Who held the main strength in the political machine?
Well-organized political parties and political bosses
Who formed personal relationships w/ their constituents?
political bosses and local precinct reps.
Thomas Nast
-drew political cartoons -the corruption of Tammany Hall & the Tweed King were revealed in his series
What scandals plagued Grant's administration?
-William Tweed & sidekicks looted the NYC treasury -financiers Jay Gould & James Fisk wanted to gain a monopoly on the Gold market
Who wrote the Gilded Age?
Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner
What was unique about Grover Cleveland?
he had 2 inconsecutive terms
Who succeeded Chester Arthur?
Grover Cleveland
What were Grover Cleveland's goals as president?
-political reform -hoped to end the days when gov. jobs were given out as a reward 4 political favors
What did Benjamin Harrison do when he won the presidency?
-rewarded ALL his supporters along with Congress -started his reform efforts
What was another name for the Republican controlled Congress of 1890?
The Billion Dollar Congress
What happened when state gov. passed Granger laws?
-it forced states to regulate railroad freight and gain-storage rates
Why did farmers want gov. to back paper money with silver and what did it help them do?
-because silver was plentiful in the West -it would reduce the value of a dollar & help them pay off debts
Who made up the populist party?
Farmers, labor leaders and reformers
What ended the populist party?
Defeat in the election of 1890 and improvements in farmer's economic status
Political Bosses
leaders of political machines
James Pendergrst
a well-liked boss in Kansas City, Missouri. He began his political career while running a saloon in the industrial river-bottom district where immigrants lived & worked. He gained political support by providing jobs and services to A.A., Irish American and Italian Americans
Gilded Age
name applied by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner to late 1800s America to describe the corruption and greed that lurked below the surface of society
Stalwarts
Republicans in the late 1800s who opposed reform
Interstate Commerce Act
law that regulated railroad shipping b/w states
Mugwumps
"Big chiefs" referred to Republican reformers who supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in the presidential election of 1884
Tammany Hall
a political organization within the Democratic Party in New York City
National Grange
National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry; organization founded by Oliver Hudson Kelley in 1867; addressed economic and political issues concerning farmers
Cooperatives
groups that pool members' resources to sell products directly to markets and to buy goods at wholesale prices
James Garfield
relatively unknown senator who was the Republican Party's presidential candidate
Political Machines
well-organized political parties that dominated local and state gov. in the late 1800s
Gold Standard
type of monetary system in which money is worth a specific amount of in gold
Graft
acquisition of money or political power through illegal or dishonest methods