American History Tellers - Encore: Political Parties | The Golden Age of the GOP | 4

Episode Date: September 30, 2020

As the Civil War came to a close, the government set its sights once again on the future of the United States. Working closely with a Republican President, the Republican Congress expected a swift and peaceful road to Reconstruction. But then, a mere four weeks into his second term, Lincoln was assassinated, leaving the country in the hands of Andrew Johnson, a Southern Democrat who had personally owned slaves just three years before.While Johnson’s unwavering commitment to states rights cultivated a fraught relationship with his Congress, the tumult would ultimately be short-lived. After just four years of a Democratic president, America’s Grand Old Party would ascend to power—and hold it—for over 70 years.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. This is a special encore presentation of our series on political parties in the United States. As we head into November and face a contentious and consequential election, it seems a ripe time to revisit how we got here in the first place. It wasn't always Democrats and Republicans. And if you'd like even more insight into our American political process, search for

and subscribe to another one of my podcasts, American Election's Wicked Game. It chronicles every single presidential election from 1789 to 2020. Both in this series and in that podcast, you'll find our current strife isn't so new, and certainly not any worse than it has been. Hopefully, that's a comfort. Imagine it's March 4th, 1865. You're the Vice President of the United States, and it's your last day in office. You're seated at the front of the Senate chamber, which is packed with lawmakers and spectators. President Abraham Lincoln was re-elected to a second term in November, but you weren't on the ballot with him. Your last act as Vice President is to swear in the new Vice President, Andrew

Johnson. Afterwards, Johnson will swear in the newly elected senators. Next to you, a new Senate clerk is fanning himself. Hot enough? I expected Washington City to be warmer than Minneapolis, but good lord, not this bad. Yes, there's a lot of hot air in this place, I can tell you that. How long do you expect the ceremony to last? Well, I guess that all depends on Andy Johnson, whether he decides to preach at us today. Johnson is expected to give a customary inaugural address before his swearing-in. I heard Johnson's a bit under the weather. Yeah, he says it's a fever, but you saw how he was at the inaugural ball last night.

Deep in his Tennessee whiskey. I'd be sick today, too, if I drank that much. He was in my office earlier this morning, asking for something to brace himself, as if he needed another. At the back of the room, the doors open and an usher introduces President Lincoln. Everyone stands as Lincoln and several members of his cabinet make their way to the seats of honor in the front row next to Andrew Johnson. Once they're seated, you step to the podium to begin the ceremony. After a brief introduction, you ask Johnson to join you. Johnson stands slowly

and looks to be in some sort of discomfort. His eyes seem unusually glassy, and his face is flushed as though he's just taken a brisk walk. He steps up unsteadily to the podium. You take a step back, but decide to remain standing at his shoulder. You suddenly have a knot in the pit of your stomach. The new vice president looks out at the assembled senators with unsteady eyes. I'm again for here to tell you here today. Yes, I'm again to tell you today that I'm a plebeian. The people, yes, the people of the United States have made me what I am.

If it be not too presumptuous, I will tell the foreign ministries that are sitting there that I am one of the people. You look sidelong at the Senate clerk. He's barely suppressing a smile. Senators in the audience, though, are aghast. Johnson is still drunk. In the front row, President Lincoln looks deeply uncomfortable. You step forward and attempt to draw Johnson back to his seat, but Johnson ignores you and continues. And I will say to you,

Mr. Secretary Seward, and to you, Mr. Secretary Stanton, and to you, Mr. Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Wells, and to you, Mr. Wells, all of you derive your power from the people. Finally, Johnson steps back and allows you to take over. You manage to guide Johnson through the oath of office, but when it comes time to administer the oath to all the new senators, Johnson insists on doing it himself. He mispronounces names, forgets words, and sways so strongly at one point, you're sure he'll fall over. You finally convince him to sit down. The new Senate clerk finishes the oaths.

It's an inauspicious beginning for the man who will preside over the Senate for the next four years. But you have no warning of what will befall the nation in little over a month. On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln will take his wife to see a play. An assassin will steal into his box at the theater and with a single shot, upend the country, sow chaos, and place this drunk, slur more to imagine when you listen. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, new ways of thinking. And Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as a part of your everyday routine without needing to set aside extra time. As an Audible member, you choose one title a month to keep from

their ever-growing catalog. Explore themes of friendship, loss, and hope with remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Find what piques your imagination. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial, and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca to sign up. Kill List is a true story of how I ended up in a race against time to warn those whose lives were in danger. Follow Kill List wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Kill List and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story. Andrew Johnson swearing in as vice president was not quickly forgotten by those who witnessed it.

Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler said of the event, The inauguration went off very well, except that the vice president-elect was too drunk to perform his duties and disgraced himself and the Senate by making a drunken, foolish speech. I was never so mortified in my life. Had I been able to find a hole, I would have dropped through it out of sight. Seeking to reassure people, Abraham Lincoln stated, I have known Andy Johnson for many years. It has been a severe lesson for Andy, but I do not think he'll do it again. Lincoln was right, and Johnson never appeared drunk publicly after that. But people still questioned Johnson's fitness for office in the

weeks after the incident. Some even called for his resignation. And it all came into much sharper focus when Lincoln was assassinated just a few weeks later, and Johnson was elevated to the presidency. In this episode, we'll investigate the turmoil of Johnson's single term and his battles with the Republicans in Congress, a party that will transform itself into America's grand old party, an ascendancy to last over 70 years, a period that will see the rise of the populist movement and the progressives. And we'll explore the Republican rift that led to a major third-party run by Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 election. For the third time in little over two decades, a president had died in office.

Like William Henry Harrison in 1841, Abraham Lincoln had died just weeks into his second term. It left his vice president almost a full four years to lead the country. In a period of profound partisanship, Andrew Johnson was a rare moderate who exasperated both Republicans and Democrats. Like Lincoln, he'd been born into poverty and was a self-made man. But he was a proud Southerner and a champion of states' rights who had spent much of his career fighting against abolitionist sentiment. Yet he'd also made enemies out of some Southern Democrats by opposing the plantation aristocracy in favor of the common man. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Johnson had been a senator from Tennessee.

When Tennessee seceded in June of 1861, Johnson fled to Washington. He became the only senator from a seceded state to remain in the U.S. Congress. His motives were complicated. He believed secession was just an extreme form of nullification, which his hero Andrew Jackson had fought against in the 1830s. But he also knew that the leaders of the new Confederacy were his political enemies, and he'd likely have little influence in the Confederate government if he joined them. His loyalty to the Union brought him a level of prominence in politics and led to his choice as Lincoln's running mate in 1864. Putting a war Democrat on the ticket with Republican Lincoln was a perfect way to illustrate Lincoln's coalition of supporters

from across the political spectrum. But after Lincoln's assassination, the coalition faltered. Republicans had majorities in both chambers of Congress. They had expected to work closely with a Republican president to rebuild the country after the war. Instead, in Johnson, they faced a Southern Democrat who had personally owned slaves just three years before. Still, many Republicans were optimistic about Johnson early on. Lincoln's policies toward the South were seen by many in Congress as too lenient. Johnson, on the other hand, had pushed for harsher treatment of the South. After Johnson became president, radical Republican Ben Wade told him,

We have faith in you. By the gods, there will be no trouble now in running this government. Those would prove to be fateful words. Once in office, Johnson began moving away from his more radical positions of previous years. With the war over, his views toward the South grew more lenient and forgiving. It was one thing to talk tough when he was the military governor of Tennessee, using war powers to put down a rebellion. But once the war was over, and he found himself in the White House, his lifelong commitment to states' rights reasserted itself.

Like Lincoln before him, Johnson didn't believe secession was legal. By this line of thinking, southern states had never actually left the Union, but were instead simply in rebellion. So once the rebellion was put down and loyal leaders were in place, Reconstruction was effectively finished and states' rights could be reasserted. Johnson used Congress's long recess during the summer and fall of 1865 to enact his own more lenient policies of Reconstruction. His goal was to return the Southern states to self-government as quickly as possible. To further that end, and to the irritation of many Republicans, he gave pardons to many Confederate leaders who petitioned him. This included Alexander Stevens, former Vice President of the Confederacy.

Without congressional involvement, but with Johnson's approval, Southern states had a lot of leeway in rebuilding their governments. Congress had explicitly outlawed slavery with the 13th Amendment, ratified before Lincoln's death. But in an effort to get around those restrictions, Southern states resorted to so-called Black Codes. These were sets of laws aimed at restricting the rights of African Americans and compelling them to work for low wages or even as indentured servants. Republicans saw the codes as little more than a return to slavery. Emboldened by Johnson's leniency, some Southern states even began appointing former Confederate leaders to

important political positions. After his pardon by Johnson, Alexander Stevens was elected by the legislature of Georgia to the U.S. Senate. Only a major backlash, driven by popular outrage in the North, prevented him from actually taking his seat. When the Republican-led Congress did finally reconvene in December of 1865, lawmakers were no longer under any delusions about Johnson's intentions. And they were furious. They saw Johnson's policies towards the South as a thinly-veiled effort to help bring the Democratic Party back into power. Moderate and conservative Republicans initially sought to

mend the situation with Johnson. They proposed a bill to extend the lifespan of the so-called Freedmen's Bureau, which was due to expire. The Bureau had been established near the war's end as a source of public welfare for the recently freed slaves. Republican leaders believed Johnson would sign the bill, and it would help repair the tension between Congress and the President. But to their shock and dismay, Johnson vetoed it, arguing that it encroached on states' rights. He also knew white Southerners were opposed to it, and he needed their support in the battle with the Republicans. The rift between Johnson and the Republicans, rather than being mended, had now grown even larger. To Republicans, Johnson was an enigma. He was brought up as a tailor's apprentice and lacked a formal education. He was also stubborn and

