Politics In The Gilded Age Essay

Jim Fisk and Jay Gould created a plot to raise the price of gold in the market in 1869.

Though the two political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, aged differently in region, ethnicity, and religion, one similarity was prevalent: neither was willing to take strong stands on the most sensitive topics (H). The sectionalism that had been rife prior to the Civil War was still alive. Since neither side wanted to take risks, for fear of upsetting the balance of power, complex issues such as the tariff and money bills moved forward slowly and thus benefited the public too little or too late. The smaller peoples, including farmers, laborers, and small businessmen, were left out of the political equation except at the local machine level. Presidential cabinets were marked by the practice of patronage as the continuation of Andrew Jackson's spoils system became more widespread throughout the country. With no real standouts of the time, the social issues of the day were largely deferred or ignored.

5. According to The Gilded Age by Mark Twain, the era’s slogan was “Get rich, dishonestly if we can, honestly if we must.” Explain how this was true of the politics of the era.

As the age of Reconstruction ended, the Gilded Age of big businesses began in the United States and with it came new jobs and goods for Americans. When new corporations became more successful, it made an immense impact on the economy, the political system and the lives of citizens. Economically, the cost of food and living went down significantly as well as a surplus of jobs. Political leaders were corrupted by big business as their decisions and laws were influenced by the wealthy class’ bribes and stealing from the common man. Though mass production allowed goods to be made quicker and in greater quantity, the workers’ horrible working conditions and remarkably long hours caused the creation of unions and strikes. Despite the great effect big business had on the economy in the Gilded Age through the decline in the cost of food and fuel, the daily lives of average working-class citizens were negatively impacted by long hours, horrid working conditions leading to unions and a corrupted political system.

Chapter 23: The "Bloody Shirt" Elects Grant Post-Civil War Reconstruction: Andrew Johnson was impeached and the Democrats/Republicans both nominated new candidates (Democrats - Horatio Seymour and Republicans - Ulysses S. Grant) Election of 1868: Grant was nominated by Republicans despite his lack of political experience (a war general) Due to his popularity in the North he had around 300,000 more popular votes than his opponent (turning point was the 500,000 votes of Blacks given to Grant: Republicans protected the voting rights of the freedmen) 15th amendment: Republicans passed this amendment to secure black voting rights...stated that states cannot prohibit a citizen’s right to vote despite race and color Republicans believed for continued

They were so pro-business that it did not even matter whether or not the government was republican or democrat based. There was very little federal regulation on business, even to the extent to where the business itself would set wages; furthermore, this caused many laborers to work for dirt cheap pay. The government also didn’t set an age limit on workers, so we now have children working in factories too. In today’s modern society there are child labor laws put into place to There were very low taxes on corporate profits, so there was more income for the

Nicholas Biddle also was giving low interest loans to his wealthy friends, which shows that the Bank is corrupt. Biddle held an immense and to many unconstitutional amount of power over the nation's financial affairs, and he also curtailed loans. He also exasperated the president by his repeated refusal to seriously investigate charges of political interference by some Bank branches during the 1828

Grant appointed more members to his cabinet when Congress assembled on March 4th, 1869. He appointed Republicans who remained loyal during the civil war. Democrats at the time believed Grant had made a terrible choice in his selections and feared for the future of the country. Foreshadowing corruption, it was speculated that Adolph E. Borie was solely appointed as Secretary of the Navy because he was a contributor to Grant’s campaign. “To the politicians it seemed that Grant regarded the presidency ‘as a candy cornucopia from which he is to extract a sugar plum for the good little boys who have given him some of their plum cake.’” Stewart’s appointment was received with great public approval, but politicians thought otherwise. A law from 1789 prohibits anybody that has relations in trade or commerce from becoming Secretary of Treasury, so Sumner and other politicians prepared to have a man of their own selected to that position. Republicans and Grant’s advisors alike agreed on George S. Boutwell filling in this vacant position as he soon did. This was seen as a defeat of Grant’s. However he was not totally against this because Boutwell had political and financial experience. With the completion of his cabinet, Grant solidified the idea of being representative of the people, and not of any party. Grant approached filling smaller offices differently

