Post by djxkorean on Aug 3, 2009 17:01:16 GMT -8
23rd President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
The HAIRY SON(Harrison) made a NaMe(23) for himself because of his gift of GaB(89) when dressed like a BuM(93).
I. Election
. . A. Democrats: nominated President Grover Cleveland for 2nd term
. . . . 1. Continue to fight for a tariff such as Mills Bill
. . B. Republicans: nominate Benjamin Harrison (grandson of President William Henry Harrison)
. . . . 1. Want high protective tariffs
. . C. Harrison wins in big states (Indiana and New York) to win election w/o popular vote
II. Foreign Policy *Secretary of State Blaine
. . A. Blaine: aggressive Secretary of State in attitude toward foreign nations and popular with Americans
. . . . 1. Achieved satisfactory results for US through extreme demands with Germany, England, Italy, and Chile
. . B. Samoan Islands: US makes agreement with native gov't of Samoa, gaining control of harbor of Pago Pago and island of Tutila (early 1870s)
. . . . 1. US had naval base and coaling station, while Germany and England had simlar agreements in this island group
. . . . 2. 3 Powers (US, Germany, England) suspected that other two were seeking favor with native gov't
. . . . 3 1889: Germany makes move to push US and England off islands; tense situation when warships from all three anchor
. . . . . . a. Hurricane settles the issue (all ships destroyed)
. . . . . . b. England withdraws from Samoan in exchange for German territory in Africa
. . . . . . c. US and Germany make peaceful division of islands between them
. . . . 4. First venture into int'l agreements about place far from US shores involving different culture
. . C. Bering Sea: dispute between US and Great Britain started shortly after US buys Alaska from Russia
. . . . 1. Before Alaskan purchase, Bering Sea considered closed sea belonging to Russia
. . . . 2. After purchase, status of Bering Sea less clear; US makes laws restricting when and where killing of seals allowed
. . . . 3. US makes claims that Bering Sea was a closed sea and that it belonged to the US
. . . . . . a. Great Britain ignores this; Blaine responds by seizing several Canadian ships despite British complaints
. . . . . . b. In 1891, agreed that dispute submitted to arbitration, where Bering Sea declared open sea
. . . . . . . . i. Int'l agreement accepted regulation of hunting seals so that severe threat of their extermination was removed
. . D. Reciprocity with Latin America
. . . . 1. Blaine achieved high degree of high level of statesmanship through close trade relations between US and Central/South America
. . . . . . a. Blaine: expand volume of trade between US and nations south of US; products were unavailable to US
. . . . 2. Latin American nations buying almost all imports from European countries
. . . . . . a. US levied tariffs on few of their products, but most came into US tax-free
. . . . 3. Blaine proposal: levy tariffs on their products unless Latin America remove tariffs against our exports to them
. . . . . . a. Even though Blaine was protective tariff advocate, he wanted free trade: "reciprocity in tariffs"
. . . . . . b. Blaine's hope that US would replace Europe as chief supplier of manufactured goods for Latin America; geography helps
. . E. 1st Pan American Congress when Blaine is S.o.S. under President Harrison
. . . . 1. No real progress as US shied away from commitments
. . . . 2. 18 nations had delegates at the conference
III. 6 States Enter the Union
. . A. N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Montana, and Washington (1889) and Idaho and Wyoming (1890)
. . . . 1. 12 states made a political prize a political price
. . . . 2. Ended with Republican party giving support for silver legislation in return for support for the McKinley Tariff
IV. Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
. . A. Background
. . . . 1. Several states had passed anti-monopoly legislation and public opinion stated a need for more effective controls
. . . . 2. Harrison's administration = extremely friendly to business; but voters still demand antitrust legislation
. . . . . . a. Republican Congress formulates Sherman Antitrust Act with more reluctance than enthusiasm
. . . . . . b. Passes with almost unanimous vote
. . B. The Sherman Act: Outlawed trusts, but filled with weaknesses
. . . . 1. Key weakness: What was a "trust"? What was understanding of "agreement"? When was it a "conspiracy"?
. . . . . . a. Weaknesses made so that it meant almost nothing; gov't lost so many cases, A.G. reluctant to start new cases
. . . . 2. Law was impossible to enforce and some A.G.s saw no point in "prosecuting under a law" believed to be "no good".