inconsistent. As governor of Tennessee, he told freed slaves, I will indeed be your Moses and lead you through the Red Sea of war and bondage to a fairer future of liberty and peace. He also told Union soldiers, this country is founded upon the principle of equality. He that is meritorious and virtuous must stand highest without regard to color. But Johnson expressed a very different message in an 1863 speech supporting unionism at all costs. He stated, I am for this government, with slavery, under the Constitution as it is, if the government can be saved. I am for the government without Negroes, and the Constitution as it is, if, as the car of state moves along, the Negroes get in the way, let them be crushed. Before I would see this

government destroyed, I would see every Negro back in Africa, and Africa disintegrated and blotted out of space. Republicans became increasingly convinced that the bigoted Johnson was the real Johnson, and that he was bent on stopping them at every turn. A month after his veto of the Freedmen's Bureau bill, Republicans passed a civil rights bill aimed at overturning the Southern Black Codes. It guaranteed all the same rights and privileges of citizenship to anyone, regardless of race or previous status as a slave. Johnson vetoed this bill, too. This time, Congress overrode the veto. It was the first time in history that Congress had overridden a presidential veto on major legislation. It was a significant repudiation of Johnson,

and it signaled the end of any relationship between him and the Republican Party. Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull, who had a large part in authoring the Civil Rights Bill, summed up the Republican view. Whatever may have been the opinion of the President at one time as to the security of the free men and their liberty and their prosperity, it is now manifest from his objections to this bill that he will approve no measures that will accomplish the object. Despite passing the civil rights law by overriding Johnson's veto, Republicans decided to ensure its permanence by enshrining much of it into the Constitution as the 14th Amendment. The amendment guaranteed the rights of citizenship to all those born in the United States, including

former slaves. They also passed another version of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, and after Johnson vetoed it, successfully overrode that veto, too. Johnson used his opposition to the 14th Amendment as a rallying cry for the midterm elections in the fall of 1866. He no longer had support even from conservative Republicans, so he resurrected Lincoln's National Union Party as a campaign vehicle for the coalition of Northern and Southern Democrats who supported him. But it was a miserable failure. With many Southern states still not permitted to vote in federal elections, Republicans increased their supermajority in both chambers of Congress.

They took 79% of the seats in the House and 86% in the Senate. Soon, they quickly went to work dismantling Johnson's Reconstruction efforts in the South. Johnson vetoed almost everything Congress sent him, but lawmakers simply overrode him. Congress disbanded Johnson's hastily reconstructed governments in the southern states. They reverted the states to military districts under martial law. The army would ensure that federal laws were kept and civil rights for freed slaves were enforced. Each former Confederate state was required to adopt a new constitution and ratify the 14th Amendment. Johnson vehemently opposed these measures, but there was very little he could do about them.

Except, as president, Johnson was commander-in-chief of the military, and it was the military that was tasked with enforcing congressional reconstruction policies. Through his Secretary of War, Johnson hoped to use the military to subvert Congress's efforts. There was one problem with Johnson's thinking, however. Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War, was a staunch, radical Republican. He'd served in the same office during the war under Lincoln. He was likely to oppose any of Johnson's efforts to undermine Congress. Congress feared that Johnson would replace Stanton with a man who would do his bidding. So they passed a law prohibiting the president from firing and replacing anyone in his cabinet without congressional approval. It was called the Tenure of Office Act.

A few months later, while Congress was out of session, Johnson did what Congress had expressly forbidden him to do. He fired Edwin Stanton and replaced him with Ulysses S. Grant. But when Congress reconvened, it refused to support the removal and Grant resigned his position. For a few weeks, it seemed as if the issue would blow over. But Johnson wasn't done yet. Imagine it's February 21st, 1868. You're an aide to embattled Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. It's early afternoon and late winter, and you're with him and several others in his office in the War Department building in Washington. It's cold out today with snow flurries falling against the window.

