The Political System Under StrainWorld’s Columbian Exposition—400th anniversary, but a year late: 1893 symbol of American and worldwide industrialization and tangible version of mail-order catalogs

Strains on the political system—modern accomplishments masked problems: executive branch weak, legislative and judicial branches buyable

International consequences—competition for resources and markets with Europeans will bring confrontations, wars

A scene from Chicago’s

Columbian Exposition in

1893.

The Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851 in London.A giant "white city" was built in the style of classical architecture along Lake Michigan, and at night, everything was lit up with a string of electric lights, the first time electric lights were used on such a large scale in America. It was at the Chicago World's Fair that most Americans saw electricity in use for the first time. The Chicago World's Fair was also the place where most Americans first saw postcards, fiberglass, the zipper, the ice cream cone, Cracker Jack, Quaker Oats, Shredded Wheat, belly dancing, spray paint, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel at the fair was 264 feet high, carried 2,000 passengers at a time, driven by two 1,000 horsepower steam engines turning on a 45-foot axel. It was the most successful world's fair ever held in the United States. In its half-year, it drew 27 million visitors, or about half the American population at the time.

Politics of ParalysisVoter turnout—high: 80% of eligible, but suffrage restricted to ¼ of population

Ethnic and religious factors—Reps: North

and WASP’s; Dems: South and immigrant catholic

Cartoonist Thomas Nast was the first to portray the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey.

Pendleton Act—exams for some jobs

McKinley Tariff—so high, madeimports prohibitive, raised consumer prices

Charles Guiteau, a frustrated office-seeker, is

apprehended after shooting President James Garfield.

The incident prompted passage of the Civil Service

reforming Pendleton Act.

William McKinley, who as a senator, sponsored the McKinley tariff. Later, as president, he would also be assassinated.

Crime of ’73—some favored inflation, some didn’t;

demonetization of silver—not enough money—deflation: too little money chasing too many goods

Bland-Allison Act—some silver coinage—pressure

for unlimited; Sherman Silver Purchase Act 4.5 mil per month

The dirty election of 1884

The contestants in the election of 1884:

Republican James G. Blaine, the “Plumed

Knight,” and Democrat Grover Cleveland. Blaine

was accused of RR corruption, while Cleveland

was slandered with “Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa. Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha”

and “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion.”

The “Billion Dollar Congress” came at the end of the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, the “human iceberg,”

winner in electoral college.

The Revolt of the Farmers

State commissions—investigate, regulate industry,

especially RR’s

National Municipal League—advocated separate

city/state elections, more mayoral authority

Targets of farm anger—high tariffs, sky-high RR rates,

fat bankers, expensive middlemen

Granger cases—Munn v. Illinois allowed regulation of

private business “devoted to public use,” eventually RR’s, then utilities; Interstate Commerce Commission had little power at first, but a start

Southern Alliance—coops to take over middlemen enterprises and profits, BUT eventually failed

The Grange began as a social organization, but

then got into coops, lobbying, and politics.

The People’s Party—platform: subtreasury (storage and

loans to control volatile market), unlimited silver, direct election of senators, income tax, government ownership of RR’s and utilities

Longer-term weaknesses of the Populists—voters changed parties, but Rep. to Dem; labor didn’t join farmers; people didn’t take to ominous message

Populist firebrands William Peffer and Mary Elizabeth Lease, who told farmers to “raise less corn and more hell.” Both were mocked and made fun of for their appearance.

A pro-Populist Party cartoon.

The New RealignmentCoxey’s Army—hundreds of discontented from 1893 depression armed with “clubs of peace”; trespassing on grass

Free silver—money would increase, prices rise, economy revive; Reps. believed in “sound money,” tariffs: Goldbugs

Cross of Gold speech– “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold”; Populists commit suicide

“Little Bobby,” who could play for miles, keeps

Coxey’s Army paced on their way to Washington, D.C.

The “Boy Orator of the Platte” William Jennings Bryan in action.

Republican coalition—industrial cities, business, farmers, veterans, industrial workers; Dems held the South

Disfranchisement—poll taxes, literacy tests; grandfathering

Ida B. Welles— “educated” whites about mob violence;

organized black women: National Association of Colored Women

Booker T. Washington—advocated working within “the

system”; gather “little green ballots” through manual labor

W.E.B. DuBois—hated “the system,” wanted political

action through “talented tenth”

NAACP—challenged Jim Crow

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Ida B. Welles (top) began campaigning against lynching when three of her friends were lynched; Booker T. Washington (far

right) encouraged blacks to work within an admittedly racist system; and W.E.B. DuBois lashed out at discrimination and

segregation.

