Political Issues During The Gilded Age

The eternal words of Mark Twain made this era the “Gilded Age” for a reason: Society changed for the worse in those years, and the strife of the many was concealed by the Bentleys of the few. As shown by document 1 of section 2, the land grant to the Union Pacific Railroad Company,

Republicans wished for high tariffs, while Democrats thought they needed to lower tariffs. Republicans saw tariffs as a protection for business and farmers in America. If there was a high tariff on imported goods people would be more likely to buy less imported and more locally grown goods. On the other side, Democrats wished for a low tariff because they thought that governments who did less were the best, so if the government put a high tariff on imported things they would be too controlling. In the end most tariffs were higher with exceptions to a few lowered ones.

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

The Gilded Age was the period 1870 to 1900 were Industries grew exponentially and working environments for employees decreased. Coined by Mark Twain, it was a satire phrase to describe the increase social problems that were the result of a few businessmen becoming rich. The Progressive Era began as a social movement and grew into a political movement in the United States, spanning from the 1890s to 1920s. This was an era of political reform and social activism.

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

Politics in the Gilded Age were no more corrupt than at any other era in American political history, but it is viewed as one of the more corrupt periods in our history. There are several reasons for this and chief among them is that historians have traditionally interpreted the era that way. When studying primary sources of Gilded Age politics, especially newspapers, it becomes apparent that most were harsh toward politicians on both sides of the spectrum. The reason for this is that newspapers were extremely loyal to one party or the other and sought to paint the other side as vile, corrupt, and without morals. Charges were made based on little or no real evidence which made the era appear more corrupt than it really was.

The two issues were the monetary policy and the tariff policy. The tariff policy separated the democrats and the republicans while the monetary policy gave rise to disagreements over the gold standard. A tariff on imported goods was created to protect newly developed industries. The disagreement spurred on whether to increase or lower the tariff Priceline a good. It became most relevant during the presidential election of 1888.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

There are many events throughout history that can be compared to Mark Twain’s, “Gilded Age”. Characterized by unprecedented levels of rapid growth involving the railroad, mining, factories, new family grown farms, and the banking industry, it was the time of new found wealth and the coming of age. However, it was also the time of greed, corruption and political venues that were so intertwined making political parties and government difficult to follow.

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.