Shivering, you toss another log onto the fire. Stanton comes over to stand next to you and warm his hands. I forgot how cold it gets here in wintertime. This is the first cold snap we've had since you've returned, sir. You should have been here in December. It was awful. You immediately realize you've made a gaffe. Stanton wasn't here in December because President Johnson had fired him. But Stanton takes the competent stride, smiling. Oh, I wish I could have been. I was just saying to Senator Sumner that,

huh. Stanton breaks off in mid-sentence as he notices something outside the window. An older man in a general's uniform has just walked up to the building from Pennsylvania Avenue, coming from the direction of the White House. That was General Thomas. What the devil is he doing here? Lorenzo Thomas, you know, is the adjunct general of the Army, its chief administrator. I'm sure he's here to see you, sir. Surely nothing serious. If it's Thomas, it's serious. He's been meeting with the president often these past few days. You hurry to open the office door, and General Thomas pushes his way in, ignoring your feeble greeting. Secretary Stanton, I'm here to inform you of President Johnson's

decision to dismiss you from the cabinet and the War Department. He has appointed me to be your interim replacement. I am to begin immediately and take possession of this office. Stanton just stands there for a moment, his mouth just slightly parted. Then he finds his voice. Again? I suppose he's informed the Senate? The messenger is on his way as we speak. They'll never stand for this, you know. They've already confirmed me in my position. That's none of my concern. The president has instructed me to replace you, and I intend to do it. With all due respect, of course. Well, I'll be damned if you do. This is an outrage and a clear defiance of federal law.

I will not leave the premises of this office. Mr. Howe, please bring a constable as quickly as you can. Your fellow aide runs out of the building and returns a few minutes later with two men. Gentlemen, you will arrest this man, General Thomas, for violating federal law. Hold him until one of the provost marshal's men can take him to be confined pending charges. Thomas doesn't say a word as the two constables take him out of the secretary's office. He almost seems to have expected it. Santon turns and looks at you. All right, well, go to Senator Wade's office and tell him what has happened. Then send a messenger to my wife and tell her I may not be home for a few

days. I'm not going to leave this office until we have this sorted out. You leave quickly, heading out into the snowy February day. You're still stunned over what just happened, and it's hard to see from here how all of this will play out. Either way, it's clear that Washington is in for a showdown. Stanton remained barricaded in his War Department office for several weeks, fearing Johnson would forcibly bar him from the building if he left. After a few days, however, he had the good sense to have General Thomas released from custody. He realized that charging him with a crime would play precisely into Johnson's hands. It would give Johnson and the courts a chance to judge the constitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act. Three days after Johnson's second attempt to replace Stanton, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson for violation of the Tenure of Office Act,

most notably for dismissing Stanton after the Senate had explicitly voted against such an action. Johnson's impeachment trial began in the Senate a month later and lasted until May. The country's first presidential impeachment captivated the nation. In Pennsylvania, a group of Republicans fired off a 100-gun salute in honor of the proceedings. Newspapers carried every lurid detail in daily and extra editions. And in the Capitol, for the first time ever, the Senate had to give out tickets for admission. A thousand people filled the Senate galleries every day. Interest in legal precedent and constitutional law skyrocketed. The New York Herald stated, people who never could be brought to comprehend the simple process of

habeas corpus now talk learnedly upon the nice points of law involved in a trial of impeachment. Everyone expected the heavily Republican Senate to convict Johnson and remove him from office. Johnson himself did not even attend the trial. But in the end, the Senate acquitted him by one vote, missing the required two-thirds majority. All nine Democratic senators voted not guilty. The 10 Republicans who defied their party by voting against conviction eventually paid for it with their jobs. Not a single one ever held elected office again.

Johnson's own effort at earning election to a full term was over before it started. Though many white Southerners still supported him, he was seen as little more than damaged goods after his impeachment trial. Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant, and Democrats picked former New York Governor Horatio Seymour. Grant won in a landslide. But Johnson was unable to resist one last swipe at the radical Republicans. Shortly before the end of his term, he issued an unconditional pardon to all Confederates. This included Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, who was still hiding in Canada.

The North had won the war with the South. Now, Republicans had won the war with Johnson and the Democrats. They enjoyed a long series of victories. Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley. The Republican Golden Age had begun. Imagine you're in Washington, D.C. on July 2nd, 1881. You're seated on a bench in the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, waiting for your train to arrive. You and your wife are traveling home to Chicago from a trip to the nation's capital.

As you watch all the people coming and going across the platform, your wife taps you on the shoulder. Hon, isn't that Mr. Lincoln standing there? I think you're right. The nicely dressed man with a dark beard and a top hat standing nearby is certainly Robert Todd Lincoln, the only surviving son of the former president. He's currently serving as the Secretary of War for James Garfield, who just took office in March. Just then, Mr. Lincoln greets another bearded man,

entering the train station with several companions. Your wife turns to you again. It looks like we picked the right day to come to the station. That's Secretary of State Blaine. Oh, and President Garfield. Garfield is tall, with a thick, gray beard and mesmerizing blue eyes. He's smiling and greeting people as he makes his way across the station. But you see another bearded man, poorly dressed and filthy, quickly move out of the crowd. He skulks up right behind Garfield as if he's going to shove him. You jump to your feet. Garfield collapses to the ground. People begin screaming. You lunge through the pandemonium toward the gunman and tackle him to the ground. You struggle, trying to pry away the

gun he clutches to his chest. Others rush in, grabbing and clawing the man, and the weapon clatters to the ground. The assassin nearly wrenches from your grip, crying out, I am the stalwart of stalwarts! You grip the man tighter as the police officer puts him in handcuffs, and finally the melee is over. But you're shocked, shocked by his words. The stalwarts are a political faction of the Republican Party. They're opposed to Garfield.