The Gilded Age, seen as the time of advancement and moving forward, but, was it really for all those who were in the United States. During this time, the United States population and economy grew hand in hand, but what was going on behind the scenes for both these numbers to grow so prosperous. First, let us consider what gilded stands for; it is having a desired appearance, yet concealing something that is not so pleasing in appearance. So, the Gilded Age was a time in which the United States grew prosperous through means that did not reflect such positivity. One example, in specific, is the treatment of Indian Americans by the American government. In the article, The Ghost Dance and the Wounded Knee Massacre by Red Cloud, we are

The second of the two senators was a senator named James G. Blaine. Blaine was a Republican senator from Maine during this same time period. Despite his corrupt actions, Blaine was probably the most popular Republican politician of the era. Charming, intelligent, witty, and able, he served twice as secretary of state and was a serious contender for the presidency in every election from 1876 to 1892. Blaine was a corrupt politician though. After being paid off by favors to railroads in return for money, Blaine lied to the public denying that it ever happened. Soon after, the public soon found out the truth. Blaine's corruption came back to him in 1884 when he tried to run for president. Overcome with anger towards him, Democrats would often rally: "Blaine! Blaine! James G. Blaine! / Continental liar from the state the Maine!" This kind of corruption shows how politicians were more worried about ensuring their own financial

Grant did not have a perfect presidency. At times his cabinet seemed ineffective and corrupt, with multiple scandals plaguing his administration. Unfortunately, Grant followed Andrew Jackson’s spoils system, and implemented loyal friends into his cabinet rather than qualified advisors. As a result, Grant’s agenda often fell short because of a sluggish cabinet and government. Other political leaders highlighted this incompetence, but the American people still idolized the war hero. His popularity with the American people did not always translate to desired results, as represented in the Gold Panic of 1869. Grant’s foolhardy mistake of releasing millions of dollars of specie into the economy was met with unprecedented economic consequences. It was a huge blunder for him to unwittingly be a co-conspirer and then over correct his mistake. It didn’t help that four years later his administration was stagnate and useless during the global Panic of 1873. Grant’s inability to contain financial disasters and corrupt cabinet members are detrimental to the President’s

The whiskey ring started out in St. Louis by the superintendent of the Bureau of Revenue John Mcdonald. What John did was not report the full amount of taxes taken from the distillers and distributors. He then later got the Treasury Department involved as part of the grand scheme. The situation later got looked into by Benjamin Bristow who was the Secretary of Treasury. He had a private team investigate the situation. Once it was all uncovered part of the money that they took back from everybody involved went into Grant’s reelection campaign. A lot of people questioned his involvement but he denied in not partaking in any of the

Under Grant’s presidency, many laws were passed. For example, President Grant passed the Specie Resumption Act. This allowed legal-tender notes and fractional currency to be redeemed for coin. Also while Grant was president, in 1869, the Public Credit Act was passed. This promised that bonded debt would be repaid with gold; this act ended the worries of inflation that had been going on for many years. During Grant’s presidency, the government maintained hard currency, economy, and reduction of national debt. Overall, Grant had fairly simple finance ideas.

P. J. O’Rourke said, “Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.” When Mark Twain and Charles Dudley coined the phrase ‘gilded age’ to describe what they saw in the late 19th century I’m sure they would agree wholeheartedly with Mr. O’Rourke. What does it mean ‘gilded age’? Gilded means to coat with a thin layer of gold, which I’m sure almost always is covering an inferior product. When one thinks of America one of the first thoughts that pop into mind is the American Dream. Achieving the impossible and pulling oneself up out of the mire and reaching a

Henry James and Abraham Cahan lived in the turn of the twentieth century, where social and economic corruptions were gilded by the extreme wealth of the few. This period also marked the beginning of a distinction between the European and American culture. Both authors artistically create in their stories the tragedy and drama of Americans in Europe and Europeans in America. James lived comfortably in both America and Europe, and it showed in his work "Daisy Miller: A Study" in which he creates a fairy tale land full of extravagant hotels, beautiful sceneries, sparkly blue lakes and well dressed people. Cahan was an immigrant living during the time of mass Americanization of