Effects the Depression of the 1890s had on Politics

In this paper I will attempt to explain how the depression of the 1890s had effects on the political tensions at the turn of the century. In order to do this, the information as to what caused the depression will also need to be provided. Many citizens rebelled against the elected leaders and dissatisfaction spread widely throughout America during this time period because of political stalemates. New political factions rose up during this era. Economic depression dominated the 1890s and reshaped political positions and attitudes.

The Effects the Depression of the 1890s had on PoliticsBefore the 1890s the Industrial Revolution caused a huge boom that left the agriculture industry in the dust. With the expansion of railroads linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as to all points across America, the rise of the Industrial Empire, and the continuing debate about using silver as the national coinage standard of America. The depression of the 1890s was partly caused by the flooding of silver. Over supply and lesser demand also resulted in a drop of prices, job cuts and bankruptcy.

Economic depression dominated the 1890s and helped to reshape the political alignments and attitudes of the era.Due to the devastating economic depression, thousands of people had no money and very little hope, which caused for widespread mistrust of elected leaders. The depression brought about business failures, extensive unemployment, and a decrease in the price of farming. As economic conditions worsened, social and political tensions increased rapidly. Starting in early 1893 many people panicked after the economic down turn of the railroad and construction industries, turning to gold as a means to combat stock market loses.Eventually the U.

S. Treasury’s gold reserve began to become depleted and the masses began to blame the president at the time Grover Cleveland. In June 1893 Cleveland called on Congress into a special session about the use of silver coinage. During a session in November 1893 Cleveland repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, originally enacted in 1890. The repeal of this act did not stop the depression but helped in the long run as it reduced the amount of gold out of country, and, eventually boosted business confidence.The repeal of this act also helped to divide the Democratic Party into two groups; Silver Democrats who listened to spokesmen such as William Jennings Bryan, and those Democrats who believed in the gold standard.

The use of silver as the national coinage was not the only topic that divided the Democrats during the depression of the 1890s. Over a course of many years, officials in the Treasury Department deemed that a gold reserve with at least $100 million was necessary to maintain a sound economic policy, but the reserve continued to dwindle during the depression, dropping to less than $42 million by early 1895.In response Cleveland negotiated an agreement with J. P.

Morgan and a group of New York bankers to acquire gold for the treasury by selling off bonds. By doing this it confirmed the political suspicions that Wall Street had a strong association with conservative Democrats who were still loyal to the president. To add to the problems of the Cleveland administration, labor unrest caused a bit of revolution. In 1894 Jacob Coxey led an army of about three hundred jobless workers in a march on Washington as an attempt to put the nation’s jobless to work building roads.The loss of jobs and the continuous flow of immigrants helped to created subcultures, which lead to the creation of political bosses, the spread of corruption, and eventually labor unions. Millions of people were looking for a scapegoat for the country’s economic problems; and were content to blame Grover Cleveland and a divided Democratic Party for the depression, it was expected that the Republicans would win the Congressional elections of 1894.

The Democratic Party loss a bulk of their House seats, the Populist gained somewhat of a foot hole, while the Republicans took over the House majority.The presidential election of 1896 was known as the “battle of the standards”, as it was primarily about the gold and silver standards of money. Democrats focused on free silver coinage which appealed to those looking for a quick solution to the depression and Republicans who focused more on the gold standard that was typical practice for other nations. Republican William McKinley won the election, which cemented the voter realignment on 1894 and started a generation of Republican rule.When McKinley took office in 1897 it was under more favorable circumstances as the economy was beginning to recover. Republicans became a party with an image of progress and prosperity; maintaining much of their political control until the depression of the 1930s.

Under the McKinley’s administration people were persuaded to accept more federal power, introduced new forms of taxation, and passed the Gold Standard Act, which declared gold the standard of currency and putting an end to the silver coinage controversy that dominated the 1890s.In conclusion the events of the Depression of the 1890s had powerful effects on the political tensions at the turn of the century. The debate of whether the national standard should be gold or silver caused many problems and spilt political parties. New political factions also rose up during this era creating new ideas. Economic depression dominated the 1890s and reshaped political positions and attitudes.

Over the course of the decade the country experienced an economic downfall, massive political and social unrest, and began a political reform that would spark the Progressive Era after 1900.