Study Guide for Chapter 28
The Revolt of the Debtor,
1889-1900
Part I: Reviewing the Chapter
A. Checklist of Learning Objectives
After mastering this chapter, you should be able to
1. describe the Republican party’s high-tariff, high-spending policies of the early 1890s.
2. explain how farmer and labor discontent with these policies led to Cleveland’s victory and the
rise of the Populists in 1892.
3. indicate how Cleveland’s tight-money policies during the depression of 1893 led to debtor
discontent, labor unrest, and Democratic division.
4. discuss how the silver-tongued Bryan captured the Democratic nomination and stole the
Populists’ thunder in 1896.
5. describe how Hanna financed and organized the urban Republican forces to defeat the agrarian
“radical” Bryan.
6. analyze the consequences of the new Republican era that began in 1896.
B. Glossary
To build your social science vocabulary, familiarize yourself with the following terms.
1. filibuster To utilize the technique of obstructing legislation by tactics such as making long
speeches and introducing irrelevant amendments. “…the majority should legislate…and not
be crippled by a filibustering minority.”
2. landslide An overwhelming majority of votes for one side in an election. “The congressional
landslide of 1890 reduced the Republican membership of the House…”
3. clientele Those whom a lawyer or similar agent is engaged to represent and serve. “…after
hobnobbing with his wealthy clientele, [he] had become increasingly conservative.”
4. legal tender Any form of money that must be accepted in payment for goods purchased or for
repayment of debt. “…the Treasury was required to issue legal tender notes…”
5. bullion Precious metals in their raw form, before they are coined. “…the Treasury was
required to issue legal tender notes for the silver bullion that it bought.”
6. reserve In finance, the portion of money held back from circulation by a bank or treasury,
which provides backing for its notes or loans. “…the gold reserve sank to a dismaying $41
million.”
7. bimetallism The legalized concurrent use of two precious metals as currency at a fixed ratio
of value. “…the platform…came out for international bimetallism…”
8. slush fund An unaccountable sum of money available for questionable to corrupt purposes.
“He…piled up an enormous ‘slush fund’ for a ‘campaign of education.’…”
9. equilibrium A state of balance between competing forces or interests. “The third party
system was characterized by the precarious equilibrium between Republicans and
Democrats…”
10. lobbyist Someone who promotes an interest or cause before a political body, often for pay.
“…not high enough to satisfy the paunchy lobbyists…”
Part II: Checking Your Progress
A. True-False
Where the statement is true, mark T. Where it is false, mark F, and correct it in the space
immediately below.
____ 1. Republicans used tough parliamentary tactics to push their legislation through the
“billion-dollar Congress.”
____ 2. “Czar” Reed’s economic policies were designed to hold down federal spending and
reduce the size of the federal deficit.
____ 3. High tariffs such as those in the McKinley Bill lowered prices on manufactured goods
and thus helped farmers.
____ 4. Farmer and labor disconnect with high-tariff Republican policies electedDemocrats to
Congress in 1890 and increased the appeal of the populists.
____ 5. Cleveland’s efforts to save the gold standard in the depression of 1893 forced him into
financial dependency on J. P. Morgan and Wall Street bankers.
____ 6. Cleveland’s monetary and labor policies made him popular with farmers and workers.
____ 7. The Populists originally attempted to appeal to the poor farmers across the deep racial
divide in the South
____ 8. The Pullman strike demonstrated that workers and farmers could succeed when they
united.
____ 9. Republican leaders Hanna and McKinley believed that business prosperity would “trickle
down” to laborers.
____ 10. Bryan was first nominated by the third-party Populists and then by the Democrats.
____ 11. The heavy contributions from silver-mining interests enabled Bryan to outspend
McKinley in the election of 1896.
____ 12. Eastern factory workers generally voted for the pro-big-business McKinley over the
prosilver Bryan.
____ 13. The Republican victory in 1896 was a triumph for big business and urban middle-class
values over farmers and agrarian values.
____ 14. McKinley’s victory in 1896 marked the end of an era of Republican domination of
American presidential politics.
____ 15. The money issue finally faded from American politics when the Republicans accepted
the principle of silver bimetallism.
B. Multiple Choice
Select the best answer and put the proper letter in the space provided.
____ 1. The “billion-dollar Congress” used up much of the federal budget surplus by spending it
on
a. aid to distressed farmers.
b. veterans’ bonuses.
c. foreign aid.
d. opening new silver mines.
____ 2. The Republican Congress in the early 1890s was dominated by the powerful political
leadership of
a. Henry Clay.
b. James G. Blaine.
c. Thomas Reed.
d. William McKinley.
____ 3. Eastern Republican conservatives agreed to support the inflationary Sherman Silver
Purchase Act in exchange for
a. an end to farmers’ agitation for paper money.
b. western support for the high McKinley Tariff Bill.
c. an agreement to make gold the single monetary standard for the United States.
d. regulation of railroad rates and federal aid to farmers.
