Politics in the Guilded Age

A detailed Summary of Politics in the Guilded Age

Discuss Politics in the Gilded Age. Include major political events and issues, and the roles of the “bloody shirt,” corruption, patronage, and reform movements.

The term Gilded Age was named for a Mark Twain book. It meant covered with gold, and was applied to this period as a whole. This was a period of corruption in sordid politics.

The Republicans and Democrats didn’t really have strong opposing beliefs during this period. The Republicans supported high tariffs and sound money. The Democrats supported lower tariffs and expanded currency. Both rural and urban classes supported each party. They worked with spoils and local issues. Both parties worked to please everyone, and to attract voters. Since both parties were so close in strength, it caused the elections to be fought harder.

The Republicans used the waving of the bloody shirt tactic. This meant that they brought back the past in order to avoid the real issues. They portrayed the Democrats as rebel traitors. The Republicans were against alcohol. The Stalwarts were led by Senator Conkling from New York and were the hard core machine of elections. Senator B

During Grant’s administration the monetary issues were inflation, cheap money, and greenbacks. The debtors, especially farmers, wanted cheap money. However, Grant vetoed the bill to print more money, and supported withdrawing greenbacks from circulation.

One president was Grant during this period. He was elected into office for his past war experience. He had little knowledge of politics, and depended on his fellow politicians. These men, in turn, involved in scandals to embezzle money from the government. One was the Great Mobilier scandal; it dealt with the Union Pacific Railroad. The Construction Company hired themselves at inflated prices to build railroad lines, and distributed shares of stock to congressmen. A scandal during Grant’s second term, was the Whisky Ring. This scandal was uncovered in St. Louis, and consisted of selling whiskey without the excise tax. In return it defrauded the government out of millions of dollars. Belknap was selling goods and trading with the Indians for lower prices.

There was too much corruption during this period. Honest politicians and businessmen might have prevented the depression. The big businesses were really in charge. The qual

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Approximate Word count = 817
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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