. . C. Despite shortcomings, it was significant law: set foundation for future laws
V. McKinley Tariff and Sherman Silver Act (1890)
. . A. McKinley Tariff: average ad valorum rate was 49.5% and most every American manufacturer who wanted protection got it
. . . . 1. Highly supported by the Republicans
. . . . 2. Principle of reciprocity was written into the bill at insistence of S.o.S. Blaine
. . B. Passing McKinley Tariff required great political maneuvering
. . . . 1. Western states (including 6 new states) needed to be promised support for silver legislation.
. . . . 2. Sherman Silver Act of 1890: gov't buy 4.5 million ounces each month at market price
. . . . . . b. Silver paid for in Treasury notes = legal tender in gold or silver
. . . . . . c. Eastern Republicans disliked the law, only voted for McKinley Tariff
. . . . . . d. farmers demanded Bland-Allison Act and Sherman Silver Act because they expected more income from higher prices on farm products
. . . . . . e. Silver-mining industry favored these laws because it gave guaranteed market for silver
. . . . . . f. Both supporters lose: money increases in purchasing power so prices go down; due to surplus, price of silver falls
. . . . . . . . i. Everyone ends up unhappy and no one gains anything
. . . . 3. To get South from shooting down bill, Republicans promised to discontinue all efforts to enforce 14th and 15th Amendments
. . . . . . a. Federal Election Bill passed Republican House (1890): federal inspectors supervise elections in Southern states involving federal offices
. . . . . . b. This bill is dropped by North in return for passing of McKinley Tariff
VI. Navy and Coast Defenses
. . A. President's Arthur and Cleveland both started building up the navy
. . B. 1890: Captain Alfred Mahan's book Influence of Sea Power Upon History - acclaimed throughout western world
. . . . 1. unofficial spokesman for imperialism and aroused enthusiasm about US becoming great naval power
. . C. Business community support great naval power because of use of domestic steel in new ships
. . D. Congress appropriated the money, and we climbed to 5th place among navies, and less than 10 years later, took 3rd place
. . . . 1. Large sums also added to defense along coasts and improvements of rivers and harbors
. . . . . . a. Hts a new high at over a billion dollars under Harrison; Republicans boast that US = "Billion dollar country"
VII. Populist Party Platform of 1892
. . A. Background
. . . . 1. Western farmers and silver-mining towns not happy in Republican party- suffering from overproduction
. . . . . . a. Silver mines produced more than could be sold; farmers were worse off with too low prices to cover costs for production
. . . . 2. Fundamental problem was overproduction: widespread poverty throughout the US
. . B. Populist Party (People's Party) formed to protest this suffering amidst plenty and offer a collective program
. . . . 1. James B. Weaver nominated for President and write famous platform at Omaha convention
. . C. Omaha Platform's preamble
. . . . 1. "midst of nation...verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates..."
. . . . 2. Largely, a grand criticism of the United States current set of affairs and how it is driving itself down
. . D. Demands of the Omaha Platform
. . . . 1. Graduated income tax; Free coinage of silver at ratio of 16 to 1
. . . . 2. Gov't ownership of railroads, telegraph, and telephone; return to gov't lands granted to railroads and corps. in excess of needs
. . . . 3. Direct election of Senators; Australian (secret) ballot; extension of merit system in Civil Service
. . . . 4. Restriction of immigration
. . . . 5. Initiative and referendum; 8-hr day for labor
. . . . 6. Postal savings banks
. . E. Two of these "radical" demands = 16th and 1th Amendments of Constitution
. . . . 1. Others substantially fulfilled or became accepted practice
Commentary: Secretary of State Blaine must have been some character and definitely stood by the principle of "Make demands and never back down." This brings me to foreign policy and how it was implemented back then. No one can deny that Blaine's policies weren't beneficial to the United States. However, the more controversial question is whether or not the policies Blaine implemented and established were acceptable, whether it be through United States or international law. In my opinion, I feel that it is, but assuredly there are those who condemn Blaine for meddling with another nation's foreign policy by flexing the United State's quite large muscles.
The Sherman Antitrust Act is something that I find quite aggravating. It seems to me that anyone with half a brain could look at precedent (The Interstate Commerce Act) would know that legislature with no teeth would not resolve any issues. Of course, now that I look at the pretext of which the Sherman Antitrust Act was formed, it is clear that it was clearly written with so many holes to give the illusion that Congress was trying to fix something. Of course, if I were a Democrat, I would most likely voted against this bill, knowing that it would only give the American people false hope and wouldn't do any good. This is why, I assume, the bill did not pass unanimously. The dissenters were most likely not the Republicans but the Democrats who had the foresight to realize that this Act would undoubtedly fail.
