Big Business and Organized Labor

1. Big Business and Organized Labor

2. Factors that led the U.S. to be the leading Industrial Power by 1900 Treasure house of natural resources Abundant labor supply Large market Plentiful capital Development of laborsaving technologies Businesses benefit from gov�t policies entrepreneurs

3. Economic effects of Civil War Centralized industry Civil War led to postwar speculation Victory provides spur to northern economy

4. Building Transcontinental Railroad First big business Connected raw materials and created a national market Opened up west Pacific Railroad Bill starts the building of Union Pacific and Central Pacific in 1862 Promontory, UT-1869-Central and Union meet Effects-created market of goods, promoted growth of other industries, caused country to be divided into time zones.

5. Financing the Railroads Shameless profiteering RR benefit the gov�t b/c it allowed gov�t freight, military personnel and equipment, and mails at � fare, which is why fed gov�t gave subsidies. This causes corruption and poor construction. Jay Gould-makes cosmetic improvements and sells for profit. Eastern Trunk Lines-Vanderbilt consolidates RR into the NY Central RR. This reduces inefficiency. Western Trunk Lines-promotes settlement of West.

6. Manufacturing and Inventions Patents increase after War Corrugated rollers George Westinghouse�s air brake for trains, alternating current allowed for lights Christopher Sholes�s typewriter. A. G. Bell-telephone and created the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. George Eastman�s Kodak camera Waterman-fountain pen King Gillette-safety razor and blade Morse-workable telegraph Edison-light bulb

7. Entrepreneurs John D. Rockefeller-created Standard Oil Company, which involved the refinery of oil. Extorted rebates from railroad companies, cut prices. He started trusts, which meant that participants would turn over their stocks to a group of trustees. Caused the rise of Anti-trust legislation Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890-prohibited any contract, combination or form of a trust.

8. Carnegie and Steel Industry Rose from being a bobbin boy to a steel giant. Concentrated on steel and worked with Bessemer. Bessemer Process-converted pig iron into steel by blasting air through molten iron. Causes volume of steel to rise and price to drop. Vertical Integration-buying up all suppliers in order to maximize profits and increase efficiency. Horizontal Consolidation-buying up all one�s competitors until one controls most of the particular industry. Carnegie believed in the �Gospel of Wealth�.

9. J.P. Morgan Investment banker that would buy corporate stocks and bonds at wholesale and sell for a profit. Buys Carnegie Steel and creates U.S. Steel Corp. First billion dollar corporation

11. Sears and Roebuck Aaron Montgomery Ward realized he could reach more people by mail than by foot. Caused rise of Sears, Roebuck, and Comp., which was 786 pgs long and published in German and Swedish. Sold everything at affordable prices and allowed people who lived in rural areas to have access to goods. Rise of packaged goods.

14. Labor Conditions and Organizations

15. Richest 10% controlled 9/10 of wealth Horatio Alger Myth-idea of a self-made man. Expanding middle-class caused by growth of middle management. Wage Earners-2/3 of Americans worked for wages that required them to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. David Ricardo-�Iron Law of wages�-believed that raising wages arbitrarily would only increase the working population and the availability of raising wages would cause real wages to fall.

16. Working Women 1 out of 5 was in labor force Most worked in industries that were perceived as an extension of home. More women began to work in clerical jobs, but the occupations lost status and women received lower wages and salaries.

17. Company Tactics against Labor Lockout-closing the factory to break a labor movement before it could get organized. Blacklists-names of prounion workers circulated among employers. yellow-dog contracts-workers being told that they must sign an agreement not to join a union. Private guards and state militia Court injunctions

18. Struggle for Organized Labor Very disorganized Molly Maguires-used intimidation and beatings to right the wrongs against Irish workers in Penn. Pinkerton Detectives-stopped the Maguires and caused the destruction of the Miners� National Association.

19. Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Spread across 11 states and shut down 2/3 of country�s trackage. Hayes used federal troops to end the strike. 100 people were killed.

