Presidential Legacies: The Gilded Age 1881-1901

The Gilded Age Presidencies are generally defined by their laissez faire administrations. This reputation is only partially deserved. America changed at such a pace, it was difficult for government to change with the times. The presidents did push for change. However, the party bosses still had a lot of power. That power would not be completely crushed until the advent of the primary system. Even then, it took almost the entire century to rid the system of the party bosses. The first two presidents of this era battled the party bosses and scored some victories. However, one was assassinated by an insane office seeker while the other was shoved aside by the bosses for being too reformist.

James Garfield (1881): Garfield spent his transition period working on a cabinet designed to pacify all his party’s factions. His last appointment angered New York Party Boss and U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling. The feud peaked when Garfield nominated Conkling’s enemy to be Collector of the Port in New York. This was a highly coveted and highly lucrative post. Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling and the boss decided to resign from the Senate in order to vindicate himself. His home state refused to send him back to the Senate. Garfield won a complete victory. By September of 1881, Garfield would be dead.

Chester Arthur (1881-1885): Garfield’s assassination led to Chester Arthur’s ascension. In the aftermath of the assassination, Arthur pushed a reform agenda. The Pendleton Act created the Civil Service Commission and ended the old spoils system. Garfield was murdered by a disgruntled office seeker. Pendleton took federal job appointments away from the politicians and led to less cronyism and more professionalism in government. Like Garfield, Arthur refused to play ball with the party bosses. It cost him the Republican Nomination for President in 1884.

Grover Cleveland (1881-1885, 1893-1897): Cleveland was the first Democrat since James Buchanan in 1857 to be elected president. He would be the last until Woodrow Wilson in 1912. Cleveland’s first term was rather successful. He pushed for several reforms and was a solid economic manager. When he ran for re-election, he won the popular vote. However, his opponent, Benjamin Harrison, won the electoral college. Cleveland swore he’d return. In 1888, he defeated Harrison and then experienced one of the worst economic downturns in history. Cleveland is the only man to be elected to two non-consecutive terms.

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893): Harrison’s economic policies helped bring about the Panic of 1893. Harrison supported the McKinley Tariff which dramatically raised tariffs. He supported the Sherman Silver Purchasing Act which led to inflation. Harrison also passed a Civil War Pension which dramatically depleted federal funds. The combination of inflationary government policy, higher taxes in the form of tariffs, and the pension payments combined with railroad failures to send America into it’s worst economic downturn of the 19th Century. Ironically, the current administration is attempting to replicate the economic policies of the Harrison Administration with high spending, high taxes, and inflationary monetary policy.

William McKinley (1897-1901): America’s economy rebounded under McKinley. However, his legacy is entwined with the Spanish American War. McKinley did not want war. He fought in the Civil War and did not want to put people through that again. However, he had no choice once the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. Americans blamed Spain. The war was on. America clubbed Spain and conquered Guam, The Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Cuba was later granted their independence, but America negotiated the right to lease Guantanamo Bay in perpetuity. Interestingly, historians rank James K. Polk higher than McKinley despite the fact the two men had similar accomplishments.

The Goods (part 2)

