Politics in the Gilded Age: patronage, tariffs and the push for reform

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card A, words of Gilded Age politics (Summary in our words, not a quotation): The spoils system was the practice of giving government jobs to supporters of the winning side; the name comes from the saying that to the victor go the spoils. Patronage means the jobs and favors that a leader hands out to supporters. A civil service is a body of government workers hired for their skills, often chosen by examination. A tariff is a tax on goods brought in from other countries, and the tax on each item is a duty. A protective tariff sets duties high enough to shelter home-made goods from imports. A surplus is money that the government takes in beyond what it spends.

2. 1.

   One clerk is hired for campaigning for the winner; another is hired after scoring highest on an open examination. Which pair of terms from card A fits, Esme asks?

   • Both are a civil service, because both clerks now work for the government and are paid by it
   • The first is a civil service, because campaigners show their skill, and the second is the spoils system
   • The first is the spoils system, and the second is a civil service
   • Both are patronage, because both clerks were hired by officials of the winning party
3. 2.

   Imported cloth costs $2 abroad and carries a 50 percent duty. What is its price with the duty, and what does a protective tariff aim to do, Jun asks?

   • $3; it aims to shelter home-made cloth from cheaper imports
   • $3; it aims to raise money for the government, which card A gives as the main aim of a protective tariff
   • $3; it aims to help buyers by lowering the price of cloth that is brought in from abroad
   • $4; it aims to make imported cloth cost twice as much, so that home-made cloth wins the buyers

4. Use this

   Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card B, the Pendleton Act in brief (Summary in our words, not a quotation, from the National Archives): The Pendleton Act was approved on January 16, 1883. It set up open, competitive examinations for the jobs it covered. It made it unlawful to fire or demote covered workers for political reasons, and unlawful to demand political service or money from them. A Civil Service Commission of three members, no more than two from the same party, was set up to carry it out.

5. 3.

   A clerk in a job covered by the Pendleton Act is fired after refusing to give money to a candidate. Does card B make that lawful, Kira asks?

   • Yes, because the Commission of three members, not the Act, decided which firings were lawful
   • No, because the Act made it unlawful to fire covered workers for political reasons or to demand money
   • Yes, because the Act banned demands for money but left a supervisor free to fire a worker who refused
   • No, because the Act made it illegal to fire any federal worker for any reason
6. 4.

   A clerk in a job the Pendleton Act did not cover is dismissed after an election. Does card B protect that clerk, Luz asks?

   • Yes, because the Act protected federal workers in any job from political firing
   • No, but just because the dismissal followed an election; a firing before an election would be covered
   • Yes, because the Commission of three members could reverse a firing after an election
   • Not on card B, which protects workers just in the jobs the Act covered

7. Use this

   Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card C, President James A. Garfield, inaugural address, March 4, 1881: "The civil service can never be placed on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated by law. For the good of the service itself, for the protection of those who are intrusted [entrusted] with the appointing power against the waste of time and obstruction to the public business caused by the inordinate [too great] pressure for place, and for the protection of incumbents against intrigue and wrong, I shall at the proper time ask Congress to fix the tenure [time in office] of the minor offices of the several Executive Departments …" Card D, a strip of dates from 1875 to 1895, with a mark every 5 years: June 22, 1877, Hayes's order on political assessments. July 2, 1881, the assassination of President Garfield. January 16, 1883, the Pendleton Act approved. February 4, 1887, the Interstate Commerce Act approved. December 6, 1887, Cleveland's message on the tariff. 1888, the election of 1888. July 2, 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act approved. October 1, 1890, the McKinley Tariff signed.

8. 5.

   Garfield was assassinated on July 2, 1881, and the Pendleton Act was approved on January 16, 1883. What can Milo conclude from the dates?

   • The Act followed by about six months, since July 1881 comes six months before January of the next year
   • The Act followed by about two and a half years, counting from Garfield's inaugural address in March 1881
   • The Act followed the assassination by about a year and a half, so the card does not show it was the cause
   • The Act followed by about a year and a half, which shows Garfield's death alone caused the Act to pass

9. Use this

   Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card A, words of Gilded Age politics (Summary in our words, not a quotation): The spoils system was the practice of giving government jobs to supporters of the winning side; the name comes from the saying that to the victor go the spoils. Patronage means the jobs and favors that a leader hands out to supporters. A civil service is a body of government workers hired for their skills, often chosen by examination. A tariff is a tax on goods brought in from other countries, and the tax on each item is a duty. A protective tariff sets duties high enough to shelter home-made goods from imports. A surplus is money that the government takes in beyond what it spends.

10. 6.

    Card A defines a surplus as money the government takes in beyond what it spends. Why might a high protective tariff lead to a surplus, Pia asks?

