Election+of+1896


 * GILDED AGE POLITICS**

Political Songs (2 screens) http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-11/thismonth/feature.php http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-11/thismonth/featureb.php

Party Politics
 * Politics was the most popular form of local recreation,

More popular than baseball, vaudeville, or circuses.
 * Political torchlight parades, picnics, and speeches were exciting.
 * Close political party balance.
 * [Commentators compared the 2000 election results to that during the Gilded Age.
 * Neither political party gained clear control for any sizable time.
 * Presidential elections were close
 * Swing states (New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois) made the difference.
 * Political party choice dependent on religion and ethnicity.


 * Republican party**


 * Party of evangelical Protestants.
 * Believed government could be an agent of moral reform
 * World must be purged of evil
 * Legislation necessary to protect people from sin.
 * Opposed parochial schools.
 * Supported prohibition of liquor.

Republicans and the Bible http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/goldbible.html


 * Democratic party**

Party of immigrant Catholics and Jews. Opposed interference by government in

Matters of personal liberty Use of leisure time Celebration of Sunday. > Supported parochial schools > Opposed prohibition of liquor


 * ELECTION OF 1896**

Election of 1896 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1896

Major realigning election in U.S. history Winner: William McKinley—a Republican

McKinley conducted a traditional "front porch" campaign McKinley supported the gold standard. Republican platform emphasized
 * Federal government support of the economy
 * The virtues of the urban–industrial society
 * Progress and prosperity: a full dinner pail
 * Loser: William Jennings Bryan—a Democrat

Bryan broke with tradition; traveled across the country Bryan supported free silver Bryan argued for an older America
 * Farms as important as factories,
 * Rural and religious life outweighed sinfulness of the city
 * Common people, not corporations, still ruled.
 * Election of 1896 realigned national politics.

Old split: North versus South

Election of 1896 The "Bloody Shirt" Vote as you shot Reconciliation after Civil War Lost Cause Connection to monuments discussion these days

New split:

East versus West City versus farm


 * VASSAR WEBSITE**


 * Election of 1896**

1896 Presidential Campaign (Vassar) http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/1896home.html My Website Spotlight blog post http://thelearningprofessor.blogspot.com/2012/06/website-spotlight-1896-vassar.html

To get some context, read the portion regarding the Election of 1896 from this biographical material about William McKinley. http://millercenter.org/president/mckinley/essays/biography/3

Try to understand the 1896 material on its own terms, but--to a brief extent--consider the current 2012 Presidential campaign dynamics as a comparison.

William McKinley http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/mckinley.html

Mark Hanna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hanna

The Republicans, Mark Hanna, and Labor http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/hanna.html

William Jennings Bryan http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryan.html

William Jennings Bryan (Today in History, Library of Congress) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar19.html

1896 Election (New York Times, On This Day) http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0709.html

Election of 1896:

Political Parties in the 1896 Presidential election campaign: http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/parties.html

The Republican Party (main page) http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/republicans.html

The Democratic Party (main page) http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/democrats.html

The Populist Party (main page) http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/populists.html

Bryan and the Bible Bryan, Religion, and the Silver Question http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryanreligion.html

McKinley Supporters and the Bible http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/goldbible.html

Racial Prejudice http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/prejudice.html

Plessy versus Ferguson (Today in History, Library of Congress) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may18.html

Antisemitism http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/antisemitism.html

Women suffrage http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/suffrage.html

Women in the Campaign http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/women.html

Bicycles http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bicycle.html

The Currency Issue http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/currency.html

Check out these sites; both gold and silver fluctuate in price: http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/ http://www.monex.com/liveprices

Gold Standard

March 14, 1900 | U.S. Officially Adopts Gold Standard - NYTimes.com []

In Rise of Gold Bugs, History Repeats Itself - NYTimes.com []

Back to a Gold Standard? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com []

FDR takes United States off gold standard — History.com This Day in History — 6/5/1933 []

Farmers and Laborers http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/labor.html

Uncle Sam [] Here is a more complete explanation of the origin of the term "Uncle Sam": http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/sam/sam.htm

Temperance http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/prohibition.html

Civil War and Slavery http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/civilwar.html

Lynchings and Jim Crow in the South Plessy versus Ferguson (1896)

Sectional Interests http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/sections.html

US Foreign Relations Spain and Cuba; Turkey and Armenia http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/foreignrelations.html

Hamidian Massacres https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamidian_massacres

