For many, the Gilded Age (1877-1900) is the most boring part of political history. All the presidents were bearded white men from New York or Ohio who are hard to distinguish. In fact, it was just as hard to differentiate between Republicans and Democrats, being that neither really did very much.Elections were always exciting as the contests were very close and because there was still no secret ballot, both parties did everything they could to influence voters including massive picnics with great deals of alcohol. Elections were such a celebration that voter turnout was around 80%. Once the secret ballot was instituted and politicians could no longer control the votes, voting rates dropped down into the 40s in the next century.It’s surprising how large voter turnout was in the Gilded Age considering the lack of differences between the two parties. Republicans remained the classic conservatives of positive government, which simply meant they just did a little more. If we look at the government’s role based on the Preamble to the Constitution, then it has three jobs: ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense and promote the general Welfare. For domestic tranquility the main job the government did was use the army to break up strikes, really nothing else. For common defense, it did maintain a small army. But up to that point, America had never believed a democracy should maintain a standing army, that would only allow for tyranny. When an army was required, the people should filled its ranks. (Think Second Amendment.) America will not maintain a standing army until the Cold War (1947-1991). As for general welfare, the government promoted economic growth through tariffs, but that was very controversial. The government also sold cheap land in the West to bring in some income. There was no concept of any type of safety net, but the largest government expenditure was Union soldier pensions after the Civil War.As for parties, Republicans looked closer to today’s liberals than conservatives. They were the party of big government; their constituency was comprised of businessmen because the party pushed for economic growth and protective tariffs to help American businesses. Black Americans, when they could vote, overwhelmingly voted Republican because it was the party of Lincoln and emancipation. Strong Protestants supported the party because they pushed for moral reforms like outlawing alcohol and gambling. Finally, Union soldiers voted Republican because of the pensions.As for ...
