Corruption in the Gilded Age

Social Darwinism Term coined by Herbert Spencer Based on Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” Human society evolves and improves due to competition Emphasized individualism – no matter how humble your origins, you can rise as high as your talents and commitment will take you Capitalists used this idea to support their belief in laissez-faire economics (which allowed unrestricted competition)

The Gospel of Wealth Andrew Carnegie bought into the idea of Social Darwinism, but also believed that those who profit from society have a responsibility to improve society in return Endorsed philanthropy, gave millions of dollars to build schools, libraries, hospitals, orphanages, etc.

The Gilded Age Period of 1877 – 1900 Term coined by Mark Twain “Gilding” is when a thin layer of gold is put over a worthless metal to create the illusion of value Twain described this period as a thin layer of prosperity masking the poverty and corruption underneath

Ulysses S. Grant 1822 – 1885 Republican 18th President (1869 – 1877) Administration was marred by dozens of scandals involving several members of his cabinet, mainly involving bribery

The Whiskey Ring Scandal involving several members of Grant’s administration, including his personal secretary, where federal employees accepted bribes from whiskey distillers to help them avoid paying federal taxes on alcohol production 110 people were convicted of defrauding the government out of at least $3 million in taxes

The Credit Mobilier Scandal Several investors in the Union Pacific Railroad, including Congressman Oakes Ames, formed a construction company, then used their positions on the railroad’s board to hire their company to do construction work at exaggerated prices The Union Pacific received their funding from federal grants; when grant money ran out, Ames gave other members of Congress shares in the Union Pacific to bribe them to approve more federal grant money

Political Machines Informal political group designed to gain and keep power Growth of cities had outpaced the ability of city governments to meet the needs of citizens Run by party “bosses” Party bosses helped immigrants find jobs, housing, food, heat and protection; in return they told immigrants who to vote for in elections

Graft Graft – acquiring money through dishonest or questionable means Example: party bosses would know when and where the city might want to build a park, so they would buy up the property cheap before it became public knowledge and then sell the land to the city for personal profit

William “Boss” Tweed 1823 – 1878 Ran Tammany Hall (The Democratic Party’s political machine in NYC) from 1858 – 1871 Used his position to make himself wealthy Arrested in 1871 and convicted of defrauding the city government of about $200 million

Thomas Nast 1840 – 1902 German immigrant Worked for Harper’s Weekly as political cartoonist from 1859 to 1886 Targeted Boss Tweed and political machines; was so effective that Tweed offered him a $500,000 bribe to go study art in Europe – Nast turned it down. Creator of modern image of “Santa Claus,” Uncle Sam, the Donkey and Elephant symbols for Democratic and Republican Parties Died of Yellow Fever in Ecuador

Rutherford B. Hayes 1822 – 1893 Republican 19th President (1877 – 1881) Reformer Replaced officials who had been appointed by party bosses No spoils system in his administration

Stalwarts & Halfbreeds “Stalwarts”: Republicans who supported the political machines and spoils system “Half-breeds”: Republicans who supported civil service reform and an end to the political machines and spoils system

James Garfield 1831 – 1881 Republican 20th President (1881) Elected despite being implicated in the Credit Mobilier Scandal A “Half-breed,” he was assassinated after only 200 days in office by a disgruntled office seeker who felt he had been cheated out of a good government job

Chester A. Arthur 1829 – 1886 Republican 21st President (1881-1885) A “Stalwart,” he was so affected by Garfield’s assassination that he switched to being a “Half-breed” and championed civil service reform Did not receive nomination in election of 1884 due to terminal kidney condition

Pendleton Act of 1883 Ended the spoils system by creating the US Civil Service Commission Federal employees would get jobs based on skills and merit, not political favoritism

Election of 1884 Republicans nominated former Speaker of the House and Sec. of State James Blaine, but many voters believed he was corrupt due to his implication in several railroad scandals Democrats ran Governor of New York Grover Cleveland, who was seen as honest due to his open admission of fathering a child out of wedlock with a mistress

Grover Cleveland 1837 – 1908 Democrat 22nd & 24th President (1885-89, 1893-97) Fought for political reforms, but at the same time was willing to use military force to limit labor unions (Pullman Strike)

Mugwumps Democrat Cleveland even won support from reform-minded Republicans These Republicans were called “mugwumps,” an Algonquin Indian word meaning “important person” The term Mugwump would mean someone who switches political party for generations following

Wabash v. Illinois 1886 Supreme Court decision Court ruled that states can not regulate railroad companies because railroads are engaged in interstate commerce which can only be regulated by the federal government

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 Reaction to Wabash v. Illinois decision Created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads by restricting rates and ensuring that no discriminatory practices were used ICC was disbanded in 1995

Benjamin Harrison 1833 – 1901 Republican 23rd President (1889 – 1893) Grandson of William Henry Harrison Had the first “billion dollar government” Ran on campaign of supporting high tariffs

The McKinley Tariff of 1890 Raised the tariff on imported goods to nearly 50% Passed Congress as part of a political deal: Republicans got the tariff, Democrats & Populists got the Sherman Silver Purchase Act Tariff would severely hurt farmers, but greatly help industrialists

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 First federal law limiting trusts, monopolies, and cartels, but not really enforced until Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency Designed to protect competition among businesses and to protect consumers from the dangers of monopolies

United States v. EC Knight Co. 1895 First test of the Sherman Antitrust Act EC Knight Co. was a sugar refinery that had a monopoly on sugar in US Court ruled that Sherman Antitrust Act could limit monopolies only in distribution (interstate commerce), not in manufacture of goods

Grover Cleveland Returns! 1892: Cleveland was nominated by Democrats again and defeated both the Republican candidate Harrison and the new Populist Party’s candidate James B. Weaver Shortly after taking office, US experienced the Panic of 1893 (financial crisis) It was also during this term that Cleveland used US Army to end the Pullman Strike

William McKinley 1843 – 1901 Republican 25th President (1897 – 1901) Defeated William Jennings Bryan in 1896 election, and won re-election in 1900, but was assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist

Political reforms Secret ballot: individual’s votes would be kept secret, not published Referendum: allows citizens to vote directly on important issues rather than leave the issues in the hands of elected officials Recall: allows voters to remove an elected official from office before their term is up Initiative: allows voters to force elected officials to vote on a certain issue