____ 4. The very high tariffs enacted in the McKinley Bill led to
a. demands for a silver-backed dollar.
b. increased opposition to Republicans among midwestern and western farmers.
c. retaliation against American industry in Europe.
d. loss of domestic markets for American farm products.
____ 5. The summer of 1892 witnessed bitter industrial strikes among
a. Texas oil workers and Montana lumberjacks.
b. New England textile workers and Illinois railroad workers.
c. California migrant workers and Ohio iron workers.
d. Pennsylvania steel workers and Idaho silver miner.
____ 6. The new Populist party advocated
a. an end to American imperialism.
b. A purer, simpler democracy.
c. Higher education for farmers.
d. Federal support for agricultural technology.
____ 7. Despite substantial gains in the election of 1892, the Populist party was weakened
because
a. most farmers in the Midwest were too attached to the Republican party.
b. southern black farmers were uninterested in Populist issues.
c. white southern farmers were too attached to the Democratic party.
d. both the Republicans and the Democrats accepted their main platform proposals.
____ 8. The final outcome of the southern populist revolt was
a. fairer treatment for southern rural laborers.
b. A substantial weakening of the oppressive sharecropping system.
c. Further disfranchisement and racial violence directed at blacks.
d. Growing racial cooperation between poor rural blacks and moderate urban whites.
____ 9. The greatest problem that President Cleveland faced in his second term was
a. warfare with native Americans in the West.
b. obtaining sufficient silver and gold to back the dollar.
c. a severe and prolonged economic depression.
d. Growing political opposition to his policies from conservative Democrats.
____ 10.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Among the signs of deep unrest in the country in the 1890s were
the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and the “billion-dollar Congress.”
Coxey’s “Commonweal Army” and the Pullman strike.
the Haymarket bombing and the rise of the American Federation of Labor.
the campaign of 1892 and the passage of a federal income tax.
____ 11.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The Pullman strike ended when
the federal government sent troops to break the strike.
the Illinois governor declared a state of martial law.
Railroad owners and workers agreed to a mediated settlement.
the federal government assumed temporary ownership of the railroads.
____ 12. The political organizer and fund-raiser who managed William McKinley’s
campaign for the White House was
a. William Hope Harvey.
b. Eugene V. Debs.
c. Wilson Gorman.
d. Marcus Alonzo Hanna.
____ 13. William Jennings Bryan gave the Democratic nomination in 1896 with his strong
support of
a. unlimited coinage of silver in order to inflate the currency.
b. Higher tariffs in order to protect the American farmer.
c. Government ownership of the railroads and the telegraph system.
d. President Grover Cleveland’s actions in the Pullman strike.
____ 14.
a.
b.
c.
d.
McKinley defeated Bryan primarily because he was able to win the support of
white summer farmers.
eastern wage earners and city dwellers.
urban and rural blacks.
former Populists and Greenback Laborites.
____ 15.
a.
b.
c.
d.
McKinley effectively carried out his campaign goals by enacting
civil-service reform and controls on election spending.
lower tariffs and a silver-backed dollar.
higher tariffs and a gold-backed dollar.
Aid to labor and agriculture interests.
C. Identification - Supply the correct identification for each numbered description.
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
1. Free-spending legislative session of 1890 dominated by the tough House
Speaker Thomas Reed
2. Moderate prosilver act passed by Republicans in 1890 in exchange for a high
tariff
3. Sky-high tariff of 1890 that aroused strong discontent among farmers
4. Farmer-based party that demanded unlimited silver coinage, a graduated income
tax, and government ownership of the railroads, telephone, and telegraph
5. A group of unemployed workers led by Jacob Coxey who marched on
Washington during the depression of 1893
6. Bitter railway dispute of 1894 that ended when federal troops crushed the
workers’ protest
7. Levy set at a rate of 2 percent by the Wilson-Gorman Act of 1894 but
overturned by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional
8. Popular Populist pamphlet of the 1890s that featured a brilliand prosilverite
winning arguments against orthodox bankers and economists
9. Bryan’s eloquent prosilver speech to the 1896 Democratic convention that won
him its nomination for president
10. Term for the extended period of Republican political domination and
diminished voter turnout that began with McKinley’s victory in 1896.
D. Matching People, Places, and Events
Match the person, place, or event in the left column with the proper description in the right column
by inserting the correct letter on the blank line.
