re: #221 HappyWarrior

That makes sense Joe. The GOP didn’t become the party of the robber barons until the 1870’s. Obviously not all Republican elected officials were allies of the barons but men like Carnegie, Rockefeller, & Morgan were more friendly towards the GOP due to some shared interests. McKinley was a huge tariff advocate for example which the industrial interests liked. No idea where my family was going then. Pittsburgh as you know was Republican until the Depression but we’re half Irish Catholic on that side and Irish Catholics in the cities were typically Dems. The others were Germans both Lutheran and Catholic so I dunno about them.

Dr. Montgomery pointed out that most of the moneyed class was initially in the Democratic ranks during the Civil War. Lincoln’s moves to create the Transcontinental railroad and contracts to provisioners for war supplies began to shift them to the Republicans. Note in 1868 and 1876 New York was carried by Democrats. After the deal was made to install Hayes the transition of the wealthy to the Republican Party was complete.