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CHAPTER 19
Political Stalemate and Rural Revolt,
1865–1900
This chapter covers a stunning transformation in the late nineteenth century. An agricultural society long
rooted in the soil and little involved in global issues had become an urban and industrialized nation
deeply entwined in world markets and international politics. The chapter outlines the new immigration
from Europe and the nativist response, in part reinforced by the concept of Social Darwinism and
continued attempts to justify the idea of white supremacy. A discussion of party politics and the workings
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Urban America
A. Growth in all Directions
B. Crowds, Dirt, and Disease
II. The New Immigration
A. A Surge of Newcomers from Europe
B. The Nativist Response
III. Cultural Life
A. Saloons
B. Leisure for Women
C. The Impact of Darwinism
IV. Gilded Age Politics
A. Local Politics and Party Loyalties
B. National Politics
C. Hayes to Harrison
V. Hayes and Civil Service Reform
A. Garfield, Arthur, and the Pendleton Act
i. A Presidency Cut Short
ii. The Civil Service Commission
B. The Campaign of 1884
C. Cleveland’s Reform Efforts
VI. Farmers and the “Money Problem”
A. Agricultural Unrest
B. The Granger Movement
C. Farmers’ Alliances
D. New Third Parties
E. The 1892 Election
F. The Depression of 1893 and the “Free Silver” Crusade
i. Silverites versus Goldbugs
ii. William Jennings Bryan
LECTURE IDEAS
1. Students often find it fascinating to think about the importance of horses and other animals in
America’s largest cities around the turn of the century. As the text notes, not only did real horsepower
make it possible for people to travel about and move things around but also Americans put the
2. The development of municipal water and sewer systems is closely connected to the development of
indoor plumbing. The systems only work to maintain public health if connections to all properties are
mandatory. The development of these systems therefore captures the tension between individualism and
private property rights on the one hand and the power of government to supersede these rights to
protect the larger public good. Along the way, the interconnected histories of indoor plumbing, city water
3. A lecture on Social Darwinism can go a long way toward helping students understand the new forms
of white supremacy that developed during this period. Students are often surprised to learn that
Darwin himself did not come up with the line “survival of the fittest.” Darwin, rather, referred to
4. The stories of Ellis Island and of the push-and-pull factors that brought so many people to America in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are both compelling and important. Explain in clear
5. One notable aspect of American immigration history is the particular animosity directed toward
Asian, especially Chinese, immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and subsequent efforts to
6. A great way to begin a lecture on the Gilded Age is to simply ask the students where they think the
term gilded age originated. If they have read the text, they will know that it is the title of Mark Twain’s
first novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which he wrote with Charles Dudley Warner. A summary of
7. Give a general overview of the agrarian revolts in this period. Then divide the class into two distinct
8. For a lecture on the election of 1896 and William Jennings Bryan as “reformer,” see John A. Garraty’s
“Bryan: The Progressives” (American Heritage, December 1961). Also useful is Paul W. Glad’s
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. Have your students research the history of baseball, football, and basketball, and then come to class
2. The photographs of late nineteenth-century New York City by Jacob Riis, along with his book How the
Other Half Lives (1890), are credited with bringing popular attention to the deplorable conditions in
city slums and the challenges faced by the poorest of the poor. Have your students look at some of
3. William Jennings Bryan was known as one of the greatest orators of his day, indeed of all time. Have
your students listen to some of Bryan’s speeches (his “Cross of Gold Speech,” for example, can
be played at https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95691800). Have the class
consider and discuss what made Bryan such a powerful speaker. How would his style translate to
the contemporary context? For those students who might not be impressed by Bryan’s speeches, ask
4. During the Gilded Age, campaign songs were an important part of the presidential races. Present some
of these songs to your students. Have them analyze the lyrics and the way in which the songs are
representing the major issues of the day. They might also consider how the campaign songs of the
Gilded Age relate to the politics (and song choices) of the more recent presidential campaigns. Lyrics
5. Late nineteenth-century local politics was based on party loyalty. Have your students research the
role of one of the party bosses who used their “machine” to marshal activists and dole out patronage
in return. New York City’s Democratic William “Boss” Tweed and his control of the Tammany Hall
6. In the 1880s and 1890s, farmers supported “free silver” and an unlimited supply. Creditors, on the
other hand, preferred a tighter supply based on the gold standard. Have students research the politics
of the money supply. Why were farmers in the late nineteenth century so interested in the question of
7. Have students watch the segments of the History Channel’s The Presidents (2005) that cover the
Gilded Age presidents from Rutherford B. Hayes through William McKinley. The documentary is
available for purchase on sites such as Amazon and, alternatively, could be put on reserve at the
library. After students view the material, ask them to select the president who they believe was the
most accomplished during the Gilded Age and write a brief paper justifying their choice. In the same
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. To what extent are the concerns and plans of action advocated by the nativists still evident in
contemporary American politics? Does the survival of certain strains of nativist thought suggest the
2. Why was President James A. Garfield assassinated? How did his assassination change the course of
American history?
3. In the 1896 election, opponents of William Jennings Bryan called him a socialist. What exactly is
socialism? Was Bryan, in fact, a socialist or were his opponents misusing the term? How does the
4. Why is it so difficult for third-party movements to succeed in the United States? Did the Populist party
ever have a chance? Did it miss or misplay an opportunity that might have led it to become stronger and
more influential than it was? Is the experience of the Populist party in any way instructive to the
challenges today of launching a third-party movement?
5. Which economic approach do you think would have been best for the country during the Gilded Age:
the gold standard or “free silver”?
6. How do the politics of the Gilded Age compare to today? What are the differences and similarities?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
When we read about nativist movements in the immediate decades before and after the turn of the century, it
is easy to see today that some people in the past were simply delusional. The Stanford professor who
complained of the inferiority of non-Nordic immigrants, such as Italians, to grasp “Anglo-Teutonic
conceptions of law, order, and government” certainly could not exist today. Nor could the American
