Once in power, Republicans operatives did everything they could to keep themselves there by gaming the system. First, they added six new western states to the Union from 1889-1890, trying to guarantee that Republicans could hold the Senate for the foreseeable future and swing the Electoral College to Republicans. They replaced partisan color-coded ballots with secret, impartial ballots that required a voter to know how to read, then warned that continued Democratic victories only proved that the electoral system was rigged. They ginned up supporters to turn on the immigrants and organized workers who voted Democratic ballots, arguing that their calls for basic rights were in fact un-American demands for special treatment.
In the short term, the Republicans’ strategy worked. Republicans continued to hold at least one branch of the federal government, and they undermined faith in the electoral process. The popular mood turned dark and dangerous toward minorities and workers perceived to be “corrupting” the popular vote.
But in the long term, their strategy doomed the Republican ideologues. As they became increasingly convinced that they, and they alone, knew what was good for the country, Republican leaders shifted further and further right. They turned to religion, racism, and social Darwinism to justify their ideology and continue favoring business. They silenced alternative ideas. And as they manipulated the political system, they had less and less reason to compromise. They became convinced that compromise itself would kill the nation.
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