Socialism http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/socialism.html

Can Bernie Sanders keep socialism alive? [read both pages] http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/bernie-sanders-socialism-eugene-v-debs-213093 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/bernie-sanders-socialism-eugene-v-debs-213093?o=1

Political interpretation of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

Tariffs http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/tariff.html

McKinley Tariff http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1468


 * WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN**

Remember to use Google Images for persons, events, newspaper headlines

William McKinley (Miller Center) [Read both of these links] http://millercenter.org/president/biography/mckinley-life-before-the-presidency http://millercenter.org/president/biography/mckinley-campaigns-and-elections

1896 Election (New York Times, On This Day) http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0709.html

Bryan's Cross of Gold speech http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/crossofgold.html

Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” Speech http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/ http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=163

William Jennings Bryan bio (LOC) []

William Jennings Bryan - A Cross of Gold []

William Jennings Bryan (Vassar) http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryan.html


 * WILLIAM McKINLEY**

William Mckinley (Miller Center, University of Virginia) http://millercenter.org/president/mckinley

William McKinley documents on Imperialism [This is excellent] []

60-Second Presidents William McKinley https://youtu.be/FOK05f0afto

William McKinley obituary (New York Times) http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0129.html

William McKinley (Foreign Affairs issues) http://millercenter.org/president/mckinley/essays/biography/5

McKinley Administration (Chronicling America, Library of Congress) http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/McKinley.html

McKinley Assassination http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/mckinley.htm http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0914.html

September 6, 1901| President McKinley Assassinated - NYTimes.com http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/september-6-1901-president-mckinley-assassinated/

On This Day: President McKinley Fatally Shot by Anarchist http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/September-October-08/On-this-Day--President-McKinley-Fatally-Shot-By-Anarchist.html

McKinley assassination (Today in History, Library of Congress) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/sep06.html


 * THEODORE ROOSEVELT**

Theodore Roosevelt (Miller Center, University of Virginia) Life Before the Presidency http://millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/essays/biography/2 Domestic Affairs http://millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/essays/biography/4 Foreign Affairs http://millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/essays/biography/5

60-Second Presidents Theodore Roosevelt https://youtu.be/3y-8aHZr0Nk

Theodore Roosevelt (Today in History, Library of Congress) []

Theodore Roosevelt (Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" Parody) http://youtu.be/N4hV1OBeC4g

Presidential politics Theodore Roosevelt []


 * New Nationalism**

Motto of the Theodore Roosevelt presidency


 * TR believed government should direct national affairs
 * Government should coordinate and regulate big business
 * Government should not destroy big business.
 * Government should act as an umpire.
 * Roosevelt was a Republican, party of big business.

He was thus in an awkward position.

Theodore Roosevelt, "The New Nationalism," address, 1910 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/gilded/power/text10/text10read.htm http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=501 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Croly

Theodore Roosevelt: New Nationalism (NHC) []

Obama comparison to TR speech (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-invokes-teddy-roosevelt-in-speech-attacking-gop-policies/2011/12/06/gIQAEf3yaO_story.html


 * Regulation of trusts**

Trusts and monopolies http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/trusts.html

Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) GET MORE FOR THIS TOPIC

Major issue in the Roosevelt presidency


 * Industrialization had led to a concentration of great power.
 * Large–scale business combinations were then called "trusts";

Today we would call them conglomerates or multinationals.
 * By 1904, for example, trusts controlled much of American business:

6 large financial groups dominated the railroad industry; Rockefeller's Standard Oil owned 85% of the oil business.
 * No one really clear on how to deal with trusts:

Let trusts alone since big business is an inevitable part of progress Distinguish between good and bad trusts Regulate good trusts (if so, who should be the regulators) Break up bad trusts into smaller companies. Theodore Roosevelt sought to regulate the abuses of the worst trusts—the railroads, oil companies, and the meatpacking monopolies. We still do not have a solution. We vary between regulation and deregulation


 * President William Howard Taft (1909-1913)**

Life Before the Presidency http://millercenter.org/president/taft/essays/biography/2 Campaigns and Elections http://millercenter.org/president/taft/essays/biography/3 Domestic Affairs http://millercenter.org/president/taft/essays/biography/4 Foreign Affairs http://millercenter.org/president/taft/essays/biography/5

60-Second Presidents William Howard Taft https://youtu.be/Ikwkgtdnpzw

Dollar Diplomacy https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/dollar-diplo