20. Attempts to Organize

21. National Labor Union 1866 founded 640,000 members by 1868 Tried to organize skilled and unskilled workers Goals: higher wages, equal rights for women and blacks, monetary reform, workers cooperatives Contract Labor Law-passed to encourage importation of labor. Lost support in 1873 due to economic depression Success: 8 hour work day for fed. employees

22. Knights of Labor 1869 Uriah Stephens Led by Terence V. Powderly Went public in 1881 Advocated including African Americans and women Goals-1. worker cooperatives 2. abolition of child labor 3. abolition of trusts and monopolies Wanted to use arbitration Disorganized and declined after Haymarket Bombing

23. Haymarket Bombing Chicago 1886 May Day Labor Movement wanted to achieve 8 hr. workday at McCormick Harvester Plant. Violence broke out at a labor meeting in Haymarket Square b/c a bomb was thrown. 8 anarchist leaders were tried for the crime.

24. American Federation of Labor Want to attain practical economic goals. 1886 founded Association of 25 craft unions. Did not advocate a reform program Samuel Gompers led the union from 1886 to 1924 Goals-higher wages and improved working conditions. Endorsed strikes and collective bargaining.

25. Strikebreaking in the 1890s

26. Homestead Strike 1892 Henry Clay Frick cut the wages of workers at the Homestead Steel Plant in Penn. He used lockout and private guards to defeat the steelworkers walkout. Frick was shot by an anarchist and the popularity for strikers evaporated.

27. Pullman Strike 1894 Paralyzed the economies of 27 states Cause-George Pullman laid off 3,000 workers. He cut wages, but he did not decrease the rents of the nearby towns that he made the pullman workers live in. Pullman workers joined the American Railway Union founded by Debs An injunction caused the strike to end b/c it violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. In re Debs-1895-court case that allowed the use of court injunctions against strikes.

28. The Wobblies Industrial Workers of the World 1893 Wanted to wage class war Designed to be one big union Split by disputes William Haywood was the leader

35. What is going on in this picture?

37. Urbanization

38. Explosive Urban Growth Urban growth occurred on Pacific, South, and East. Major urban areas: Birmingham, AL, Seattle, WA, L.A., CA; San Francisco, CA. Grow b/c of growth of industry. Transportation innovations played a role in growth: elevator, streetcar, and automobile. Elisha G. Otis installed first elevator. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia developed subway system. Steel-cable suspension bridge extended reach of commuters. Rise of suburbs.

39. Moving from Country to City Hamlin Garland wrote A Son of the Middle Border which is a book about the sense of wonder at visiting a large city. Cities had amusements, newspapers, and electricity.

40. City Politics Size of cities created a new form of politics. Cities had to provide services such as food and money for poor, water, sewers, transit. Rise of city corruption. Washington Plunkett and Tammany Hall Dishonest graft

41. New Immigration

42. Reasons for Immigrating 41% of urban newcomers arrived from abroad. Rise of ethnic neighborhoods. Immigrants came to get away from famine and lack of opportunity in their native lands. Fled racial, religious, and political persecution, and military service.

43. A New Wave Most immigrants were Latin, Slavic, and Jewish. Eastern and Southern Europe Italians, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes..

44. Ellis Island 1892 opened after the shut down of Castle Garden. Purpose was to process immigrants. The inspectors would ask probing questions and search for disease. Only 2% were denied access

45. Making Their Way Most immigrants would be greeted by family or friends and they had to find a job. Padrones were hiring agents that helped immigrants find a job. Members of ethnic groups clustered in particular vocations. Immigrant enclaves served as a transitional community for newcomers. Living conditions were horrible and many lived in dumbbell tenements.

46. Dumbbell Tenements 6 to 8 stories high and had 24 to 32 families living in the building. Called dumbbell b/c it looked like one. Housing codes required a 2 foot wide air shaft between buildings. Toilets were outside.

47. Nativist Response Many saw the immigrants as a threat to their jobs, values, and culture. Rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism. Many immigrants were illiterate and had to resort to crime to survive, which encouraged suspicions. American Protective Association-a nativist group that formed in the 1880s, and the group promoted the restriction of immigration and refusal to employ Catholics/aliens.

48. Immigration Restriction If you were a prostitute, convict, lunatic, idiot, then you could be refused. Henry Cabot Lodge-wanted to exclude illiterates in 1891. Chinese Exclusion Act-revoked the Burlingame Treaty and gave a 10 year suspension of immigration. 1882 signed by Chester A. Arthur.

