In 1868, Johnson was finally replaced through the normal political process, by the people’s choice, the hero of Appomattox and Vicks, Ulysses S. Grant, a very much passive President whose hunger and dedication to the role were evident. Congress was united once again and the Congressional majority could now concentrate on the problem of the South and the
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blacks without interference. Proposed plans for reform in the South were defeated, plans to industrialize it and form the South in the image of the progressive North deemed impossible. The South had changed greatly; it was now filled with economic problems with the death of slavery leaving a void in Southern business. Meanwhile, the Radical Republican party was continuing to make massive strides forward: in March 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was passed giving blacks the right to vote. The freed men were now willing and eager to make the most of their freedom, they were no longer irrelevant in American society, and for the first time they had a voice. The freedmen’s cause also had a large mass of supporters behind them: the scalawags and carpetbaggers (essential to radical reconstruction and always eager for change in the South), the capitalists and industrialists (wanting to capitalize on the rich mineral wealth of the South coal, iron, oil and of course to maximize its labor supply), and support also from the national institutions (army, church, Freedman’s Bureau, state militias, Union League). With this force behind it the black’s status was gradually improving. Public education was provided and property qualifications for voting were added to help the modernization of the South.
However, as the North progressed at a rapid rate, it found new excitement; new pleasures, new factories, new farms and its people and politicians became increasingly bored with the backward South. Time killed off radical leaders and the passion of newly elected civil war leaders died. Times were changing. The Democratic Party now campaigned for black votes and the Republicans did likewise for white supremist votes. The North was now much more concerned with hating the new threat to American liberty, the Irish and European immigrants. The South, however, had a different, less passive attitude than the North. The South was an entirely different place to the North; it may as well have been another world. Reconstruction for the North involved reintroducing states to the political bankrupt on tolerable terms; for the South it meant rebuilding society from its foundations. The divisions in the South at the time were plain for all
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to see; divisions between blacks and whites, confederates and scalawags, and the social classes. There was also the economic problem, a southern economy that was based almost solely on cotton suffered hugely as a result of the abolition of slavery and the resulting shortage of a cheap labor supply. As a result, the despair of the South was expressed through savage race conflict and physical force.
Meanwhile, American politics was going through its most dishonest era in history. With unmanageable debts arising from attempts to rebuild the South and with corruption throughout the entire Grant administration there was a split in the Republican Party. The 1872 election was fought between the Democrats and now “Liberal Republicans”, therefore proving that two-party politics was here to stay. Grant just survived the Democratic challenge. Now, however, the Democrats had a new lease of life, a new optimism based on the anti-business Jacksonian platform. This optimism was further inflated with the Democratic victory in the Congressional election in 1874. Republican Party candidate Rutherford B. Hayes’ administration undoubtedly rigged the 1876 Presidential election in his defeat of Samuel Tilden. Reconstruction was however unofficially dead and by the looks of it, American politics and morals had gone with it. To avert another civil war and to calm the fuming Democrats, a compromise was reached (The Compromise of 1877). Hayes promised investment in the South in return for the improved treatment of African Americans. As it turned out this did turn out to be too good to be true. There were still united attacks on blacks and a general decline in the blacks’ social status. Similarly, Hayes then showed little interest in the South.
Overall, it must be said that Reconstruction had failed in almost every way. The South was still in turmoil. The blacks were still being treated as second-class citizens and the southern whites coping with poor land, poor capital and seemingly no hope for the future. Reconstruction did bring about the 14th and 15th amendments giving a solid grounding for blacks in the North.
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These amendments however did not properly affect blacks in the South for another hundred years.
This was a time when the title “President” mattered very little. Passive and corrupt Presidents became very much the norm, Presidents seemingly doing their utmost to undo the great work of Abraham Lincoln. Congress held all the great power now and this is also where the corruption in American politics was most common. Selfish Senators often used their power and exploited their influence to get wealthier off big business corporations. It was clear; politics were heading down the wrong path. It is true that the need to get rid of corruption was not helped by the two-party system that now was clearer than ever in American politics. This old-style Jeffersonian system states to their own devices therefore making the disease of corruption almost untreatable, and of course the corruptors almost untouched. It was the mixture of old politics and a new society, a society unable to cope with the rapid changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution changed America into what it is today, a continental nation, rich and productive economically packed, and industrialized, with various ethnic origins. America was effectively the first fully modern society but, was in a constant struggle with itself to adapt to this new “Gilded Age”.
