wouldn’t be redeemed in Gold.
- Calls special session of _______________to deal with the
issue and hopefully repeal the law.
- He could only do this with _______________support
- J.P. ________________ takes advantage of the selling
Rep. Nominate McKinley
- Rep. become identified with
____________________interests more than ever.
- Mark _______________becomes the dominant man in the
Party.
- Used his “talents” to secure a nomination for his friend
William ________________ in 1896.
Democrats Nominate Bryan
- Gold Dem. and Silver Dem. were fighting bitterly by the
time the Dem. ________________ began
- William ____________________________nominated
The Campaign for Presidency
- _________________views on free silver would not be
enough to win.
McKinley Wins
- Victory for ________________over Agriculture
- Populists disappear from scene after 1896 election
Section # 3
I. Temperance and Women’s Rights
A. Temperance Movement
- 1869 Supporters of ________________form political party
- ____________________:forbid the sale and making of
alcohol.
- 2 National organizations supporting this:
1.______________________________, 2.______________
- Frances ___________________the leader of WCTU
B. Women’s Suffrage
- 1st leaders = Elizabeth Cady _________________; former
abolitionist
- Susan B. _______________; head of
NWSA________________________________
- Women’s suffrage Amendment never passed….until 1920
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- By 1900 4 states allowed women to vote: 1.__________,
2.__________, 3.___________, 4.____________
C. Women and Unions
- Sweat shops
- 2 prominent Women’s Unions:
1._____________________________________
- 2._____________________________________
II. Socialism
A. Experiments in Socialism
- Robert ____________ Coop. Communities declining with
industry rose out of this move.
B. Karl Marx and Socialism
- Karl _______________ The Communist
________________ predicted capitalism was doomed.
- Gained only a small following in the US.
C. American Socialist Party
- Eugene V. ______________=leader of Amer. Soc. Party
III. Dissenting Voices
A. Henry George and the Single Tax
- Henry George’s book
_________________________addresses problems of land
___________________
- Were not putting land to use
- Developed a ______________tax which would be based on
the potential value of the land if it were used efficiently
- Nice idea—too radical to be universally accepted.
B. Limited support for radical change
- Most Americans didn’t want to change
C. Working thru the Polit. Process
- Many relied on the Political party system
Key Terms
The Grange
Interstate Commerce Act
Pooling
Cooperative
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Section 2
Populist Party
Mark Hanna
William McKinley
William Jennings Bryan
Inflation
Deflation
Gold Standard
Third Party
Section 3
Susan B. Anthony
Eugene V. Debs
Conspicuous Consumption
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