Have they just attempted to assassinate the president? This is the emergency broadcast system. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area. Your phone buzzes and you look down to find this alert. What do you do next? Maybe you're at the grocery store. Or maybe you're with your secret lover. Or maybe you're robbing a bank.

Based on the real-life false alarm that terrified Hawaii in 2018, Incoming, a brand-new fiction podcast exclusively on Wondery Plus, follows the journey of a variety of characters as they confront the unimaginable. The missiles are coming. What am I supposed to do? Thank you. You can binge incoming exclusively and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. In November 1991, media tycoon Robert Maxwell mysteriously vanished from his luxury yacht in the Canary Islands. But it wasn't just his body that would come to the surface in the days that followed. It soon emerged that Robert's business was on the brink of collapse,

and behind his facade of wealth and success was a litany of bad investments, mounting debt, and multi-million dollar fraud. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show Business Movers. We tell the true stories of business leaders who risked it all, the critical moments that define their journey, and the ideas that transform the way we live our lives. In our latest series, a young refugee fleeing the Nazis arrives in Britain determined to make something of his life. Taking the name Robert Maxwell, he builds a publishing and newspaper empire that spans the globe.

But ambition eventually curdles into desperation and Robert's determination to succeed turns into a willingness to do anything to get ahead. Follow Business Movers wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. The Republican Party was firmly in control of the country by the time Ulysses S. Grant was elected president in 1868. The Southern states were under martial law and controlled by Republican

appointees. The Democratic Party was in shambles. In 1872, they didn't even bother to nominate their own candidate for the presidency. Instead, that year's election featured two Republicans. Grant was running for re-election and had strong support from the Radicals, who now embodied the mainstream Republican Party. A faction of moderate Republican opponents, however, refused to support him and broke away from the party. That faction viewed Grant's administration as hopelessly corrupt following several high-profile scandals within his cabinet. They also preferred a more lenient attitude towards the South and an end to the military occupation of Southern states. Calling themselves the Liberal Republicans, the party nominated New York newspaper icon Horace Greeley. Greeley had

been a central figure in politics for a long time and was well known. He was an early supporter of the Whig Party and later helped establish the Republican Party. An abolitionist, he'd also been a lifelong critic of the Democrats. This put the new party in an awkward position because they were counting on votes from Democrats opposed to Grant. The campaign proved to be catastrophic for Greeley in more ways than one. First, his wife fell ill and then died a week before the election. Then, Greeley was defeated in a landslide by Grant, whose popularity as a war hero easily overcame his reputation for corruption. Then, three weeks after the election, Greeley himself died, his health ruined by the strain of campaigning and watching over his wife's sickbed.

Though he had lost the election and died, Greeley's candidacy still created a minor crisis, since the electoral vote had not yet been taken. In the end, most of his electors voted for candidates of their own choice. Some, however, went ahead and cast their votes for the late Greeley. The result was that in 1872, six different people, including a dead man, received electoral votes in the election. The Liberal Republican Party had emerged primarily as a vehicle to challenge Grant in the 1872 election. As such, it disappeared after the election was over, but its ideology remained. In addition to concerns about corruption and Southern Reconstruction, the party had pushed for civil service reform.

Starting with Andrew Jackson, new presidents had used government jobs to reward their supporters. Republicans who used and exploited this patronage system became known as stalwarts. They were the operators of large, city-based political machines and had no intention of giving up an established system of patronage in what could be very lucrative and powerful positions in government. But critics argued that these quid pro quo appointments led to widespread corruption and a civil service filled with officeholders with few real qualifications. The party reformers who opposed the Stowards became known as Halfbreeds, a derisive nickname suggesting the group was only half-Republican.

Still, the Halfbreeds were a faction strong enough to force a clash in the 1880 Republican nominating convention. Halfbreeds supported a faction strong enough to force a clash in the 1880 Republican Nominating Convention. Halfbreeds supported the reform-minded senator from Maine, James G. Blaine. Stalwarts backed a third term for Ulysses S. Grant, who had retired four years earlier. But in the convention, after 35 ballots, neither candidate found a majority, and a compromise was sought. The convention nominated Ohio Congressman James Garfield, but Garfield was a supporter of the half-breeds. So as an act of unity, the convention nominated stalwart Chester A. Arthur for vice president.

Garfield and Arthur won the general election and took office in March of 1881. One man took considerable credit for Garfield's victory at the polls. Charles Guiteau, a failed lawyer and street preacher who was mentally unstable, had convinced himself that he was responsible for Garfield's success. During the election, he stood on street corners promoting Garfield's candidacy. He passed out copies of a speech he'd written to bewildered members of the Republican National Committee. Convinced it was his efforts that made the difference at the convention, Gatteau expected to be rewarded with a federal job after Garfield won.

He visited the White House daily to petition for an appointment and wrote numerous letters to the president. They went unanswered. Instead, President Garfield announced plans to reform civil service and end the patronage system. So, to get his rightly deserved job with the government, Guiteau believed a stalwart needed to be in office. Conveniently for him remove Garfield. On July 2, 1881, Gatteau shot Garfield in a Washington train station. Garfield's Secretary of War, Robert Todd Lincoln,

happened to be there at the time and witnessed the shooting. James Blaine was there too, having been elevated to Secretary of State after Garfield took office. The President did not die right away. The wound festered, and he lingered for several months before finally dying in September. Guiteau, arrested for attempted murder, was immediately charged with murder upon Garfield's death. He was convicted and executed the following year. But even if Guiteau had not been captured, his misguided plot would have failed to work.

To everyone's surprise, the new president, Chester A. Arthur, decided to follow Garfield's reform-minded ways. Though previously allied with the Stalwarts, Arthur felt it was his duty to finish the dead president's work. He was particularly troubled that Garfield had been shot in order to prevent civil service reform. So two years later, Arthur signed a bill that outlawed patronage for political support. It also required federal officeholders to be qualified for their positions through experience and education. In the aftermath of Garfield's death, party unity reigned again. But it wouldn't last long.

By the end of the 19th century, both the Republicans and the Democrats would be increasingly split by newcomers to the political scene, the populists. Imagine it's the spring of 1890. You're a farmer's wife in Colorado, and you're seated at your kitchen table on a rainy Tuesday morning with your husband, Rufus. You turn to him. You think Mr. Edwards will show up in this rain? Well, he'd hate to get wet, that's for sure. Might ruin his expensive suit, but yes, I think he'll come.

Your husband is a small wheat farmer. He started out as a homesteader on government land, but then the government granted him ownership ten years ago. Since then, though, he's had to mortgage the land to buy more acreage and new equipment. Bob Edwards is the chairman of the bank that owns that mortgage. He's coming today to talk about the future of the farm, and you and Rufus are both on edge. Outside, you hear a carriage pull up in the rain, and within moments, there are footsteps at the door. Rufus pushes back from the table and goes to open the door. As the men greet one another, you pour cups of coffee and carry them to the parlor. Unfortunately, Rufus, wheat just isn't as valuable these days as it used to be.

Even if you hadn't lost part of last year's crop, you'd barely be making enough to stay above water here. But they say Congressman Sherman is working on a new law right now that will increase the price of silver. That'll help men like me meet our obligations to men like you. Edwards offers a condescending chuckle that turns your cheeks red with anger. Oh, even if Mr. Sherman manages to pass his Silver Purchasing Act, and even if it doesn't ruin the economy as it's sure to do, it would be too late to help you and me, I'm afraid. What are you getting at?

I'm saying that I'm going to have to call in your loan, Rufus. I'll give you until the end of the month. But if you haven't settled by then, I'll be forced to foreclose. You feel the blood rush out of your face. You stand up. You can't do that to us. We've worked for ten years building this farm. We own this land.

Mrs. Johnson, sadly, the bank will be the owner of this farm, come the first of May, if your husband is unable to meet his financial obligations. How am I to feed my children? Edward stands and puts on his top hat. I wouldn't dream of letting your children starve, Mrs. Johnson. The bank will no doubt be more than willing to hire Rufus here to farm the land for us. Oh, you filth. You thief. You'll turn us back into sharecroppers.

How dare you. Rachel! I'm afraid violence against me won't change my mind. I'll send a collector by the first week of May, Rufus. Good day to you both. You find yourself with tears of rage running down your cheeks, standing helplessly by your husband. But he doesn't feel the same. Instead of defiance, his face shows only a profound sadness.

As the last decade of the 19th century dawned, a split began to occur in both the Republican and Democratic parties. For several decades now, the issue of currency had been brewing in the background of American politics. For much of U.S. history, the federal government had used both gold and silver as legal tender. But many European countries used just the gold standard. By adopting the economic rules of its trading partners, supporters believed the U.S. would be put on a more even playing field. And so,

following the Civil War, the country backed its currency exclusively with gold. The gold standard helped grow business and manufacturing sectors, especially in the big urban areas of the East. But it did little for the rural areas of the South and West. In fact, the gold standard kept inflation artificially low. This was one of the ways it helped big Eastern businesses. But when overseas competition and drought began to depress the Southern and Western economies, low inflation and the stagnant prices for their crops it created didn't help. Farmers found themselves unable to pay their debts or afford new equipment. Many were forced to sell out to larger owners and become tenant farmers on land they'd once owned.

As a remedy, many supported putting silver back into the economy to drive up inflation and make farming profitable again. Several populist parties supporting these ideas came and went in the last decades of the 19th century, including the Greenback Party and the People's Party. Both groups believed in the old Jeffersonian ideals of agrarianism, the value of hard work, and support for the common man. They viewed themselves on a righteous crusade against marauding Eastern elites who they believed were using the gold standard as little more than a scheme to take money from the poor and give it to the rich. As organized parties, the Greenbacks and the People's Party didn't last long on the national level, but their populist ideas did. By the turn of the century, progressives touting populist notions

joined both the Democratic and the Republican parties. The two most prominent were Democrat William Jennings Bryan and Republican Theodore Roosevelt. One would become famous as an orator and a perennial presidential candidate. The other would nearly tear the Republican Party apart. In each episode, the entrepreneurs get 90 seconds to pitch to an audience of potential customers. This is match point, baby. If the audience liked the product, they pitched them in front of our panel of experts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Anderson, Tabitha Brown, Tony Hawk, Christian Siriano.

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How'd they do it? Nintendo never fires anyone. Ever. Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. In 1884, New York Democrat Grover Cleland won the presidency. He was the first Democrat to win the office in almost 30 years. He lost his first re-election bid in 1888, but returned to the campaign trail to win a second term four years later in 1892.

Cleveland was the leader of the so-called Bourbon Democrats. They were a powerful faction of New York conservatives who embraced free market capitalism and small government. They also strongly supported the gold standard. But the gold standard did not protect the nation from a major economic depression that began right at the beginning of Cleveland's second term, spurred by the failure of the Redding Railroad and several banks. Cleveland did little to stop the economic slide other than to strengthen the existing gold standard. His ineffectiveness in the face of economic crisis spelled the end of the conservative control of the Democrats and opened the door for William Jennings Bryan

and the progressives. Bryan began his career as a lawyer in Illinois. Unable to grow his practice like he wanted, he and his wife later moved to the booming city of Lincoln, Nebraska. There, he developed a lucrative law practice and then ran for Congress in 1890. Though he'd campaigned for Cleveland in the past, Bryan allied himself with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He supported the rural values of his constituents in Nebraska and their desire to put silver back in circulation. He said, I don't know anything about free silver, but the people of Nebraska are for free silver, and I am for free silver. I will look up the arguments later. A populist through and through, Brian was charismatic and likable. Like Henry Clay a

few generations earlier, he quickly became famous for his gift of oratory. Supporters felt that he was one of their own, a homegrown commodity from the Midwest. New York Times editor Charles Willis Thompson stated, Brian's hold on the West lay in the fact that he did not merely resemble the average man, he was the average man. But for an average man, he rose very quickly in national prominence. At the 1896 Democratic Party nominating convention, the charismatic young congressman from Nebraska was asked to speak. By then, the progressives had taken control of the Democratic Party, but it was still a perilous time. The country had not yet recovered from the economic depression of 1893. And dissatisfaction with Cleveland's

ineffectual policies forced the president to realize that he had no chance at earning another nomination from his increasingly liberal party. Cleveland's quiet retirement left the party looking for a new leader, one who could champion progressive causes. In a speech that would make him a household name, Bryan heeded the call and confronted the gold standard head on. Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them, You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.

At the end of his speech, the crowd of Democratic delegates erupted into pandemonium. As the Washington Post put it, Bedlam broke loose, delirium reigned supreme. The delegates hoisted Bryan onto their shoulders and paraded him around the arena. It took half an hour to restore order. So when it came time to vote on a nominee, there was hardly any need for discussion. At only 36 years of age, Brian was the youngest person ever nominated for president by a major political party. Unfortunately for Brian and his supporters, they were fighting an uphill battle nationwide.

Many Democratic newspapers, run by conservative political machines, refused to support him. Prominent economists and businessmen warned that Bryan's dangerous views on silver could bankrupt the nation's railroads and other big businesses. In contrast to the young firebrand Bryan, the Republican candidate, William McKinley, was a wise and measured politician. He was nearly 20 years older than Bryan and had many more years of political experience. He was billed as the safe choice for solving the country's financial problems. And in the end, the people chose safety in McKinley. The Republicans were firmly back in control, and the good times were last for the party well into 1912.

But that year, everything fell apart. Imagine it's July 1st, 1898. You're a volunteer in the U.S. Cavalry serving in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. You and your fellow Rough Riders are fighting alongside Cubans in their war of independence against Spain. You're lying in the grass at the base of Kettle Hill, near the town of Santiago. The heat is almost overbearing, but the mosquitoes are even worse. There's a line of trenches at the top of the hill, and Spanish riflemen firing down. We're wasting our time here, holding the base of this damned hill. Why don't we just attack? Your fellow rough rider, Bill Conway, is a cowboy from Tucson.

He doesn't have a fearful bone in his body. You look back to him. If we crawl up this hill like scared dogs, they'll pick us off one by one. I agree with Colonel Roosevelt. If we're going to take the hill, we have to charge. But the general won't let us do it. He'd rather we sit here and be useless. Orders have been given to hold the line. But Colonel Roosevelt, and everyone else, is itching to take the hill.

You can see him on his horse a few dozen yards away. He's conferring with another officer. After a few moments, he tugs his horse's reins and turns in a circle. Lifting his calf from his head, he waves it proudly in the air. Immediately, you hear the sound of Gatling guns. Fierce, rapid-fire, hand-cranked machine guns beginning to fire on the Spanish trenches. The cry goes up from the assembled troops as Roosevelt rides down the line of the men, still waving his hat in the air. After me, boys! I'll see you at the top of

the hill! Roosevelt's horse dashes forward and you and the other Rough Riders burst from your spots in the grass, heaving a ferocious battle cry. You see men begin to fall as the Spanish fire back, but the charge never wavers. Roosevelt is always there, cheering and urging you onward as the charge is joined by other units in the area. The Spanish put up a valiant defense, but you and your comrades outnumber them and soon overwhelm them. When it's all over, you find yourself standing on the top of the hill, panting breathlessly as Roosevelt and the other officers round up prisoners. It all happened so fast, you don't know quite what happened. Roosevelt broke every rule of military tactics known to man, but somehow, he took the hill anyways.

And this is a man, you realize, that's not going to stop at the top of a hill. He has nowhere to go in his career but up. Brazen and overflowing with self-confidence, Theodore Roosevelt rocketed to center stage after returning from the Spanish-American War. Serving for two years as the Republican governor of New York, he became vice president in 1900. Six months after taking office, though, he became president when William McKinley was assassinated. He was only three years removed from standing atop Kettle Hill in his cowboy boots and slouch hat. Though a dedicated Republican, Roosevelt alienated many of the party's leadership with his increasingly progressive administration. He oversaw the breakup of large corporations

and pushed for federal conservation programs. He worked to strengthen labor unions and called for an eight-hour workday, something that had been part of the legislative agenda of the Liberal People's Party a decade earlier. Roosevelt retired in 1908 and passed the mantle of Republican leadership to his hand-picked candidate, William Howard Taft. But after taking office, Taft moved away from Roosevelt's more progressive policies. Feeling he'd been betrayed by his protege, Roosevelt vowed to run against Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912. That year saw the first use of presidential primaries.

Primaries had been advocated by progressives as a way of breaking the control of powerful political bosses who had come to dominate the nominating process in party conventions. But in 1912, only a handful of states held Republican primaries. Roosevelt won the majority of them, including Taft's home state of Ohio. When the convention met that summer, though, Taft and the conservatives managed to outmaneuver the progressives. With a Taft supporter as chairman, several state delegation disputes were settled in Taft's favor, and he won the Republican nomination. Furious, Roosevelt accused

the party bosses of fraud. This was precisely the sort of thing progressives have wanted to avoid by holding primaries. Roosevelt supporters defected and quickly organized a third party and nominated Roosevelt to the ticket. They called their new organization the Progressive Party. Roosevelt performed well in the general election, outpolling the incumbent Taft. But with the Republican vote split between conservatives and progressives, it was Democrat Woodrow Wilson who won the presidency. Thanks to the fracturing of the Republicans, the Democrats found themselves unexpectedly back in the White House after a 16-year hiatus.

Wilson would successfully lead the country through the crisis of the First World War and be elected to a second term in 1916. And with the assistance of a Democratic Congress, he would oversee the passage of numerous laws long pushed for by populists, progressives, and socialists. Lower tariffs, taxes on the wealthy, the creation of the Federal Reserve Banking System, and the establishment of the Eight-Hour Workday.

The Progressive Party would continue to operate as a third party for the next decade or so. Meanwhile, the Republicans managed to fix the fracture in their party. By 1921, the conservative faction of the party was in the ascendancy, and the Republicans were back in control of Washington. They looked forward to returning to their historic dominance of American politics, advocating for smaller government, pursuing pro-business economic policies, and it felt good. The Roaring Twenties saw unparalleled prosperity.

But on October 29th, 1929, it would all come crashing down. On the next episode of American History Tellers, the Republican Golden Age finally comes to an end in the Great Depression. Under Franklin Roosevelt, the Democrats make a new deal with America and enter their own Golden Age. The call for civil rights spreads across the nation, but new parties are born in opposition, trying to preserve the status quo in the South. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship, Sound design by Derek Behrens.

This episode is written by B. Scott Christmas. Edited by Dorian Marina. Edited and produced by Jenny Lauer. Produced by George Lavender. Our executive producer is Marshall Louis. Created by Hernán López for Wondery. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free

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