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Reform in the Gilded Age
Gilded Age
Period after Civil War
Lasted from 1870s through 1890s
Age of serious problems hiding under shiny surface
Political Concerns
Americans feared industrialists & wealthy men were enriching themselves at expense of public
Corruption/Dishonesty in government Bribery & voter fraud appeared widespread
Taming the Spoils System
Source of corruption was Spoils System Practice of rewarding political supporters w/ gov’t jobs
W/ election of new President, people swarmed to Washington looking for jobs in rewards for their political support
1881 James Garfield elected President
4 months later was shot by disappointed office seeker Sparked efforts to end spoils system
Vice President Chester A. Arthur became President Owed his rise to spoils system
1883 Pendleton Act signed
Created Civil Service Commission A system that includes most gov’t jobs, except elected positions, the
judiciary, & the military
Aim was to fill jobs on basis of merit Jobs went to those who scored highest on civil services examinations
Controlling Big Business
Late 1800s
Big business influenced politics, often w/ bribery
Americans demanded limiting power of railroads & monopolies
Congress
Under Constitution has power to regulate interstate commerce
1887 President Grover Cleveland signed Interstate
Commerce Act Forbade practices such as rebates & set up Interstate
Commerce Commission to oversee railroads
1890
President Benjamin Harrison signed Sherman
Antitrust Act
Prohibited businesses from trying to limit or destroy
competition
Difficult to enforce
Judges often ruled in favor of trusts & the Sherman Act
was used to limit the power of labor unions (strikers
blocked free trade & threatened competition)
Corruption in the Cities
Expansion of cities led to expansion of sewers,
garbage collection, & roads
City politicians often excepted money to award
jobs to friends
Powerful politicians (bosses) controlled work
done locally & wanted payoffs from businesses
Popular w/ poor
Gave turkeys & coal
Poor voted for them in return
William “Boss” Tweed
1860s & 1870s he cheated NY City out of $100 million
His crimes were exposed by journalists, before being arrested he fled to Spain
He was arrested in Spain & died in jail in 1878
Progressives & Political Reform
Progressive Movement Corruption led to rise
Progressives: diverse group of reformers united by a belief in the public interest Not sacrificed to greed of huge trusts & city bosses
Wisconsin idea 1st to adopt Progressive reforms
Governor Robert La Follette “Battling Bob” Opposed political bosses
Appointed commissions of experts to solve problems Railroad commission recommended lowering railroad rates; as rates
decreased, rail traffic increased
1903 Wisconsin was 1st state to adopt a primary run by state gov’t officials 1917 all but 4 states joined
More Power to Voters
Recall
A process by which people may vote to remove an elected official from office Easier to remove corrupt officials
Initiative
Process that allows voters to put a bill before a state legislature Voters must collect a certain # of signatures on a
petition
Referendum: way for people to vote directly on a proposed new law
Two Constitutional Amendments
Progressive Reformers Backed graduated income tax (method of taxation that taxes
people at different rates depending on income) Wealthy pay higher taxes than poor
Supreme Court ruled this was unconstitutional
16th Amendment (gives Congress the power to pass an income tax) was ratified in 1913
1789 U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures
Bribery was a problem
Progressives wanted people to vote for senators
1913 17th Amendment was ratified to require the direct election of
senators
The Muckrakers
Press play important role in exposing corruption
President Theodore Roosevelt Compared these reporters to men who raked up dirt/muck
in stables
Muckraker became a term for a crusading journalist
Ida Tarbell Targeted big business
Work led to demands for more controls on trusts
Accused oil baron John D. Rockefeller of unfair business methods
Other reporters described how corruption had led to inadequate fire, police, & sanitation services Jacob Riis
1906
Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle
Grisly details about the meatpacking industry
Described how packers used meat from sick animals &
how rats often got group up in the meat