Changes

The period began with the realignment of 1894-1896. The overwhelming [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican]] victory in 1896 over [[William Jennings Bryan]] and his [[U.S. Democratic Party, history|Democratic Party]], repeated in 1900, restored business confidence, inaugurated a long epoch of prosperity (shown in the table), and swept away most of the issues and personalities of the Third Party System.  Most voting blocs continued unchanged, but some realignment took place, giving Republicans dominance in the industrial Northeast and new strength in the border states. Thus the way was clear for the [[Progressive Movement]] to impose a new way of thinking and a new agenda for politics.

The period began with the realignment of 1894-1896. The overwhelming [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican]] victory in 1896 over [[William Jennings Bryan]] and his [[U.S. Democratic Party, history|Democratic Party]], repeated in 1900, restored business confidence, inaugurated a long epoch of prosperity (shown in the table), and swept away most of the issues and personalities of the Third Party System.  Most voting blocs continued unchanged, but some realignment took place, giving Republicans dominance in the industrial Northeast and new strength in the border states. Thus the way was clear for the [[Progressive Movement]] to impose a new way of thinking and a new agenda for politics.

[[Image:Coin-cartoon-1894.jpg|thumb|left|400px|''Coin's Financial School'' (1894), a famous silverite book; Coin is a boy who outsmarts all the economics professors by showing the wisdom of "bimetallism" (i.e. free silver) and refuting the fallacies about gold]]

[[Image:COIN1894.JPG|thumb|left|400px|''Coin's Financial School'' (1894), a famous silverite book; Coin is a boy who outsmarts all the economics professors by showing the wisdom of "bimetallism" (i.e. free silver) and refuting the fallacies about gold]]

==Economic trends==

==Economic trends==

{{main|U.S. Economic history}}

see also [[American Economic history]]

Table:      Real GDP per capita</TD> </TR>

Table:      Real GDP per capita</TD> </TR>

==Progressive reforms==

==Progressive reforms==

Alarmed at the new rules of the game for campaign funding, the Progressives launched investigations and exposures (by the "[[muckraker]]" journalists) into corrupt links between party bosses and business.  New laws and constitutional amendments weakened the party bosses by installing [[United States presidential primary|primaries]] and directly electing senators.<ref> Ware (2002)</ref> [[Theodore Roosevelt]] shared the growing concern with business influence on government. When [[William Howard Taft]] appeared to be too cozy with pro-business conservatives in terms of tariff and conservation issues, Roosevelt broke with his old friend and his old party. He crusaded for president in 1912 at the head of an ill-fated "Bull Moose" Progressive party.  TR's schism helped elect [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1912 and left pro-business conservatives as the dominant force in the GOP.  The latter elected [[Warren G. Harding]] and [[Calvin Coolidge]]. In 1928 the iconic progressive [[Herbert Hoover]] became the last president of the Fourth Party System. The Great Depression spoiled the nation's optimism and ruined Republican chances. In long-term perspective [[Al Smith]] in 1928 started a voter realignment &mdash; a new coalition &mdash; based among ethnics and big cities that spelled the end of classless politics of the Fourth Party System and helped usher in the [[Fifth Party System]] or [[New Deal coalition]] of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>Degler (1964)</ref> As one political scientist explains, "The election of 1896 ushered in the Fourth Party System.... [but] not until 1928, with the nomination of Al Smith, a northeastern reformer, did Democrats make gains among the urban, blue-collar, and Catholic voters who were later to become core components of the New Deal coalition and break the pattern of minimal class polarization that had characterized the Fourth Party System."<ref>Lawrence (1996) p 34.</ref>  In 1932 the landslide victory of Democrat [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] led to the [[New Deal coalition]] that dominated the '''[[Fifth Party System]],''' after 1932.

Alarmed at the new rules of the game for campaign funding, the Progressives launched investigations and exposures (by the "[[muckraker]]" journalists) into corrupt links between party bosses and business.  New laws and constitutional amendments weakened the party bosses by installing [[United States presidential primary|primaries]] and directly electing senators.<ref> Ware (2002)</ref> [[Theodore Roosevelt]] shared the growing concern with business influence on government.  

 

When [[William Howard Taft]] appeared to be too cozy with pro-business conservatives like Senator [[Nelson Aldrich]] in terms of tariff and conservation issues, Roosevelt broke with his old friend and his old party. He crusaded for president in 1912 at the head of an ill-fated "Bull Moose" Progressive party.  TR's schism helped elect [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1912 and left pro-business conservatives as the dominant force in the GOP.  The latter elected [[Warren G. Harding]] and [[Calvin Coolidge]]. In 1928 the iconic progressive [[Herbert Hoover]] became the last president of the Fourth Party System. The Great Depression spoiled the nation's optimism and ruined Republican chances. In long-term perspective [[Al Smith]] in 1928 started a voter realignment &mdash; a new coalition &mdash; based among ethnics and big cities that spelled the end of classless politics of the Fourth Party System and helped usher in the [[Fifth Party System]] or [[New Deal coalition]] of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>Degler (1964)</ref> As one political scientist explains, "The election of 1896 ushered in the Fourth Party System.... [but] not until 1928, with the nomination of Al Smith, a northeastern reformer, did Democrats make gains among the urban, blue-collar, and Catholic voters who were later to become core components of the New Deal coalition and break the pattern of minimal class polarization that had characterized the Fourth Party System."<ref>Lawrence (1996) p 34.</ref>  In 1932 the landslide victory of Democrat [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] led to the [[New Deal coalition]] that dominated the '''[[Fifth Party System]],''' after 1932.

==Women's suffrage and feminism ==

==Women's suffrage and feminism ==