The HAIRY SON(Harrison) made a NaMe(23) for himself because of his gift of GaB(89) when dressed like a BuM(93).
I. Election
. . A. Democrats: nominated President Grover Cleveland for 2nd term
. . . . 1. Continue to fight for a tariff such as Mills Bill
. . B. Republicans: nominate Benjamin Harrison (grandson of President William Henry Harrison)
. . . . 1. Want high protective tariffs
. . C. Harrison wins in big states (Indiana and New York) to win election w/o popular vote
II. Foreign Policy *Secretary of State Blaine
. . A. Blaine: aggressive Secretary of State in attitude toward foreign nations and popular with Americans
. . . . 1. Achieved satisfactory results for US through extreme demands with Germany, England, Italy, and Chile
. . B. Samoan Islands: US makes agreement with native gov't of Samoa, gaining control of harbor of Pago Pago and island of Tutila (early 1870s)
. . . . 1. US had naval base and coaling station, while Germany and England had simlar agreements in this island group
. . . . 2. 3 Powers (US, Germany, England) suspected that other two were seeking favor with native gov't
. . . . 3 1889: Germany makes move to push US and England off islands; tense situation when warships from all three anchor
. . . . . . a. Hurricane settles the issue (all ships destroyed)
. . . . . . b. England withdraws from Samoan in exchange for German territory in Africa
. . . . . . c. US and Germany make peaceful division of islands between them
. . . . 4. First venture into int'l agreements about place far from US shores involving different culture
. . C. Bering Sea: dispute between US and Great Britain started shortly after US buys Alaska from Russia
. . . . 1. Before Alaskan purchase, Bering Sea considered closed sea belonging to Russia
. . . . 2. After purchase, status of Bering Sea less clear; US makes laws restricting when and where killing of seals allowed
. . . . 3. US makes claims that Bering Sea was a closed sea and that it belonged to the US
. . . . . . a. Great Britain ignores this; Blaine responds by seizing several Canadian ships despite British complaints
. . . . . . b. In 1891, agreed that dispute submitted to arbitration, where Bering Sea declared open sea
. . . . . . . . i. Int'l agreement accepted regulation of hunting seals so that severe threat of their extermination was removed
. . D. Reciprocity with Latin America
. . . . 1. Blaine achieved high degree of high level of statesmanship through close trade relations between US and Central/South America
. . . . . . a. Blaine: expand volume of trade between US and nations south of US; products were unavailable to US
. . . . 2. Latin American nations buying almost all imports from European countries
. . . . . . a. US levied tariffs on few of their products, but most came into US tax-free
. . . . 3. Blaine proposal: levy tariffs on their products unless Latin America remove tariffs against our exports to them
. . . . . . a. Even though Blaine was protective tariff advocate, he wanted free trade: "reciprocity in tariffs"
. . . . . . b. Blaine's hope that US would replace Europe as chief supplier of manufactured goods for Latin America; geography helps
. . E. 1st Pan American Congress when Blaine is S.o.S. under President Harrison
. . . . 1. No real progress as US shied away from commitments
. . . . 2. 18 nations had delegates at the conference
III. 6 States Enter the Union
. . A. N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Montana, and Washington (1889) and Idaho and Wyoming (1890)
. . . . 1. 12 states made a political prize a political price
. . . . 2. Ended with Republican party giving support for silver legislation in return for support for the McKinley Tariff
IV. Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
. . A. Background
. . . . 1. Several states had passed anti-monopoly legislation and public opinion stated a need for more effective controls
. . . . 2. Harrison's administration = extremely friendly to business; but voters still demand antitrust legislation
. . . . . . a. Republican Congress formulates Sherman Antitrust Act with more reluctance than enthusiasm
. . . . . . b. Passes with almost unanimous vote
. . B. The Sherman Act: Outlawed trusts, but filled with weaknesses
. . . . 1. Key weakness: What was a "trust"? What was understanding of "agreement"? When was it a "conspiracy"?
. . . . . . a. Weaknesses made so that it meant almost nothing; gov't lost so many cases, A.G. reluctant to start new cases
. . . . 2. Law was impossible to enforce and some A.G.s saw no point in "prosecuting under a law" believed to be "no good".
