However, financial overinvestment in railroad construction caused the Panic of 1873 and economic turmoil. The Long Depression that followed, and Grant's veto of an inflation bill, turned public opinion against him. Democrats regained control of the House in the 1874 elections. While scandals escalated, reformers appointed by Grant were able to clean up some federal departments. The law increased women's clerk salaries from 4% to 20% during the 1870s; however, the culture of patronage and patriarchy continued. To placate the burgeoning suffragist movement, the Republicans' platform included that women's rights should be treated with 'respectful consideration', while Grant advocated equal rights for all citizens. Henry Wilson was selected as his running mate over scandal-tainted Vice President Schuyler Colfax. The party platform advocated high tariffs and a continuation of Radical Reconstruction policies that supported five military districts in the Southern states.