Question

Which was the main issue that divided presidential candidates of the Democratic and Republican Parties in the late nineteenth century?

Answer 1

In the late 19th century after the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated most of the elections, since Abraham Lincoln (1860) all the way to Franklin Roosevelt (1933).

The major political issues during this period were tariff, currency reform and civil service reform.  

The Republican Party had been firmly established as the party of big business while the Democratic Party was the party of agriculture and values.

The Election of 1896 between William McKinley (Republican) and William Jennings Bryan (Democrat) was the most important sine the election of 1860. The Republicans appealed to the propertied classes while the Democrats appealed to the farmers.