1. The Gilded Age Unit Objective
To learn the impact of the Gilded Age and political machines and assess the positives and negatives

2. What did “Gilded Age” mean?

3. A REFERENCE TO THE GREED AND CORRUPTION OF THE LATE
1800’S (MARK TWAIN)
Examples of the greed and corruption of the late 1800’s
-Factory owners who made huge profits at expense of
workers
-Trust owners who put small businesses out of business as they built
their own companies
-Robberbarons (wealthy railroad owners who had a reputation for
being greedy and corrupt)
-Political Machines that ran big cities

4. Political Machines Political organizations that took over major cities
Goal: Make profit through corruption
Positives: Did provide jobs, housing, food, heat, police and fire protection in cities that had a hard time providing them due to the unexpected rapid growth of cities during the Industrial Revolution
Negatives: They only provided these things in exchange for votes, they used bribery and other corrupt means to make money, and it all led to mediocre city officials instead of having the best people in those jobs

5. -Tammany Hall (Boss Tweed):
MOST FAMOUS POLITICAL MACHINE
TOOK CONTROL OF NEW YORK CITY
BOSS TWEED LED IT IN 1860’S AND 70’S
TWEED WAS FINALLY ARRESTED FOR
CORRUPTION IN 1874

7. Grant Scandals (U.S. Grant Presidency, 1869-77)
Grant was a good man and
a good president in many
ways, but he often delegated
responsibility to people who
turned out to be corrupt   

8. Whiskey Frauds:
BRIBES PAID TO TREASURY OFFICIALS TO
KEEP TAXES ON WHISKEY LOW

9. Corruption in the Veteran’s Bureau
Credit Mobilier:
RAILROAD COMPANY MADE SHADY DEALS TO GET GOVERNMENT CONTRACT FOR BUILDING A RR LINE TO THE PACIFIC (BRIBES)

10. Patronage (giving political appointments or jobs to friends, family, or contributors to your campaign instead of the most qualified person for the job) was also common
System had its roots in the “Spoils System” of Andrew Jackson (“To the winner goes the spoils”—replace all of the previous administration’s people with your own people)
Eventually many people pushed for a “merit system” for government positions (jobs would go to the most qualified)

11. Rutherford B. Hayes ( ): FOUGHT HARD FOR CIVIL SERVICE REFORM He was opposed by the Stalwarts (people who wanted to keep patronage) who waged political war against him throughout his term resulting in his decision not to run for a second term

12. James Garfield (1881):
CONTINUED REFORM EFFORT
WAS ASSASSINATED BY A STALWART
Chester A. Arthur ( ):
SURPRISED EVERYONE (HAD BEEN A STALWART) BY CONTINUING
REFORMS
-Pendleton Act (1883): Allowed the president to determine
which federal jobs would be filled according to Civil Service
Commission rules and only after taking a civil service exam

13. Hayes, Garfield, Arthur

14. Impact of the Gilded Age:
PEOPLE TRUSTED GOVERNMENT LESS
LED TO SEVERAL REFORM MOVEMENTS (MERIT
SYSTEM, GET RID OF CORRUPT POLITICIANS)
LED TO THE RISE OF THE POPULISTS
(WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN)