UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



versy over the resumption of the specie pay- 

 ments, the so-called "salary grab" of 1873, by 

 which Congress voted itself increased salaries 

 for past services, the exposure of the "Whisky 

 Ring" and the resignation of W. W. Balknap, 

 Secretary of War, in order to prevent impeach- 

 ment proceedings all these events tended to 

 discredit the administration, although there was 

 no shadow on Grant's personal character. One 

 of the few bright spots in these years was the 

 Centennial Exposition in 1876. 



Economic Readjustment. For the campaign 

 of 1876 the Republicans nominated Rutherford 

 B. Hayes, and the Democrats nominated Sam- 

 uel J. Tilden, who had acquired national fame 

 in the exposure of the Tweed ring in New York 

 (see TWEED, WILLIAM M.). Tilden received a 

 majority of the popular vote, but Hayes was 

 declared President after a special electoral com- 

 mission had investigated disputed returns from 

 several states. Hayes's natural conservatism, 

 added to the fact that the Democrats controlled 

 the House, foreshadowed a new era of compro- 

 mise. In accordance with his promise, Hayes 

 ordered the withdrawal of Federal troops from 

 the South; though there were later occasional 

 attempts to control state elections by pressure 

 from Washington, the withdrawal of the troops 

 practically ended the reconstruction period. 

 The war issues were gradually pushed aside by 

 new political and economic problems. The 

 President was a strong supporter of civil serv- 

 ice reform, which was becoming a political is- 

 sue, but the burning questions of the hour were 

 monetary. 



The great increase in silver production led to 

 a decrease in the price of silver and a demand, 

 especially from the West, that silver should be 

 coined without restriction as to quantity (in 

 1873 the silver dollar had been dropped from 

 list of standard coins; this was the famous 

 "crime against silver"). Congress passed the 

 Bland-Allison Act, a compromise, over the 

 President's veto, and in the next year specie 

 payments were resumed without serious incon- 

 venience. The new Greenback party, represent- 

 ing labor, demanded an income tax and the 

 prohibition of Chinese labor, in addition to its 

 fundamental principle of paper money; it 

 polled a million votes in 1876 for Peter Cooper, 

 but in 1880, after resumption had been success- 

 fully accomplished, its vote decreased to 300,000. 



Hayes was succeeded in 1881 by James A. 

 Garfield, another Oh loan, who had been nomi- 

 nated after a bitter fight between the followers 

 of Grant, John Sherman and Blaine. Garfield's 



popular vote was only 7,000 more than that of 

 General Winfield S. Hancock, the Democratic 

 candidate, the total vote being over 9,000,000. 

 Garfield marked his administration as inde- 

 pendent of political rings and basses by sup- 

 porting the exposure of the star route frauds 

 and by appointing as collector of the port of 

 New York a man opposed by Roscoe Conkling 

 and Thomas C. Platt, Senators from New York. 



While excitement over these events was at its 

 height, Garfield was shot by a half-crazed office 

 seeker named Guiteau, and he died two 

 months later. Chester Allan Arthur, who suc- 

 ceeded him, had not hitherto displayed any re- 

 markably statesmanlike qualities. He now, 

 however, held himself aloof from partisan quar- 

 rels and soon won universal respect for his fair- 

 ness and ability. His term of office was note- 

 worthy for the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy law, 

 aimed at the Mormons, the Pendleton Civil 

 Service law and the Chinese Exclusion Act 

 ( 1882.) This last was the first law restricting the 

 immigration of Chinese into the United States. 

 For a number of years the United States Treas- 

 ury had showed a surplus of income over ex- 

 penditures. This condition led to many waste- 

 ful appropriations, which were usually passed 

 over the President's veto, and to a demand for 

 a lower tariff. The Tariff Act of 1883, passed 

 in response to this demand, was still highly pro- 

 tective, and it seemed as though the tariff 

 might become the chief issue of the next Presi- 

 dential campaign. The Republicans, however, 

 by nominating James G. Blaine, who was ob- 

 jectionable to many reformers, made the issue 

 one of general reform. The Democrats nomi- 

 nated Grover Cleveland, who, as governor of 

 New York and mayor of Buffalo, had convinced 

 the people of his independence and of his per- 

 sonal integrity. After an exciting campaign, 

 full of bitter personalities, Cleveland was 

 elected President. Old party lines were broken 

 by the refusal of many Republicans to vote for 

 Blaine, and by the absence of great political 

 questions. 



Civil Service and the Tariff. Cleveland began 

 his administration by extending the civil serv- 

 ice; it is worthy of notice that one of his last 

 important acts during this term was a further 

 extension of the civil service to the railway 

 mail employees. Cleveland's support of cm I 

 service won equal condemnation from his foes 

 and from his own party ; the first said he turned 

 out too many old office holders to leave places 

 for Democrats; the Democrats said he turned 

 out too few. It is a fact that for the first time 



