 Grab a sheet from the cart by the door and read and answer the questions about the “gilded age.”

The Gilded Age

 Remember, we are still in the same time period as the industrial revolution.  Now, rather than looking at production and manufacturing and Industrial leaders we will focus on issues in Society.  These will range from political to social to monetary issues.

 The word “gilded” implies that the outside of the object (in this case, society) is covered in gold.  For instance,  during the industrial revolution, from the outside everything appears nice and shiny because we are industrializing and expanding rapidly.  However, on the inside, life was pretty brutal and ugly in the industrial city.

 Because cities were growing so fast in the late 1800s, city governments became really BIG and POWERFUL.  Groups of politicians came into power and stayed in power in the cities. They did whatever they wanted and made a lot of money doing it. These strong city governments became known as POLITICAL MACHINES.  The most famous political machine of the late 1800s was TAMMANY HALL in NYC.

 Often these governments were corrupt and looked out for themselves – so why did people keep electing them?  1) They had a very organized network of people in the community (called precinct captains) who made sure that people voted for them.  2) They took care of immigrants by providing them with food, shelter, clothing, and other stuff.

 These political machines were not exactly squeaky clean – they did a lot of illegal stuff.  1) Election Fraud – People were paid to vote multiple times, and the political machines often counted the ballots.  2) Graft – Politicians in political machines often got rich by being in power.  A) They took “kickbacks” by providing work for their friends  B) They took advantage of insider info to get rich

 Leaders of political machines became known as “party bosses.” These guys were often the most powerful people in the cities.  Examples:  James Pendergrast – Powerful party boss in Kansas City.  George Washington Plunkitt – A party boss in NYC.  William “BOSS” Tweed – The most powerful party boss in Tammany Hall in NYC. He was so powerful that he and his buddies became known as the “TWEED RING”

 Some people get fed up with Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall.  A political cartoonist named THOMAS NAST starts attempting to expose what Tweed was doing to the public.  Nast played an important role in getting Tweed arrested and removed from power. “I don't care a straw for your newspaper articles, my constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures."”

The Tweed Ring in NYC William Marcy Tweed (notorious head of Tammany Hall’s political machine) [Thomas Nast  crusading cartoonist/reporter]

Who Stole the People’s Money?