Corrupt Influence

Each country has its own specific type of government in place in order to create laws and govern the citizens of that nation. Many governments have slowly, or quickly, become corrupted. Some are already corrupt. They can become unfair to regular citizens and even place innocent people in jail to cover up their own nefarious deeds. they print money and cause inflation, which eventually makes all their money worthless. Government officials can even hide important things from the public.

The Progress movement or as many refer to as the Progressive era, was a time frame where Americans joined in varying groups to advocate reform across the United States. To elaborate, Progressives believed in widespread change for child labor, industrialization, government, racial reform, and women’s rights. Countless stories of corruption in these areas were brought to light in the Progressive era mostly due to the published writings of Muckrakers. Muckrakers, were journalists who wrote for popular magazines that attempted to expose corrupt political activities from their investigative journalism. Furthermore, I will discuss and compare these groups and their attempts for changes in the rights of child labor, women, acknowledgment of corrupt government practices, racial relations, and industrialization reform.

The greatest failure of Grant’s administration was the pervasive corruption of the offices under and around him during his tenure. As a result, the term“Grantism” became synonymous with political corruption. While Grant was not the source of such dishonesty, his weakness was appointing those that were far more morally susceptible. These offices included Vice President Schuyler Colfax, Secretary of War William W. Belknap, and Postmaster John N. Tyler. While the Executive Branch was certainly unscrupulous, Congress was just as involved in the favorite political pastime - bribery. Whether accepting them to overlook liquor taxes or dealing them out in order to win another term in office, there was a constant exchange. The Spoils System in particular was in full rampancy.

In 1887, historian John Dalberg-Acton asserted, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This theme has a prominent role in history, literature, and even current times. Certainly, many instances have occurred where once someone earns authority, they allow it to get to their head and do things they would not have done otherwise. Similarly, it is also seen that when one is inferior or beneath others, they receive a hunger for power. Specifically, a few prime examples of people who became corrupted because of their dominance include Marc Antony from Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Joseph Stalin, and Kim Jong-un. These rulers negatively impacted the places they ruled all because of their abusive tendencies that came with dominance.

Once a violation of section 1962 of RICO is established, section 1964(c) provides that “[a]ny person injured in his business or property by reason of a violation of section 1962 of this chapter may sue therefor in any appropriate United States district court and shall recover threefold the damages he sustains and the cost of the suit, including reasonable attorney’s fee.” The plaintiff must prove that the criminal conduct, either directly or indirectly, injured the plaintiff’s business or property. Further, the defendant’s violation of RICO must be the proximate cause of the injury suffered by the

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair details the life of a Lithuanian immigrant named Jurgis, in the late 1800’s. In the novel, Jurgis and his family immigrate to America in order to find prosperity and follow the “American Dream”. However, upon reaching reaching America, they face many trials and tribulations. Foremost, no one in the family is able to speak English, as well as being poor immigrants that are easily taken advantage of by society. Initially, Jurgis tries to keep his head up and tries through his own work to succeed, but as the events of the novel unfold, we see him tore down and corrupted. The moral corruption of Jurgis can be seen as a reflection of the environment in which he lived. In the end, Jurgis believed that the capitalistic society that he lived in was against the common man. The Jungle illustrates how greed and unchecked capitalism can have devastating effects on people.

Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) in a criminal or civil law suit a pattern of racketeering activity must be ascertained by proving at least two acts of racketeering activity have been performed within an interval of ten years. This law could not be upheld in Sedina, SPRL v Inrex Co., 473 US 479 (1985) as two predicate acts could not be maintained (Twomey, 2013).

Upton Sinclair’s book the Jungle  was about a Latvian family who decided to immigrate to America. They believed that America was a place to go and build wealth and thrive. When they arrive, they quickly realize that the great America is not all it’s described to be. The men in power are corrupt, the living conditions are deplorable, the area is overpopulated and there weren’t enough jobs for everyone. The jobs that were available were hard, and the factories were filthy. People often became ill and did not have enough money for doctors because they were underpaid. Sinclair wrote this book to open the eyes of the American public, and to finally incite change for the poverty stricken immigrants.

In this case, Allstate sued the defendant chiropractic practice and doctor for allegedly creating an “elaborate scheme to defraud” under Section 17.05 of the Illinois Criminal Code. Allstate alleged that the defendant created and submitted false and misleading medical reports, records and billings for treatments for chiropractic and diagnostic services. Further, Allstate claimed that the defendant doctor routinely ordered unnecessary and unwarranted diagnostic testing which he conducted in a mobile x-ray van. Allstate further claimed that it had made “substantial payments” based on the submission of settlements and verdicts obtained against Allstate’s insured in their third party personal injury lawsuits. Allstate also alleged that the defendants improperly billed a lay assistant’s time “as incident to physician services” even though those assistants were not properly trained in order to bill for such a

Second, for RICO to be enforced, the government must prove that through the commission of two or more predicate acts are continuous and interrelated constituting a pattern of racketeering activity at least two acts occurring within ten years of each other. (James, Shapiro & Martin, 2006) Third, to violate RICO, a person must either, directly or indirectly, acquire an interest in or administer an "enterprise." An enterprise must exist independently from the racketeering activity in which it engages investing income, its groups must have a common or shared purpose, and there must be at least some continuity of structure or personnel. Fourth, for RICO to apply, the alleged racketeering activity must affect interstate

Because power corrupts, society 's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. ~John Adams

According to the U.S. Organized Crime Control Act of 1970: racketeering includes acts of bribery, embezzlement, federal drug offenses,

Each country has its own specific type of government in place in order to create laws and govern the citizens of that nation. Many governments have slowly, or quickly, become corrupted. Some are already corrupt. they can become unfair to regular citizens and even place innocent people in jail to cover up their own nefarious deeds. they print money and cause inflation, which eventually makes all their money worthless. Government officials can even hide important things from the public.

Excellent point! According to an article, I came across with it states that” This U.S. Government Is The Most Corrupt In History” (Washingtonsblog, 2016). It would be catastrophic if the removal of local officials was as difficult as it is to remove the President as you mentioned in your post. The moral of the country and every citizen would be dragged on the floor with very little possibilities to be able to stand up. The recall of elected officials is a privilege to have, not to misuse it, but as a powerful tool against those who don’t know how to handle being in those higher level positions. I once heard on the radio a person said” Whenever there is an abundance of money, there will always be corruption” There is a lot of truth in those

The unlawful use of a person’s position while in power leads to multiple problems with today’s government. The corrupt methods politicians use are ideas that are strictly in place for personal gain. Present throughout history and still prevalent within today’s world, government corruption has consisted of a number of negative issues including bribery, economic and social impacts, and the misuse of power. Government’s role within daily life has been shown to have negative effects as seen in many aspects of life as well as in literature.