Meanwhile, it was now a fact that the big business millionaires and capitalists that were resulting from industrialization practically owned state governments. Entrepreneurs such as Frick, Carnegie and Rockefeller held absolute control over this new breed of greedy politician. The businessmen competed furiously with each other taking potentially huge risks in the hope of claiming potentially huge profits.
Relatively speaking, times looked healthy for the American economy: abundant rainfall, good harvests, easy credit, all resulted in benefits for both towns and farms. The winter of 1886-87 changed all of that: cattle were destroyed and so-called ‘cattle-kings’ were ruined. Similarly, the
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summer of drought in 1887 meant that the Kansas harvest failed. Now times looked bad. Income for farmers naturally decreased and instead of blaming their own faults, turned their anger towards the mismanaged railroads. The ruthless competition of building railroads in the East, resulted in the businessmen allowing Free Fares for Congressmen for using certain lines and provided ‘rebates’ for big shippers (i.e. Standard Oil). This resulted in the farmers having to pay more to railways to cover the capitalists’ costs adding to the problems of drought. Farmers were now convinced that there was some kind of conspiracy against American agriculture. Everything the American farmer believed in was under threat from this new monster of industry and commerce. All sections of farmers in both the South and the West came together to form the Farmers’ Alliance in an attempt at improving the farmer’s lot. Farmers now expressed themselves through politics. In 1888 several farmer’s parties contested state elections and fared well. The newly formed People’s Party in 1892 was another sign of success on the farmers’ part. The real strength of the party was in the enthusiasm of its supporters, the Populists, headed by General James Weaver, did extremely well in the 1892 Presidential election. It was a party aiming to restore the soul of America, a soul that had been eaten away in a haze of corruption and greed since Lincoln’s murder. The Populists now set out on this great political crusade and laid the agenda for reforms for the next twenty years. They sought dramatic changes: the free coinage of silver, a form of income tax be introduced, the sub treasury plan of the Farmers’ Alliance, the nationalization of railroads, the introduction of the secret ballot system in all states, a restriction on immigration, the limit of one-term for Presidents and vice-Presidents, Senators to be chosen by the people, and most controversially, it called for a national currency to be introduced that could adapt to the needs of the people. The currency question caused a complete split in Congress. This substantial divide meant that no rational tariff would be possible. Grover Cleveland was one man opposed to a high tariff. Siding with the ordinary, working-class views,
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Cleveland’s popular vote naturally increased and he was re-elected for a second term in 1892. The economy immediately struggled. He failed to prevent or withdraw the 1890 McKinley Tariff, which undoubtedly favored the monopolists. Attempts to restore business confidence failed, as businessmen remained unwilling to take risks at such an unsteady time. Efforts by Cleveland to defend the gold-standard, only served to widen the gap between himself and Congress.
As expected, the Democrats did badly in the 1894 Congressional elections as a wave of strikes swept the country in a vain attempt to prevent mass lay-offs. In response to this Cleveland introduced labor restrictions and sent federal troops to Chicago to break the railroad strike. The people demanded and deserved more. Discontent grew, as did socialist ideas. There was a growing demand for greenbacks to be introduced, which would allow the government to regulate the circulation of money. However, Weaver made the fatal mistake of concentrating solely on the currency question in the lead up to the 1896 election as this issue had no appeal for those struggling industrial workers, they just wanted work! In the end, the election transpired to be economically irrelevant; instead it became a straight battle between the industrial society and farming communities and settled the identity of the Democratic and Republican parties for good. The Republicans, led by William McKinley represented the higher class society in America and lectured on the importance of the gold standard. The Democrats, on the other hand, aimed to rid themselves of all Cleveland’s work. McKinley took the election and the Republicans captured both houses of Congress, which signifies the shift from America from a rural nation to an urbanized one. American politics now had a system and the parties had an identity. And then for some reason, the economy picked up. Businesses began to boom again, farmers’ hopes improved and most importantly that famous American self-confidence was restored. As we entered the 20th century, times began to look good again.
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The nineteenth century ended as it began, in violence. McKinley’s declaration of war on Spain in 1898 put a brief halt to the nation’s progressiveness. It was a brief, yet intensely fought conflict that ultimately led to a victory for the U.S. Navy, resulting in the Spaniards relinquishing their claim to ownership of certain parts of the Caribbean and Pacific, to the Americans.
Summarily, our nation underwent dramatic and significant changes following the Civil War. Whether economically, politically, or socially, these changes aided to the development of America today and allowed for certain traits and ideals to be carried out through the 20th century.