An amendment to the Constitution, for ever abolishing slavery in the States and Territories of the Union, was declared ratified by two-thirds of the States, Dec. 18, 1865. The vast change in the organ ization of the republic made by this new fundamental law was completed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, passed in 1868 and 1870, which gave to the former slaves all the rights and privileges of citizenship. The seceded States were re admitted to the Union on condition of their adhesion to the Constitution as thus amended. Owing to the reconstruction policy after the Civil War differences arose between President Johnson and the Republican leaders in both houses of Congress. This antagonism finally led to the resolution of the House of Represen tatives, passed Feb. 24, 1868, to impeach the President "of high crimes and mis demeanors." President Johnson, how ever, was acquitted, as the prosecution lacked one vote of the two-thirds vote necessary for conviction. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was elected President in 1868, and inaugurated March 4, 1869, with Schuyler Colfax as Vice-President. He was re-elected, in 1872, with Henry Wil son as Vice-President. The Geneva Court of Arbitration gave its decree in the "Ala bama" controversy in favor of the United States in 1872, while the San Juan Boun dary dispute with Great Britain was set tled in favor of the United States by the Emperor of Germany in the same year. The outrages of a secret organization known as the Ku-Klux-Klan, in the Southern States, necessitated the pass ing of an act in 1871 giving cognizance of such offenses to the United States courts.
The year 1876, memorable in the an nals of the republic as the 100th anniver sary of the Declaration of Independence, was celebrated by a great Centennial Ex hibition at Philadelphia. The presiden tial election of the same year was so closely contested that Congress appointed a special tribunal, selected from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the justices of the Supreme Court, to examine the election returns. The de cision was in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican candidate, who was declared to have been elected Presi dent, and inaugurated March 5, 1877. In 1879 specie payments were resumed throughout the United States, after a suspension of 17 years. In 1880 the Re publican National Convention at Chicago nominated Gen. James A. Garfield, of Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur, of New York, for President and Vice-President. The Democratic National Convention was held in Cincinnati, 0., and Gen. Winfiell S. Hancock and William H. English, of Indiana, were selected as candidates. The result of the election was in favor of the Republicans. General Garfield was inaugurated, March 4, 1881. On July 2, 1881, he was shot by a disappointed office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau, and after more than two months of suffering died from the effects of the wound at El beron, N. J., Sept. 19, 1881. His loss was lamented by the whole nation. He was succeeded by Vice-President Chester A. Arthur, who served the remainder of the term.
In 1884 the Democratic party nomi nated Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks for the presidency and vice presidency, while the Republicans put up James G. Blaine and John A. Logan. The election resulted in the choice of Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hen dricks, who were inaugurated March 4, 1885. The death of General Grant on July 23, 1885, was a notable event, and one that profoundly moved the whole nation. Mr. Hendricks died Nov. 25, 1885, and John Sherman, by virtue of his election as president pro tem. of the Senate, be
came his successor. Mr. Cleveland's ad ministration was in the main unevent ful, though the country was disturbed by widespread and obstinate conflicts be tween labor and capital. The silver coin age question, the reform of the civil service, the Mormon question, the labor problem, and the Pan-Electric con troversy were the issues of the hour. The presidential campaign of 1888 had the tariff question for its main issue. Mr. Cleveland was renominated by the De mocracy, with Allan G. Thurman for Vice-President, and Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, grandson of the ninth Presi dent of the United States, and Levi P. Morton, for Vice-President, were nomi nated by the Republicans. The latter were elected, the electoral vote standing 233 to 168. In 1889 four new States were added to the Union, namely, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wash tington, and the Territory of Oklahoma was carved out of the Indian Territory. In 1890 Wyoming and Idaho were ad mitted to statehood.
In 1892 Mr. Harrison was renominated by the Republicans for President, and Whitelaw Reid, of New York, for Vice President. The Democrats nominated Mr. Cleveland for President, and Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, for Vice-Presi dent. Cleveland and Stevenson were elected by an electoral vote of 277 for the ticket, against 145 for Harrison and Reid, and 22 for Weaver, the candidate of the People's party. The year 1893 was memorable for the monetary de pression and hard times throughout the United States, and, to some extent, all over the world. Many thousands of men were out of employment; many financial institutions and business enter prises failed. Almost every form of se curity depreciated. A great railway strike, accompanied by great destruction of property and some loss of life, oc curred on roads centering in Chicago; and others of less magnitude elsewhere. An army of unemployed men made a demonstration by marching across the country, subsisting on popular charity as they went, to the city of Washington, where they hoped to influence legislation by Congress, and action by the executive, to relieve the unemployed. This condition of things was popularly attributed to the administration, and to the Democratic tariff bill that had not yet been sub stituted for the McKinley bill, but was sure to be passed. As a consequence, in the State and Congressional elections of 1894 the Republicans obtained sweeping victories, and came into power in Con gress. The administration was other wise marked by its maintenance of friendly relations with Spain against the belligerent urgency of a large anti-Span ish party, friendly to Cuban independ ence; by the extension of the Civil Serv ice; and by the Arbitration Treaty of 1897.
The presidential campaign of 1896 was an unusually exciting one, with seven tickets in the field: Republican, William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart; Demo cratic, William J. Bryan and Arthur Sewall; People's, William J. Bryan and Thomas E. Watson; Prohibition; Joshua Levering and Hale Johnson; National Democratic, John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner ; Social Labor, Charles H. Matchett and Matthew Maguire; and Na tional (Free-Silver Prohibition) , Charles E. Bentley and James H. Southgate. In the election the Republican candidates re popular and 271 electoral votes, and the fused Democratic and Peoples' candidates 6,502,925 popular and 176 electoral votes. This campaign was characterized by a remarkable revolt in the Democratic party and a fusion of that party with the Populist. See BRYAN,