49. Angel Island 6 miles offshore of San Francisco Processing center for Asian immigrants. If one was teacher, merchant or student, one could enter. 30% were denied entry.

50. Popular Culture

51. Reduction of hours, improved transportation, advertisement, and decline of Puritan values led to growth of leisure activities. Mostly Middle-class whites enjoyed these leisure activities. Politics became a form of entertainment and traveling shows. African-Americans operated within an extended family unit.

53. Wild West Shows Buffalo Bill�s Wild West Traveling Show Ned Buntline wrote a series of popular novels that brought Cody international fame. 20,000 people would come Rodeo developed from this form of entertainment.

55. Vaudeville French word that means a play accompanied by music. Rising middle class used this as a form of entertainment. Shows were in beautiful halls and had ushers. A people�s theatre.

57. Outdoor Recreation Frederick Law Olmstead-developed Central Park in NYC Parks offered vigorous forms of recreation. Croquet, tennis, bicycles. J.K. Starley produced the first �safety� bike. Many ethnic groups formed male singing, drinking, or gymnastic clubs. New York City�s Coney Island

59. Spectator Sports Rise of football National Collegiate Athletics Association was created in 1910 to curb injuries and abuses. Dr. James Naismith created basketball. Alexander Cartwright organized baseball and formed the Knickerbocker Baseball Club. With professionalization, sports became more standardized with rules and umpires.

61. Popular Press Joseph Pulitzer�s New York World circulated over a million newspapers. Used sensationalism. William Randolph Hearst did the same. Rise of Mass-circulation magazines in 1880s and 1890s.

62. Education

65. Spread of Education Americanize the immigrant Spread of secondary schools Rise of Vocational programs Public school enrollment increases due to compulsory laws. Rise of kindergartens. Rise of tax-supported schools.

66. Vocational Training Formation of Hampton Institute for African-Americans Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute in AL. Calvin M. Woodward formed school of engineering and wanted to teach more manual skills. Morrill Act of 1862 granted each state 30,000 acres per representative and senator. This income applied to teaching ag. And mechanic arts. Second Morrill act of 1890-provided federal grants to those colleges.

68. Higher Education Enrollment increased due to land grant colleges, universities founded by philanthropist, and founding of women colleges. Colleges move to the elective system Rise of Women�s colleges-Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith Rise of Graduate school programs Johns Hopkins opened primarily as a graduate school Leland Stanford starts Stanford Rockefellar started University of Chicago

69. Rise of Professionalism Growth in licensing and accreditation Dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine Started standard examinations for doctors. Development of professional Associations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Chemical Society

70. Social Sciences and the Professions Have the application of scientific theory to the social sciences. Social sciences studied the dynamic process of human behavior. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. taught that law should evolve with the times.

71. Theories of Social Change

73. Social Darwinism Influenced by Charles Darwin�s Origin of the Species Created by Herbert Spencer who wrote �System of Synthetic Philosophy�. Coined the term �survival of the fittest�. Did not believe in government interference of individual freedom. Believed in laissez-faire. William Graham Sumner-taught natural selection and wrote Folkways in 1907.

74. Reform Darwinism Led by Lester Frank Ward Wrote Dynamic Sociology in 1883 Believed people had minds that could shape social evolution. Education was important. Gov�t was an agent of progress by achieving 2 goals: 1. ameliorate poverty and 2. educate the masses.

75. History and the Social Sciences Realism was a reaction to the Romantic Movement. The Study of history becomes more scientific. Albion Small turned sociology into the study of actual human relations. American Economics Association (1885) is formed and turned its attention to the historical and statistical study of economics.

76. Pragmatism William James publishes Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking Believed that ideas could be tested in the laboratory or by application. John Dewey-used the term �instrumentalism�, which meant that ideas were instruments. He believed in economic equity and a progressive education for all. He wanted education to inculcate values.

77. Literature�The Local Colorists Expressed the nostalgia of a people mov. These people were longing for old folkways to survive. Examples: Bret Harte-�The Outcasts of Poker Flat�; Joel Chandler Harris �Uncle Remis; George Washington Cable- �Old Creole Days�.

