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Political Issues During The Gilded Age

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The Gilded Age, which lasted from approximately 1868 to 1900, was a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization in the United States. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain to describe the era's glittering surface of wealth and prosperity, but also the corruption and political corruption that lay beneath it. This period of American history was marked by significant political changes, as well as the emergence of new political issues and groups. One of the major political issues during the Gilded Age was the question of tariffs. The Republican Party, which controlled the federal government during this period, favored high tariffs on imported goods in order to protect American industry. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, opposed high tariffs and favored free trade. This issue was a major point of contention between the two parties and played a role in several presidential elections during the Gilded Age. …show more content…

The Spoils System, which had been in place since Andrew Jackson's presidency, allowed the President to remove government employees and replace them with political supporters. This led to widespread corruption and inefficiency in the government. Civil service reformers, led by President Rutherford B. Hayes and later President James A. Garfield, sought to put an end to the Spoils System by implementing a merit-based system for government jobs. A third major political issue during the Gilded Age was the question of money and finance. The country was moving towards a more industrialized economy, but the currency was backed by gold and silver, which limited the amount of money in circulation. Those who advocated for the gold standard believed that it would keep the economy stable, while those who advocated for the silver standard believed that it would help farmers and other debtors by increasing the amount of money in

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During the Gilded Age, the Era between 1900-1920 many Americans feared that the wealthy population were benefiting themselves at the cost of the poor. They also worried about corruption in the government. The progressives and the Federal Government was very effective at bringing reform against corporations and helping the poor. However even through all the work prejudice still continued on. Success in reform really started when Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901 he was known as the first progressive president.

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The Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, encapsulates a period of profound economic transformation and significant political tension in the United States. This era witnessed the convergence of conservative ideologies with the rapid development of an urban-industrial economy. Analyzing the presidencies of Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, and Grover Cleveland offers a lens into how America navigated this turbulent period. Rutherford B. Hayes ascended to the presidency at a critical juncture in American history, marked by the aftermath of the Civil War and the onset of industrial capitalism. Despite fears of class conflict akin to the Marxist revolutions in Europe, Hayes managed to maintain a fragile peace through a conservative,

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The Gilded age is an American History term meaning covered with glitter and gold and was applied to this period because of political corruption. President Grant was elected as president because of his war experience not his political background. He relied on his staff to help him make decisions. His staff was very corrupt and found themselves involved in many political scandals. Some of the issues that grant faced during his time in office was printing money, cheaper currency, and inflation.

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During the Civil War paper money had been made, but at the time it was not exchangeable for gold or silver. Congress had to decide wether or not to keep the paper money, get rid of it, or make it exchangeable for gold and silver. People had arguments on why they should do either option. The ones who voted to get rid of paper money or make it exchangeable feared inflation. Where the people who voted to keep paper money said there was not enough gold and silver to support a growing economy.

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The gilded age contributed to political corruption. People have different views whether it was the politicians fault or the people’s fault. Lincoln Steffens believes political corruption was the people’s fault. In his point of view, he believes that we are responsible since we decided to follow them. In his article he says “The Businessman has failed in politics as he has in citizenship.”, which means he believe it’s the businessman fault.

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From the Gilded Age to World War 1, while Republicans and Democrats held different economic positions on tariffs and economic monetary systems, their responses to the challenges of economic inequality and incorporation of Populist ideas allowed them to share in the idea of an expanded, activist, socially conscious government. During the Gilded Age, while both the Republican and Democratic parties nationally came under the control of powerful political managers with close ties to business interests, their economic policies surprisingly differed on the subject of tariffs. Despite their close links to New York bankers and financiers, Democrats of the Gilded Age opposed high tariffs, while Republicans strongly supported them to protect American

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The way they ran the country shaped the society. Another thing that shaped the country and society was all of the major industries that were flourishing and taking over the country. During the Gilded Age politics were widely known as controlled by corruption. Many of the presidents were involved in scandals.

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As the Civil War came to an end, the U.S. entered into the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was characterized by industrialization, urbanization, and immigration, but it also consisted of poverty, labor unions, and political and business corruption due to the significant change of industrialization in U.S. society. In order to change and fix the troubles of the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era began in 1897, where progressives believed that it was the responsibility of the government to bring positive change for the working class. As businesses were becoming wealthy and powerful, they were also corrupt due to monopolies and trusts, while also influencing the government, factories also had no cleanliness or safety, and only white men held the majority

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The Gilded Age's political, social, and economic types resulted in a rise in populist changes in the United States in the late nineteenth century. The uneven distribution of wealth and the exploitation of labor were two major factors in populist reform throughout this period. By pushing economic and political changes that would improve the working class and shift income from the wealthy elite to the general community, the populist movement wanted to address these problems.   The United States had a period of fast economic growth during the Gilded Age, which extended from the 1870s through the 1890s. But because of the uneven distribution of this increase, the great majority of people did not greatly profit from it.

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During the same time period, congress passes the coinage act of 1873. This act reversed the government’s policy of making both gold and silver coins. This threw people into disagreements over whether to consider silver or gold as money. Bankers argued that silver money would undermine the economy while others said that silver money could create inflation which would cause a rise in

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Jessica HillisMr. GillardAP US History5 January 2007Essay 16: Gilded AgeThroughout history, certain periods of time have been given certain names based on thehappenings that occurred. Many have called the period of 1865 to 1901 the “Gilded Age”, be-cause it was “shiny and pretty” on the outside but it was “rough and ugly” underneath. The term“Gilded Age” was actually coined by Mark Twain who satired the Gilded Age with a GoldenAge.

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When the Reconstruction Age from the resolution of the Civil War started coming to a closing, a new age began to commence. This new age was the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age earned its name from the popular writer, Mark Twain. The name meant on the outside, life looked glamorous, but in reality, the underground was corrupt. During the era, the US saw a shift in the way the country operated and became more industrialized.

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Bodnar, John. “Families Enter America.” Major Problems in the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, ed. Leon Fink. D.C.

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What was the Gilded Age and why did Mark Twain refer to it as such? To help understand this question, one must know the meaning of the word gild. Per Merriam Webster, the term gild means to “to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to” (Gild, n.d.). After the Civil War the American people had become tired of all the corruption and simply wanted to see an end to it and to have a stable economy. The Gilded Age was fashioned to be prosperous times for all Americans, promising wealth, and an end to past political corruption.

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The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.

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