____ 1. Thomas Reed
____ 2. Grover Cleveland
____ 3. James B. Weaver
____ 4. Tom Watson
____ 5. J. P. Morgan
____ 6. Jacob Coxey in 1896
____ 7. Eugene V. Debs
____ 8. William “Coin” Harvey ____ 9. Mark Hanna
____ 10. William Jennings Bryan
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Populist author of a widely read pamphlet that denounced bankers and advocated free silver
Old Greenbacker who garnered a million votes as the Populist presidential candidate in 1892
Tough “Czar” who ruled the House of Representatives during the “billion-dollar Congress”
Leader of the railway workers during the Pullman strike, imprisoned for contempt of court
Ohio Republican businessman who engineered and lavishly funded McKinley’s nomination
and election
F. Brilliant southern Populist who began by advocating black-white cooperation and ended as a
racist demagogue
G. Leader elected to a second nonconsecutive term who then, during the depression of 1893,
followed conservative policies which divided his party
H. Ohio businessman who organized a march of unemployed workers on Washington during the
depression of 1893
I. The “banker’s banker” whose loan to the federal Government in 1895 saved the gold standard
but Outraged debtor groups
J. Eloquent, handsome free-silver spokesman who waged a Dramatic but unsuccessful campaign
for the presidency
E. Putting Things in Order
Put the following events in correct order by numbering them from 1 to 5.
____
____
“Old Grover” returns for a second term by defeating a Republican president and an upstart
Populist.
A deep depression sets off bitter labor strikes and prompts a march of Washington.
____
Congress passes a law making all paper currency redeemable in gold, signaling the final
disappearance of free-silver forces.
____
A Mark Hanna-run campaign based on the “full dinner pail” defeats the “Boy Orator of the
“Platte” and his cry of “free silver.”
____
A Republican Congress flush with a Treasury budget surplus rams through a fistful of freespending legislation.
F. Matching Cause and Effect
Match the historical cause in the left column with the proper effect in the right column by writing
the correct letter on the blank line.
Cause
____ 1. “Czar” Reed’s strict parliamentary
____ 2. The high-tariff McKinley Bill
____ 3. The Populist appeal to southern blacks
____ 4. The depression of 1893
____ 5. Cleveland’s determination to save the gold standard
____ 6. Populist orators and pamphlets like Coin’s Financial School
____ 7. Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech
____ 8. Mark Hanna’s well-financed campaign linking McKinley to future business prosperity
____ 9. The decisive Republican victory in 1896
____ 10. The return of prosperity and the discovery of major new gold supplies
Effect
A. Led to a controversial loan from J. P.control of the House Morgan to the U.S. Treasury
B. Caused acute economic distress and labor protests such as the Pullman strike
C. Aroused fears for white supremacy and led to the final disenfranchisement of black voters
D. Drew most eastern wage earners away from Bryan’s free-silver crusade and
into the Republican camp
E. Swept the Democratic convention of 1896 off its feet and won free-silver Bryan
the presidential nomination
F. Spread the debtors’ view that a conspiracy of bankers had elevated gold over silver
G. Aroused farmer discontent and caused a Democratic congressional landslide in 1890
H. Finally satisfied the need for monetary expansion and ended the free-silver agitation
I. Enabled the Republicans to push through the free-spending laws of the “billiondollar Congress”
J. Established a sustained era of Republican party domination known as the “fourth
party system”
G. Developing Historical Skills
Comparing Election Maps
Comparing maps in two consecutive elections enables you to see what political changes have
occurred in a relatively brief historical period. The election map on p. 628 shows the vote by
county; the one of p. 637 shows the vote by state. Keep that difference in mind as you answer the
following questions.
1. Six western states had significant votes for the Populist, Weaver, in 1892. Who carried them in
1896?
2. List the six states where Democrat Cleveland had strong support in 1892 that turned around
and votes Republican in 1896. In which region were most such states located?
3. List five states that stayed solidly Republican in both 1892 and 1896, and five states that stayed
solidly Democratic. In which regions were each of these groups of “solid” states located?
4. In 1892, nine Midwestern and western states had substantial concentrations of Populist voters.
In the election of 1896, how many of those nine states went Democratic, and how many went
Republican?
H. Map Mastery
Map Discrimination
Using the maps and charts in Chapter 28, answer the following questions.
1. In the election of 1892, which three western states had no counties that backed the Populist
party?
2. Which four southern states had the most Populist support in the election of 1892 (that is, at
least three counties that went Populist)?
3. In the election of 1896, how many electoral votes did McKinley win from states west of the
Mississippi River?
4.How many electoral votes did McKinley win in the southern states of the old Confederacy?
Part III: Applying What You Have Learned
1. What were the economic and political effects of the Republicans’ high-tariff, high-spending
policies of the early 1890s?
2. How did Cleveland’s response to the depression of 1893 create labor and farmer unrest and
divide the Democratic party?
3. What caused the Populist free-silver agitation to become so politically powerful in the 1890s,
and how did the Democrats effectively steal the issue from the Populists?
4. How did the forces of economic class conflict and race figure into the farmer and labor revolt
of the 1890s? What did those revolts achieve? Should they be seen as historical failures,
or simply ahead of their time?
5. What were the major issues in the crucial campaign of 1896? Why did McKinley win, and
what were the long-term effects of his victory?
6. Some historians have seen Bryan as the political heir of Jefferson and Jackson, and McKinley
as the political heir of Hamilton and the Whigs. Are such connections valid? Why or why not?
(See Chapters 10, 12, and 13.)