78. Samuel Clemens AKA-Mark Twain Wrote Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Also considered a Realist. He revealed the greed, violence, and racism in the American society.

79. William Dean Howells Wrote the Rise of Silas Lapham His novels considered the problems of industrialization and unequal wealth.

80. Henry James His novels explore the society of Americans in Europe. He wrote Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Golden Bowl. Typically wrote of the upper classes and his stories dealt with the moral dilemmas. �Father of the Psychological novel�.

81. Literary Naturalism Described how emotions and experience shape the human experience. Stephen Crane-Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and The Red Badge of Courage. Maggie is about the brutal urban environment and how it can destroy people. Jack London-Call of the Wild-Portrayed conflict between nature and civilization. Theodore Dreiser-Sister Carrie-About a poor working girl in Chicago that is successful on the stage.

82. Painting Realism becomes important in 1880s-1910s. Winslow Homer-seascapes and watercolors. Thomas Eakins-painted the everyday lives of working-class men. James Whistler Mary Cassatt-famous for her techniques in impressionism. She began the Ashcan School, which painted the everyday life of the poor.

83. Picking Cotton-Winslow Homer

84. Breakfast in Bed-Mary Cassatt La Toilette

85. Whistler�s Mother

86. Thomas Eakins-Between Rounds

87. Architecture Henry Richardson-based his creations on Romanesque Style of rounded arches, gravity, and stateliness. Louis Sullivan-created functional skyscrapers.

88. Louis SullivanThe Prudential Building

89. Social Criticism Henry George-Progress and Poverty (1879)-He proposed placing a single tax on land as a solution to the poverty problem. Edward Bellamy-Looking Backward (1888)-This was a utopian novel where one wakes up to find himself in the year 2000. he finds a society that had eliminated poverty, greed, and crime. Thorstein Veblen-The Theory of the Leisure Class-1899-He termed �conspicuous consumption�. He believed that property was the basis of reputation, but the upper-class viewed the ability to have leisure as evidence.

90. Social Gospel Movement The movement begins when preachers/priests began to espouse the cause of social justice for the poor. As members of the middle class moved to suburbs, so did their churches. Many churches responded to the human needs by devoting resources to community service. Example: Young Men�s Christian Association.

91. Social Gospel Movement Walter Rauschenbusch-Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907)-Intellectual leader of the movement. The Catholic Church-Pope Leo XIII began to condemn capitalism for imposing poverty and degradation on its workers.

92. Early Efforts of Urban Reform

93. Settlement House Movement Social Gospel movement inspired women and men to build community centers called settlement Houses. Jane Addams�s and Ellen Starr�s-Hull House in Chicago is the most famous. Mostly college-trained women worked there. Enrolled children into clubs, kindergartens, nursery care. Organized political support for housing laws, public playgrounds. Lillian Wald established the Children�s Bureau in 1912.

94. Women�s Employment and Suffrage Number of employed women rose. More women moved into clerical work and sales jobs. With the end of the Civil War, the women�s movement started back up. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association. (1869) Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe founded the American Woman Suffrage Association. (1869)

95. Suffrage Movement AWSA focused primarily on women�s suffrage; however, the NWSA focused on women�s suffrage and other feminist causes. After 1900 the new generation of activists were Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt. Suffrage is granted in Wyoming in 1869 and in 1890s other western states follow.

96. Feminist Movements YWCA is formed in 1869. National Women�s Trade Union League (1903)-worked to bring educated women together with working women for the benefit of women unionists. Rise of the Women�s Christian Temperance Union in 1874 and this caused the rise of the Anti-Saloon League in 1893. Comstock Law-prohibited the mailing or transportation of obscene and lewd material.

97. Gilded Age Politics and Agrarian Revolt

98. Rutherford B. Hayes and Civil Service Reform

99. Split in the Republican Party Stalwarts-Roscoe Conkling led them. Generally supported Grant, a radical Southern policy, and the spoils system. Half-breeds-James G. Blaine-did not support Grant or a radical southern policy, and they wanted Civil Service Reform

100. Hayes�s Civil Service Reform Believed in the merit system and competitive examination. James Garfield and Carl Schurz embraced civil service reform. Hayes failed to get legislation, but he does the following: Those in office would be dismissed for the good of the gov�t, party members would not influence appointments, no officeholder could manage election campaigns.

