An important part of the 1890s was the economy. The economy greatly impacted the way of life and the culture many Americans experienced. This decade happened to begin with a recession that luckily turned into prosperity; however a big reason the recession turned into prosperity was the presidential election of 1896. Due to the fact that our nation was in a recession amid the election, both candidates focused heavily on setting a plan for the nation to get out of the recession.
Economics
The 1890s were referred to as the “Reconstruction Era” or the “Gilded Age''. The 1890s began with the Panic of 1893 which is referred to as the worst economic depression the country has ever faced. The Panic of 1893 occurred due to the fall of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company. Shortly after the fall of these two companies, the stock market crashed. During the panic many companies decided to cut wages which angered many workers. Boycotts and strikes became a common event to occur throughout the 90s. Unemployment rates increased to 20-25% and many compare the economic recession to the Great Depression. As the state of the economy worsened, people quickly removed their money from banks and there was a drop in credit. All investments during the panic had extremely high interest payments. All together about 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed or went bankrupt. Due to the difficulty many Americans experienced in paying their mortgage payments, many newly built houses were vacant.
Politics
The presidential election of 1896 was referred to as the “republican realignment”. Republican candidate William McKinley defeated democratic candidate William Brian. A large conflict presented in the election of 1896, was whether silver should be allowed to back American currency or not. As a member of Congress, McKinley supported free silver but as a presidential candidate, he supported the gold standard. Brian had a goal of “free silver” which means he supported the unlimited coinage of silver, while Mckinley focused on imposing high tariffs on imports because he felt that is what would lead the nation to prosperity. McKinley focused on tailoring to the needs of businessmen, professionals, farmers, and skilled factory workers with his conservative ideals. On the other hand, Bryan's campaign focused on pinning up the working man against the rich, which isolated many conservatives. McKinley was strongest in the Northeast, Midwest, and the Pacific Coast. Brian was strongest in the south, the rural Midwest, and Rocky Mountain states. McKinley won the electoral vote with 271 as opposed to Brian’s 176 and also the popular vote with 51% as opposed to Brian’s 46.7%. The turnout for this presidential election was high, with over 90% of eligible voters coming out. This election marked the end of the third party system and the beginning of the fourth party system.
The economic and political climate of the 1890s was a combination of lows and prosperity. Many communities became more interested in bettering the state of our nation. There were many economic, political, and social events to bring communities together looking for a way to make the nation prosper.
