Ch. 20 Notes
Chapter 20 Outline
Party politics in an Era of Social and Economic Upheaval Contested Political Vision • Political parties in the nineteenth century energized voters by appealing to their economic self interests and by linking their programs to deeply held beliefs about the nature of the family and the proper role of the government. o Republicans: b4 the civil war, the Rep. had enhanced economic opportunity by using gov. authority to expand railroads, increase tariff protection for industry, and provide land subsidies for farmers. It also espoused a belief in female moral superiority and a willingness to use gov to protect family life. Hostility to slavery was based on the belief that it eroded family values. ▪ After the war, this became Rep. ideology.
o Democrats label the Republican programs means by which they over exert gov power. • No party however believes that the government has the right to regulate corporations or protect social welfare of workers. • Believed in Laissez-faire: the belief that unregulated competition represented the best path to progress; invisible hand. o According to this, the gov should promote economic development but not regulate the industries it subsidized.
- By advocating family values in their platforms, candidates of this time encouraged the participation of women in politics. Ex. WCTU
Patterns of Party Strength
• In the 1870s and 1880s, the parties had their own regions that they primarily appealed to. o Democrats ruled the South and southern sections of border states like Ohio, northern cities with large immigrant population. o Republicans reigned in rural New England, Pennsylvania, and the upper Midwest. ▪ Republicans of this day also drew support from the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR): a social and political lobbying organization of northern civil war
Party politics in an Era of Social and Economic Upheaval Contested Political Vision • Political parties in the nineteenth century energized voters by appealing to their economic self interests and by linking their programs to deeply held beliefs about the nature of the family and the proper role of the government. o Republicans: b4 the civil war, the Rep. had enhanced economic opportunity by using gov. authority to expand railroads, increase tariff protection for industry, and provide land subsidies for farmers. It also espoused a belief in female moral superiority and a willingness to use gov to protect family life. Hostility to slavery was based on the belief that it eroded family values. ▪ After the war, this became Rep. ideology.
o Democrats label the Republican programs means by which they over exert gov power. • No party however believes that the government has the right to regulate corporations or protect social welfare of workers. • Believed in Laissez-faire: the belief that unregulated competition represented the best path to progress; invisible hand. o According to this, the gov should promote economic development but not regulate the industries it subsidized.
- By advocating family values in their platforms, candidates of this time encouraged the participation of women in politics. Ex. WCTU
Patterns of Party Strength
• In the 1870s and 1880s, the parties had their own regions that they primarily appealed to. o Democrats ruled the South and southern sections of border states like Ohio, northern cities with large immigrant population. o Republicans reigned in rural New England, Pennsylvania, and the upper Midwest. ▪ Republicans of this day also drew support from the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR): a social and political lobbying organization of northern civil war