Here is the second part of the list of good presidents:
They are listed chronologically.
1. Chester Arthur (1881-1885): He took over when Garfield was assassinated. While in office, he racked up a considerable (for the time) list of reforms. Arthur proved uncontrollable, so the party bosses had to get rid of him. He lost the nomination in 1884 to James Blaine. Blaine lost the election.
2. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897): Grover Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. He is the only Democrat to be elected to office between 1860-1912. The most important piece of legislation passed under him was the Interstate Commerce Act which became the basis for all government regulation. He also pushed for a sound economy and anti-inflationary measures.
3. William McKinley (1897-1901): William McKinley was the GOP's James K Polk. He oversaw the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of overseas colonies. McKinley opposed going to war with Spain until The USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor. Everyone blamed Spain and the war was on. The US acquired Guam, The Philippines, Gitmo, and Puerto Rico.
4. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963): Domestically, Kennedy did not get much done legislatively. He did help the Civil Rights Movement and aided James Meredith integrate Ole Miss. Kennedy also stopped the USSR from depositing missiles in Cuba. Had he failed, you would not be reading this and he'd be a failure. Kennedy had two major failures in foreign policy. One was the Bay of Pigs mistake and the other was his first summit with Khrushchev. Overall, his record was solid.
5. George H. W. Bush (1989-1993): A decade ago, he'd have been a rung down on this ladder, but his stock has improved amongst historians and even his enemies. He stopped Iraqi Aggression in Kuwait and did not get the country bogged down in Iraq. When Panama declared war, he finished it. Bush also passed the last real piece of civil rights legislation with the ADA. On the other hand, the country underwent a slight recession and he lost the 1992 election because of Ross Perot.
Tags: The Presidency, Politics, Chester Arthur, Presidents, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Spanish American War, John F. Kennedy, Cuban Missile Crisis, George HW Bush, Bush 41, Iraq

Cleveland vs. Harrison

President Grover Cleveland had a pretty successful first term in office. He even got married to a 22 year old! As a result, he easily won renomination for president in 1888. The only question was who would he beat?
The Republicans nominated former senator and Civil War general Benjamin Harrison. His main qualification seemed to be his ancestry. Harrison's grandfather was a founding father and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
The big issue was the tariff. Democrats opposed a high tariff while Republicans supported it. Cleveland proposed a dramatic decrease in tariffs claiming it was unjust taxation. Harrison supported the tariff as a way to fund the government. Two weeks before the election, a letter surfaced from a former British citizen asking whom to vote for. The former Brit turned out to be a Republican activist and the letter was sent to the British embassy. The British ambassador endorsed Cleveland.
Harrison won the election, but lost the popular vote by 100,000. Cleveland had lost his home state of New York and that threw the election to Harrison in the electoral college.(This election is very similar to 2000. That year, Al Gore lost his home state and that cost him the election). Mrs. Cleveland promised to return ala MacArthur in the Philippines.
Four years later, the two men squared off again. This time, a third party candidate had emerged. James Weaver represented the Populist Party. The Populists supported unlimited silver coinage, an income tax, eight hour work days, and other "radical" policies.
Weaver put in a good showing. He received over a million votes, four states, 22 electoral votes, and 8 1/2% of the vote. Cleveland won the popular vote by 400,000 votes and won 277 electoral college votes. The uninspired Harrison Administration was at an end. Cleveland is the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms.

One Dirty Election: 1884

James Garfield was assassinated six months into office. His successor, Chester Arthur, proved a reformer. As a result, the Republican party bosses decided to get rid of him. They needed someone less honest and more easily controlled. They denied Arthur the nomination and threw it to James Blaine.
Senator Blaine had a distinguished career and was a leader of the "half-breeds." The Half-Breeds were moderate Republicans that opposed the ultra conservative Stalwarts. On the other hand, he opposed some Radical Republican efforts to reform the South. This does not necessarily mean Blaine was honest. Evidenced surfaced that Blaine was more than willing to help people for the right price. The Democrats seized on the issue. Their battle cry was "Blaine! Blaine! The Continental Liar from the State of Maine!"
Blaine made an inviting target for the Democrats. Their nominee was not clean either. Grover Cleveland was an able governor of New York and won the nomination after Samuel Tilden withdrew due to ill health. The Democrats attempted to paint Cleveland as a paragon of virtue, but it turned out he was paying child support to a woman that had a child out of wedlock. Maria Halpin was involved with several men at the time. In the 1884 version of the Anna Nicole saga, Cleveland decided to take responsibility as all the other men were married. It is not clear if the child was his or any of the other dozen men she was involved with. The GOP slogan became, "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa?"
The election was very close. Reform minded Republicans known as "Mugwups" supported Cleveland against the corrupt Blaine. The final result was a Cleveland victory 48.5% to 48.2%. The people decided someone with a bastard child was preferable to someone that took bribes. The Democratic answer to "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa?" was "Gone to the White House! Ha! Ha! Ha!"