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Crime of 1873
The government stopped the minting of silver and returned to the gold standard only, which greatly angered farmers and reduced the money supply of the country and caused deflation. -
Greenbacks win Congressional Seats
In the 1878 Congressional Election, members of the Greenback party won 14 seats in Congress. Though after the 1870s the Greenback party died out, the issue of coinage stayed present in the politics of the time. -
Election of James Garfield
Halfbreed Garfield joined with Stalwart Chester A. Arthur to attempt to unite the Republican Party, and narrowly won victory. -
Pendleton Act
As President, Chester A. Arthur supported the Pendleton Act which instated exams for civil service jobs, attempting to end the patronage system and give out jobs based on merit rather than party allegiance. -
Election of Cleveland (the first time)
The campaign for this election was unusually dirty, and the Democrats under Grover Cleveland were labeled the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion." Still, Cleveland won as the first Democratic president since Buchanan. -
Election of Harrison
The Republicans used the tariff issue to get donations from big business and support from Northern workers. Though Cleveland had the popular vote, Harrison's sweep of the North won him the election. -
McKinley Tariff
The McKinley tariff raised the tax on foreign products to a record peacetime high, causing the Republicans to fall out of favor with the American people. -
Sherman Silver Purchase
The government agreed to buy and mint silver, but it was not enough to satisfy farmers. This drove down the price of silver and was one of the factors that led to the Panic of 1893. -
Congressional Election of 1890
Due to the unpopularity of the McKinley tariff and unpopularity surrounding issues like temperance, many Republicans were replaced by Democrats. -
Election of Cleveland (the second time)
In this election, the Populist party received over a million votes, but failed to win support in the South. Partly because of the fallout from the McKinley tariff, the Cleveland won against Harrison. -
Populist Party Forms
Delegates met in Omaha to form a political platform, which centered on bimetallism, direct election of senators, an income tax, and federal ownership of railroads. -
Coxey's Army
Fed up by the depression, Jacob Coxey and his followed decided to march on Washington to demand that the government create public works jobs to boost the economy. However the march was unsuccessful as Coxey was arrested and his followers dispersed. -
Wilson-Gorman Tariff
This reduced the tariff moderately and made up the revenue by instating an income tax on those who made more than $2000 a year, which only really affected the wealthy. -
Election of McKinley
The Populist and Democratic parties united behind William Jennings Bryan, who was incredibly popular. However, because of the support and money of big business, McKinley won the election. -
Gold Standard Act
The Gold Standard Act confirmed America's commitment to chiefly the gold standard, eliminating bimetallism.