Chapter 23

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)

1. A Union Army general elected to the presidency in 1868 as a Republican, his eight years in office were marred by corruption and economic depression. political machines

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893)

10. The former Republican governor of Ohio, he became President after the contested 1876 election. By 1880 he had lost the support of his party and was not re-nominated for the office.

James Garfield (1831-1881)

11. Elected to the presidency in 1880, Garfield served as president for only a few months before being assassinated by Charles Guiteau, who claimed to have killed him because he was denied a job through patronage when Garfield was elected. The assassination fueled efforts to reform the spoils system.

spoils system

12. Policy of rewarding political supporters with public office, first widely employed at the federal level by Andrew Jackson. The practice was widely abused by unscrupulous office seekers, but it also helped cement party loyalty in the emerging two-party system.

Chester Arthur (1829-1886)

13. Elected as vice president in 1880, Arthur became president after Garfield's assassination. He was primarily known for his efforts at civil service reform, culminating in the Pendleton Act.

Pendleton Act (1883)

14. stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The law provided for the selection of government employees through competitive exams rather than ties to political parties.

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)

15. President from 1885-1889 and again from 1893-1897, Cleveland's first term was dominated by the issues of military pensions and tariff reforms. He lost the election of 1888, but he ran again and won in 1892. During his second term he faced one of the most serious economic depressions in the nation's history but failed to enact policies to ease the crisis.

Tammany Hall (established 1789)

2. Powerful New York political machine that primarily drew support from the city's immigrants, who depended on Tammany Hall patronage, particularly social services.

Boss Tweed (1823-1878)

3. William M. Tweed was an American politician most notable for being the boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic political machine that played a major role in the politics of New York City in the late 1800s. Tweed was convicted of stealing an estimated $25 million dollars from New York City taxpayers through political corruption.

Thomas Nast (1840-1902)

4. Editorial cartoonist who worked for Harper's Weekly. His works include the modern day version of Santa Claus, the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party, and the political symbol of the donkey for the Democratic Party. Nast's drawings were instrumental in the downfall of Boss Tweed, the powerful Tammany Hall leader.

Credit Mobilier Scandal (1872)

5. Involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier construction company in the building of the western portion of transcontinental railroad. The owners of Union Pacific gave or sold shares of stock in Credit Mobilier to congressmen responsible for awarding federal land grants to railroads. Credit Mobilier overcharged construction fees by more than $20 million. The excess profits went straight into the pockets of stockholders.

Whiskey Ring

6. Whiskey Ring was a scandal, exposed in 1875, involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors.

Gilded Age

7. Period of time during the late 1800s that was known for its political corruption, greed, and lavish spending by the wealthy. The term was first coined by authors Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book, The Gilded Age.

patronage

8. Practice of rewarding political support with special favors, often in the form of public office. Upon assuming office, Thomas Jefferson dismissed few Federalist employees, leaving scant openings to fill with political appointees.

Compromise of 1877

9. An agreement to settle the disputed presidential election of 1876; Democrats agreed to accept Republican Rutherford Hayes as president in return for the removal of federal troops form the South.