. . C. Despite shortcomings, it was significant law: set foundation for future laws
V. McKinley Tariff and Sherman Silver Act (1890)
. . A. McKinley Tariff: average ad valorum rate was 49.5% and most every American manufacturer who wanted protection got it
. . . . 1. Highly supported by the Republicans
. . . . 2. Principle of reciprocity was written into the bill at insistence of S.o.S. Blaine
. . B. Passing McKinley Tariff required great political maneuvering
. . . . 1. Western states (including 6 new states) needed to be promised support for silver legislation.
. . . . 2. Sherman Silver Act of 1890: gov't buy 4.5 million ounces each month at market price
. . . . . . b. Silver paid for in Treasury notes = legal tender in gold or silver
. . . . . . c. Eastern Republicans disliked the law, only voted for McKinley Tariff
. . . . . . d. farmers demanded Bland-Allison Act and Sherman Silver Act because they expected more income from higher prices on farm products
. . . . . . e. Silver-mining industry favored these laws because it gave guaranteed market for silver
. . . . . . f. Both supporters lose: money increases in purchasing power so prices go down; due to surplus, price of silver falls
. . . . . . . . i. Everyone ends up unhappy and no one gains anything
. . . . 3. To get South from shooting down bill, Republicans promised to discontinue all efforts to enforce 14th and 15th Amendments
. . . . . . a. Federal Election Bill passed Republican House (1890): federal inspectors supervise elections in Southern states involving federal offices
. . . . . . b. This bill is dropped by North in return for passing of McKinley Tariff
VI. Navy and Coast Defenses
. . A. President's Arthur and Cleveland both started building up the navy
. . B. 1890: Captain Alfred Mahan's book Influence of Sea Power Upon History - acclaimed throughout western world
. . . . 1. unofficial spokesman for imperialism and aroused enthusiasm about US becoming great naval power
. . C. Business community support great naval power because of use of domestic steel in new ships
. . D. Congress appropriated the money, and we climbed to 5th place among navies, and less than 10 years later, took 3rd place
. . . . 1. Large sums also added to defense along coasts and improvements of rivers and harbors
. . . . . . a. Hts a new high at over a billion dollars under Harrison; Republicans boast that US = "Billion dollar country"
VII. Populist Party Platform of 1892
. . A. Background
. . . . 1. Western farmers and silver-mining towns not happy in Republican party- suffering from overproduction
. . . . . . a. Silver mines produced more than could be sold; farmers were worse off with too low prices to cover costs for production
. . . . 2. Fundamental problem was overproduction: widespread poverty throughout the US
. . B. Populist Party (People's Party) formed to protest this suffering amidst plenty and offer a collective program
. . . . 1. James B. Weaver nominated for President and write famous platform at Omaha convention
. . C. Omaha Platform's preamble
. . . . 1. "midst of nation...verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates..."
. . . . 2. Largely, a grand criticism of the United States current set of affairs and how it is driving itself down
. . D. Demands of the Omaha Platform
. . . . 1. Graduated income tax; Free coinage of silver at ratio of 16 to 1
. . . . 2. Gov't ownership of railroads, telegraph, and telephone; return to gov't lands granted to railroads and corps. in excess of needs
. . . . 3. Direct election of Senators; Australian (secret) ballot; extension of merit system in Civil Service
. . . . 4. Restriction of immigration
. . . . 5. Initiative and referendum; 8-hr day for labor
. . . . 6. Postal savings banks
. . E. Two of these "radical" demands = 16th and 1th Amendments of Constitution
. . . . 1. Others substantially fulfilled or became accepted practice
Commentary: Secretary of State Blaine must have been some character and definitely stood by the principle of "Make demands and never back down." This brings me to foreign policy and how it was implemented back then. No one can deny that Blaine's policies weren't beneficial to the United States. However, the more controversial question is whether or not the policies Blaine implemented and established were acceptable, whether it be through United States or international law. In my opinion, I feel that it is, but assuredly there are those who condemn Blaine for meddling with another nation's foreign policy by flexing the United State's quite large muscles.
The Sherman Antitrust Act is something that I find quite aggravating. It seems to me that anyone with half a brain could look at precedent (The Interstate Commerce Act) would know that legislature with no teeth would not resolve any issues. Of course, now that I look at the pretext of which the Sherman Antitrust Act was formed, it is clear that it was clearly written with so many holes to give the illusion that Congress was trying to fix something. Of course, if I were a Democrat, I would most likely voted against this bill, knowing that it would only give the American people false hope and wouldn't do any good. This is why, I assume, the bill did not pass unanimously. The dissenters were most likely not the Republicans but the Democrats who had the foresight to realize that this Act would undoubtedly fail.