    • High duties on imports bring in income, and a protective tariff keeps duties high, so income can exceed spending
    • A surplus is money the government spends beyond its income, so high duties cause overspending
    • A protective tariff lowers duties, which raises imports and so brings in more income
    • Duties are paid by foreign sellers, so the government gets income without taxing its own citizens

11. Use this

    Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card D, a strip of dates from 1875 to 1895, with a mark every 5 years: June 22, 1877, Hayes's order on political assessments. July 2, 1881, the assassination of President Garfield. January 16, 1883, the Pendleton Act approved. February 4, 1887, the Interstate Commerce Act approved. December 6, 1887, Cleveland's message on the tariff. 1888, the election of 1888. July 2, 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act approved. October 1, 1890, the McKinley Tariff signed. Card E, politics and government at a glance (a chart, columns Problem | Who pushed for change | What law or result | Date). Row 1: Federal jobs given as rewards for political help | Civil service reformers and Senator George Pendleton | The Pendleton Act set up competitive examinations for some federal jobs | 1883. Row 2: Foreign goods priced below home-made goods | Supporters of protection, led by William McKinley | The McKinley Tariff raised duties to an average of about 50 percent | 1890. Row 3: Federal workers pressed for political money and campaign work | President Hayes | An order banned political assessments and campaign management by federal workers | 1877. Row 4: Government income larger than its needs | President Cleveland, in his message to Congress | A message asked Congress to revise the tariff laws | 1887.

12. 7.

    Cleveland asked Congress to revise the tariff in December 1887, and the McKinley Tariff was signed in 1890. Which claim do cards D and E support, Ren asks?

    • The call to revise the tariff was followed in 1890 by a law that raised duties to about 50 percent
    • The McKinley Tariff lowered duties to meet Cleveland's request for a revision of the tariff
    • Cleveland supported the high duties of 1890, since he had asked Congress to revise the tariff laws
    • Cleveland's message caused the McKinley Tariff, since the tariff came after his message

13. Use this

    Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card B, the Pendleton Act in brief (Summary in our words, not a quotation, from the National Archives): The Pendleton Act was approved on January 16, 1883. It set up open, competitive examinations for the jobs it covered. It made it unlawful to fire or demote covered workers for political reasons, and unlawful to demand political service or money from them. A Civil Service Commission of three members, no more than two from the same party, was set up to carry it out.

14. 8.

    Card B says the Commission had three members, no more than two from the same party. What does that rule suggest the Act's makers wanted, Tala asks?

    • A commission that the party in power could control by naming two of its three members
    • A commission that one party could not control
    • A commission whose third member would break ties between the two members of one party
    • A commission made up of equal numbers of reformers and supporters of the spoils system

15. Use this

    Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card E, politics and government at a glance (a chart, columns Problem | Who pushed for change | What law or result | Date). Row 1: Federal jobs given as rewards for political help | Civil service reformers and Senator George Pendleton | The Pendleton Act set up competitive examinations for some federal jobs | 1883. Row 2: Foreign goods priced below home-made goods | Supporters of protection, led by William McKinley | The McKinley Tariff raised duties to an average of about 50 percent | 1890. Row 3: Federal workers pressed for political money and campaign work | President Hayes | An order banned political assessments and campaign management by federal workers | 1877. Row 4: Government income larger than its needs | President Cleveland, in his message to Congress | A message asked Congress to revise the tariff laws | 1887.

16. 9.

    Row 4 of card E says a message asked Congress to revise the tariff laws in 1887. Does the chart show the tariff laws were revised in 1887, Zee asks?

    • No: the chart shows a request in a message, not a revision
    • Yes: the date 1887 shows that Congress passed a law once Cleveland had asked for it
    • Yes: the result column lists a result for each row, so each row shows a completed change
    • No: a President cannot ask Congress to revise a law, so the message had no effect

17. Use this

    Jobs, duties and reform, 1877 to 1890 (cards A to E). Card B, the Pendleton Act in brief (Summary in our words, not a quotation, from the National Archives): The Pendleton Act was approved on January 16, 1883. It set up open, competitive examinations for the jobs it covered. It made it unlawful to fire or demote covered workers for political reasons, and unlawful to demand political service or money from them. A Civil Service Commission of three members, no more than two from the same party, was set up to carry it out.

18. 10.

    A covered job is given to a supervisor's nephew who scored lower on the examination than another applicant. What does card B suggest about that choice, Ari asks?

    • It is lawful, because the Act let supervisors choose among applicants who passed the test
    • It goes against the Act's rule that covered jobs be filled through open competitive examinations
    • It is lawful, because the Act dealt with firing and not with how a person was hired
    • It is unlawful just if the nephew belonged to a different party from the supervisor who chose him