101. Federal Customs House Scandal Chester Arthur and Alonzo Cornell are found guilty of using the customs house for political management on behalf of Roscoe Conkling. Hayes appointed replacements when Congress was out of session.

102. Hayes�s Record Hayes was a conservative and he supported federal intervention of labor strikes, vetoed the expansion of currency. Bland-Allison Act-allowed for the limited expansion of silver currency.

104. Presidency of Garfield

105. Election of 1880 Republicans nominated Garfield as President and Arthur (a sop to the Stalwarts) as VP. Democrats nominate Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield wins.

106. Garfield�s assassination July 2, 1881 Garfield is assassinated by Charles Guiteau who was an angry office-seeker and a Stalwart. This will cripple the Stalwarts.

107. Chester A. Arthur

109. Arthur�s Reform He prosecuted the Star Route Frauds, which was a kick back scheme on contracts for postal routes. He vetoed pork barrel and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. He allied himself with Civil Service Reform. Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 set up a Civil Service Commission that gave jobs based on competitive examinations.

110. Tariff Issue in Arthur�s Presidency Set up a Tariff Commission in 1882 to look at the high tariffs. The commission decided that the gov�t should reduce tariffs by 20 to 25%. However, the �Mongrel� Tariff is passed because of the diverse rates for different commodities. It reduced the tariff by 5%.

111. Election of 1884 James G. Blaine-leader of the Half-Breeds-nominated for Republican ticket. Grover Cleveland is nominated by the Democrats. Mulligan Letters-published in newspapers and claimed that Blaine was in the pocket of RR barons, and he had sold his votes on measures favorable to their interests. This caused the rise of the Mugwumps who opposed Blaine. Cleveland is exposed to scandal b/c of illegitimate child. Blaine loses support b/c of a private dinner with millionaire bigwigs and a reference made about Dems �rum, Romanism, and rebellion.� Cleveland wins.

113. Grover Cleveland�s Presidency

114. Spoils Reform Supported the Pendleton Act Extended the number of fed. Jobs to civil service regulation. He restored public lands to the federal gov�t. He vetoed pensions for Civil War vets. Wabash v. Illinois-denied the state�s power to regulate rates on interstate traffic, so Cleveland created the ICC. Interstate Commerce Commission which could investigate carriers and prosecute violators.

115. Tariff Issue Was for low tariffs. Looked at as supporting �free trade�. This became the issue of the Election of 1888.

117. Election of 1888 Benjamin Harrison is the Republican nomination and he supported high tariffs, which gave him the manufacturers� support and money. Cleveland is the Democratic nominee. Murchison Letter-a Republican sent a letter to British minister Sackville-West asking advice on how to vote, and the minister supported Cleveland, which linked Cleveland to free-trade. HARRISON WINS!

118. Harrison�s Presidency1889-1893

119. Republican Reform Dependent Pension Act (1890)-caused pensions to shoot up. Republicans during his presidency controlled both houses. Sherman Anti-Trust Act-forbade contracts, combinations, or conspiracies in restraint of trade. Sherman Silver Purchase Act-1890-replaced Bland-Allison Act and required the Treasury to purchase silver and issue Treasury notes redeemable in gold/silver. Little inflationary effect.

121. McKinley Tariff 1890 Raised duties on manufactured goods to an average of about 50%. Reached out to farmers� vote by putting high duties on ag. Products. Put sugar on the free list Included a reciprocity section which allowed the pres to hike duties on certain goods to pressure other countries to reduce their high duties on American goods.

122. The 1890 midterm Elections Democrats outnumber Republicans Nation�s surplus is shrinking Reason for Dem vote b/c of the R efforts to legislate against alcohol and eliminate funding from Catholic schools.

123. The Problems of Farmers

124. Money Question Should the money supply be expanded? Debtors, farmers, and start-up businesses wanted more money in circulation. Why? 1. borrow money at lower interest rates 2. pay of their loans more easily with inflated dollars.

125. Rise of Greenback Party Northern farmers associated greenbacks with prosperity b/c of Civil War. 1875-Specie Resumption Act was passed which withdrew the last greenbacks from circulation. Greenback Party was formed in 1878 by supporters of paper money. Election of 1878-Greenback candidates received 1 million votes. With hard times, Greenback party died out.

