HIST 1302 Part One
Political Realignments in the 1890s
The Two Major Parties Contrasted
The Two Major
Political Parties
Today
Democratic=Liberal/Progressive
Republican=Conservative
But they were once the reverse!
“The legitimate object of
government, is to do for a
community of people, whatever they
need to have done, but cannot do at
all, or cannot do so well, for
themselves in their separate and
individual capacities.”
--Abraham Lincoln, 1854
Lincoln and Reconstruction-era Republicans were liberals who
ended slavery and advocated equal rights for African-Americans,
gave free land for homesteaders, provided government assistance to
railroads, and government support for higher education.
“The [Republican] party is no longer the people’s party, but one composed of
rich men and monopolists.”
--Howard MacSherry, Lifelong Republican politician turned Democrat, 1890
By the 1890s, reported the New York Times, Republicans were “no
longer the party of Lincoln.”
How Republicans Changed
“In the days of Abraham Lincoln [the
Republican Party] was founded as the
radical progressive party of the nation.”
“[Until the mid-1890s] it remained the
Nationalist as against the particularlist or
State’s rights party.”
“[But in the mid-1890s the issues of
currency and overseas territories] tended
to throw the party into the hands not
merely of the conservatives but of the
reactionaries; of men who, sometimes for
personal and improper
reasons…distrusted anything that was
progressive.”
--Theodore Roosevelt (a Liberal Republican), Autobiography
By 1900 the Republican Party was
torn between the “Standpatters”
(Conservatives) and the “Insurgents”
(Liberals). By the 1920s, the
Conservatives had a majority.
One Example of How Democrats Have Changed
President Andrew Johnson (a
Conservative): Vetoed the 1866 Civil
Rights Act.
President Lyndon Johnson (a
Liberal): Not only signed but also
championed the Civil Rights Acts of
1964, 1965, & 1968
Two Southern Democrats—Both
Named Johnson—A Century Apart
Some Modern Democratic Initiatives
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Social Security
Medicaid
Medicare
Student Financial Aid for Higher
Education
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• High Performance Computing &
Communications Act (created
Internet)
The Roots of Change
With “Bourbon Democrats” (Conservatives) dominating their party and
Republicans becoming increasingly allied with big business, many working
Americans worried that neither party truly represented their interests.
In 1890 the Farmers’
Alliance and the Knights
of Labor formed the
“People’s Party,” a.k.a.
the “Populist” Party.
People’s Party Platform, 1892
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A graduated income tax
Free and unlimited coinage of silver
Postal savings banks, operated by the federal govt.
Excess railroad land to be given to “actual settlers only”
Government owned and operated railroad, and telegraph and telephone system
3 min. 37 sec.
1892 Populist Candidates: Weaver and Field
In 1892 the Democrats nominated former President Grover Cleveland.
3 min. 19 sec.
In 1892 Republican President Harrison ran for re-election.
Former President Grover Cleveland won the 1892 election.
The First Great Depression
1893-1897
In February 1893, while Harrison was still president, a financial
panic on Wall Street led to a nationwide economic Depression that
would last throughout Cleveland’s administration.
Between 1893 and 1896, hundreds of banks and businesses
failed; unemployment rose to 20 percent.
Many Americans wondered if the federal
government ought to intervene in the economy.
Coxey’s Army
The Good Roads Movement
1894: Jacob Coxey’s “Army” marches on Washington, D.C.
Coxey championed federal road-building jobs for the unemployed.
When he attempted to speak at the
Capitol, Coxey was arrested for
walking on the grass!
The 1894 Pullman Strike
In 1886 Pullman Palace Car manufacturer
George Pullman built a “model city” and
manufacturing plant near Chicago and
named it for himself.
Pullman employees paid rent to Pullman for
their homes and bought their utilities from him
at higher prices than outside Pullman.
The 1894 Pullman Strike occurred when
Pullman cut workers wages (by 25%) but
not rents on company-owned housing, nor
dividends paid to investors. Management
wages were not cut either.
The American Railway Union (ARU)
went on sympathy strike, shutting
down the nation’s railroads.
When a court ordered ARU President Eugene V. Debs and other union
leaders to call off the strike, Debs refused and served six months in jail.
Eugene V. Debs
The strike was peaceful until
President Cleveland ordered 12,000
federal troops to Chicago.
13 workers died and 57 were
wounded. More than $300,000 worth
of railroad property was damaged.
Following the Pullman Strike, Eugene Debs gave up on Capitalism
and became leader of the Socialist Party of America.
One positive effect of the battle between labor and capital
was a law establishing “Labor Day” as a national holiday.
3 min. 19 sec.
The Watershed Election of 1896
Bryan vs. McKinley
Under Bryan’s leadership, the
Democratic Party began to
move to the left.
1896 Democratic
Presidential nominee
William Jennings Bryan
was a Populist at heart.
He was also only 36
years old.
The 1896 Republican Presidential nominee
was Ohio Senator William McKinley.
Additions to the People’s (or Populist)
Party Platform 1896
• Direct election of Senators, President, and VicePresident
• During times of depression, unemployed should
be given jobs on public works
• Ban the use of injunctions in labor disputes
When the Democrats co-opted the Populists’ silver coinage issue (as well as its
stand on injunctions), Bryan also became the nominee of the People’s Party.
This cartoon is from a Republican magazine, showing
the Democratic Party becoming “Bryanized.”
The 1896 Election was called
the “Battle of the Standards.”
As a basis for currency,
Republicans favored Gold;
Democrats and Populists
favored both Gold and Silver.
Bryan made his famous “Cross of Gold”
speech at the Democratic convention.
“If they dare to come out in the open
field and defend the gold standard as a
good thing, we shall fight them to the
uttermost, having behind us the
producing masses of the nation and the
world. Having behind us the commercial
interests and the laboring interests and
all the toiling masses, we shall answer
their demands for a gold standard by
saying to them, you shall not press down
upon the brow of labor this crown of
thorns. You shall not crucify mankind
upon a cross of gold.”
--William Jennings Bryan, July 9, 1896
In the popular vote, McKinley won with a paper-thin majority (51%).
“The 1896 election was a watershed election, which commenced a regrouping of supporters of
the two major parties along lines that extended well into future elections.”
--Louis W. Koenig, author of Bryan: A Political Biography