Visions of EmpireEcological factors—continental exchange hastened N.A. penetration unlike elsewhere

Forces encouraging American imperialism—economic, political systems

Mahan calls for a strong navy—great

nations/seafaring nations: battleships, coaling stations

Missionaries—responsibility to civilize “our little brown

brothers” with Christianity

Social Darwinism—fittest peoples

dominate lesser peoples

Commercial factors—foreign

markets cushion boom/bust

Alfred Thayer Mahan, author of The Influence of Sea Power upon History.

Rudyard Kipling, the famous British author who called “the white

man’s burden” the civilizing of the non-

white world.

An American missionar

y family in Hawaii.

William Henry Seward—worked to link eastern factories to western ports to Far Eastern markets

Acquisition of Midway and Alaska– “Seward’s Folly,” “Seward’s Polar Bear Garden”?

Blaine’s Pan-American Union—Latin-American “customs union” to reduce trade barriers and nudge out British goods

The Venezuelan Boundary Dispute—32-pound nugget; Cleveland steps in to trump British territorial claims in northern South America and assert Latin-American dominance

William Henry Seward, who

pointed the nation’s attention toward the Pacific and Far East

with a transcontinental RR

and acquisition of Midway and

Alaska.

The Imperial MomentCuba in revolt—Marti incites;

Weyler represses: reconcentration (200,000 dead)

The de Lome letter– “Yellow

Journalism” elevates tensions

Sinking of the Maine—there to protect American businesses, citizens (260 dead)

Jose Marti led Cuba’s revolt against Spanish colonialism with the cry, “Cuba libre”;

Valeriano Weyler viciously tried to put down the rebellion with “reconcentration” camps; and

Dupuy de Lome, Spanish ambassador who wrote the insulting letter about President

McKinley, “the would-be politician.”

The battleship Maine (left) before it went to

Cuba and after the explosion.

The sensational (Yellow

Journalism) reaction to the sinking in the

papers.

Teller Amendment—no intention to annex, BUT…

Dewey at Manila—sinks all Spanish

ships; McKinley: “Where’s Manila?”

Racial tensions—blacks can die for

Cuban peasants but can’t buy pop in Tampa

Secretary of State John Hay, who had been Lincoln’s personal secretary during the Civil War, called the

conflict “a splendid little war,” but it cost 5462 lives (379 in battle, rest due to disease, bad food, and accidents).

Commodore George Dewey, directing the Battle of Manila Bay from his flagship Olympia, who said, “Fire

when ready Gridley”; Admiral William Sampson (below) won an equally

decisive battle at Santiago, sinking all seven enemy ships.

The Rough Riders—many Black Hills cowboys

in unit

The Rough Riders before the Battle of

San Juan Hill; Roosevelt in his

colonel’s uniform and (below)

attending to his duties.

Rough Riders with Roosevelt assembled after the Battle of San Juan Hill.

Annexing Hawaii—sugar planters (McKinley Tariff) had wanted it since Lil’s overthrow, now needed strategically

Aguinaldo—can’t trust Filipinos to run Philippines in America’s business interest

Anti-Imperialists—don’t need to colonize or militarily dominate to benefit from trade The role of racism—little brown brothers need big white brothers even at 230,000 lives (5,000 U.S.); Imperialists/Anti-Imperialists both looked down noses

Sanford B. Dole became the self-proclaimed President of the

Republic of Hawaii on July 4, 1894 after he and other American

businessmen overthrew Queen Lil, whose other claim to fame is writing

“Aloha Oe.”

Emilio Aguinaldo, who first fought

against the Spanish to gain Filipino

independence, then against the Americans.

Puerto Rico—Foraker Act: 2nd class citizens

The open-door notes—nations with “spheres of influence” should let everybody play

Boxer Rebellion—Society of the Harmonious Fist attacks “foreign devils”

Sense of mission— spreading American way of life “blessed by divine providence”

The Empress Dowager.

Boxers; Fanatics stirring up the

people.

American soldiers in China.