126. Demands for Silver Crime of 1873-1870s Congress stopped coining silver. Silver discoveries in west revived demand. Bland-Allison Act was passed which allowed limited coinage of between 2 and 4 million in silver each month, but this act had little effect.

127. Tariff Issue High tariffs made consumer goods more expensive. Farmers lost a share in the overseas markets, which created a surplus of farm products and lower farm prices.

128. Farm Problems: North, South, and West

129. National Grange Movement 1. National Grange Movement Led by Oliver H. Kelley Eventually took political action against middlemen, trusts, and railroads. Eventually formed cooperatives, which are businesses owned by farmers to save costs charged by middlemen. Munn V. Illinois-1877-Supreme Court upheld the states� right to regulate business.

130. Interstate Commerce Act 1886 States found they could only regulate short-haul rates, so railroads simply raised their long-haul rates, which was interstate. This made it a federal issue. Wabash v. Illinois-1886-individual states could not regulate interstate commerce, which nullified many of the state regulations achieved by the Grangers. Congress responds by passing the ICA, which required railroad rates to be reasonable and just. It also set up the ICC. ICC-had the power to investigate and prosecute pools, rebates, and other discriminatory practices. This helps railroads more.

131. Farmers� Alliances 1 million farmers by 1890 Helped to serve the farmers� needs for education and the latest scientific methods as well as for organized economic and political action.

132. Rise of Populists

133. Omaha Platform Omaha Platform-the Alliance movement was the foundation of the Populists. In 1892 they created a political platform. Wanted reform such as: direct popular election of senators, initiatives, referendums, unlimited coinage of silver, graduated income tax, public ownership of RR by U.S. gov�t, telegraph/telephone systems owned by U.S. gov�t, loans and fed. Warehouses to stabilize crop prices, and 8 hr. work day for industrial workers.

134. Election of 1892 James Weaver ran as a candidate for president. He won 22 electoral college votes. However, Populists fail to get urban worker vote or southern vote. Cleveland wins election for Dems.

136. Economic Depression and the Silver Solution

137. Panic of 1893 Stock market crashed as a result of overspeculation. Railroads went bankrupt. Farms foreclosed. Unemployment reached 20 percent.

138. Gold Reserve and the Tariff Decline in silver prices encouraged investors to trade in their silver dollars for gold. Gold reserve fell low, so Cleveland repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. Cleveland turned to J.P. Morgan to borrow 65 million in gold to support the gold standard.

139. Wilson Gorman Tariff 1894 Provided for 1. moderate reduction of tariff rates 2. 2 % income tax However�.declared unconstitutional

140. Coxey�s Army Led by unemployed Populist in 1894 Demanded the fed gov�t spend $500 million on public works programs to create jobs. Most were arrested for trespassing. William Harvey-Coin�s Financial School-book that taught millions of discontented Americans that it was a conspiracy of rich bankers.

141. Turning Point in American Politics

142. Election of 1896 William Jennings Bryan-nominated by populists and Democrats. Prosilver. William McKinley-Republican nomination, that supported the gold standard.

143. Campaign Democratic defection gave Republicans advantage. Bryan traveled widely to campaign. McKinley used backdoor politics. Mark Hanna played helped R to earn a lot of money for the campaign. Used for media. Last weeks of campaign, Bryan was hurt by 1. rise in wheat prices 2. employers threatening workers.

144. McKinley�s Presidency Economy was doing better. Inflation occurred due to increased supply of gold from Alaska. Dingley Tariff Act of 1897-increased tariff. Gold Standard Act of 1900-made gold the official standard.

145. Significance of the Election of 1896 Marked end of stalemate of the gilded age. Republicans continued to dominate the presidency. Populist demise, but reform agenda is adopted by Dems and Reps during Progressive Era. Urban dominance-clear victory for urban centers. Marking the triumph of modern industrial values over rural ideals. Beginning of Modern Politics-McKinley is considered the 1st modern president b/c he took an active role in international affairs with Spanish-American war. Mark Hanna created a model for organizing and financing a successful media campaign.