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George Washington Plunkitt During The Gilded Age

860 Words4 Pages

George Washington Plunkitt was a cunning politician during the Gilded Age who spoke his mind and obtained substantial wealth through dominant resources. Plunkitt of Tammany Hall provided abundant advice and opinion on the bureaucratic business and how to succeed in it. The author reveals the corruption associated with the Gilded Age along with Plunkitt’s attitude towards graft, the penal code, civil service reform, party platform issues, and government.
Plunkitt was an opportunist. During his age of politics, there were two different types of graft: honest and dishonest. Common immoral graft consisted of stealing or blackmailing unfortunate individuals. George Washington Plunkitt had a way of “anticipating” where new public advancement would …show more content…

Coinage of Gold and Silver was an election circumstance for all parties. Likewise, imperialism and the primary election law were important subjects. The civil service reform, at least from Plunkitt’s opinion, was the greatest concern of all. The primary election law and the civil service reform were devastating to politicians who built their success on favors and “advantages.” Tammany Hall felt attacked by the primary election law and civil service reform. The laws opposed everything Tammany grew and progressed from. Imperialism and Tariffs were additional election issues. Plunkitt loathed the state government of New York for many reasons. Including the fact that state officials used New York City to collect outrageous tariffs for profit. “THIS city is ruled entirely by the hayseed legislators at Albany. The hayseeds think we are like the Indians to the National Government--- that is, sort of wards of the State, who don’t know how to look after ourselves and have to be taken care of by the Republicans of St. Lawrence, Ontario, and other backwood counties.” (25) He dreamt of New York City breaking away and becoming a state itself. The government would be pure and trustworthy only then. Civil Service Reform would not even be spoken of, and everyone would be happy and gratified. New York City’s government was enslaved by the state’s. Plunkitt was fed up and hoped for a revolt against Albany’s

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