Government Corruption & Inefficiency

Rating- 5/10

Kennedi Nicole Simmons

About Government Corruption & Inefficiency

Corruption is defined as: The abuse of power for personal gain. Inefficiency is defined as: the state of not achieving maximum productivity as well as not making use of time and resources. During the Gilded Age ( 19th century) when the government wasn't trying to hide its own corruption, it was looking over its corrupted citizens who gained power just to abuse and take advantage of the lower class citizens. The overlooking of this made the government inefficient. Citizens already had to deal with enough during these times and it seemed the government was not going to help. As citizens grew angry it ushered in the progressive era which was a massive time of reform and change. Though many laws/acts were passed corruption and government inefficiency carried well on into the 20th century.

Major Leaders______

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Leaders with a Positive Impact

Leaders with a Negative Impact

James Garfield

elected in 1880 and assassinated on September 19th of 1881, Garfield fought for political reform, the strengthening of federal authority, as well as working to destroy the Spoils System, Ironically he was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau, who believed he deserved to be rewarded with a government position for the support he showed Garfield during his presidential campaign.

Benjamin Harrison

served one term as president from 1889-1893 ,though he is often shadowed by those that came before and after him his presidency holds much significance. Like many presidents he had critics and those who praised what he accomplished however the corruptive part of his presidency outweighs other parts due to his support of the Patronage System and his "Billion Dollar Congress". Along with this many believed he was elected due to ballot stuffing in key states like NY and Indiana as well as buying votes which lead people to wonder if he truly earned his victory.

Chester A. Arthur

became president after James Garfield's assassination, as a republican he fought for tariff reduction, improvement of labor relations and signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into law which established rules for the hiring of government based jobs that blocked unfairness like what was given to people who climbed the political latter using the Patronage System.

Ulysses S. Grant

after the war, Grant was elected president in 1868 and he served two terms. His presidency is remembered in many ways however he is often criticized for the challenges that cam with the economy, reconstructions as well as being tied to various corruption scandals. He is however praised for his efforts to support civil rights for African Americans as well as the part he played in preserving the Union

Grover Cleveland

if often praised for his honesty and integrity compared to the other Gilded Age Presidents. He is remembered for publicly being and fighting against corruption and patronage.

William" Boss" Tweed

a powerful political figure in NY City during the Gilded Age, he was the leader of the Tammany Hall Political Machine, a Democratic party organization that controlled New York City politics for years. This political machine is more widely known as "The Tweed Ring" the politicians that participated in this corrupted ring of lies participated in the embezzlement of vast sums of public money, patronage that rewarded its supporters with government jobs, electoral fraud that included anything from ballot stuffing to voter intimidation, and so much more.

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Major Events____

Tweed Ring- The Tweed Ring engaged in widespread corruption, using its control of city government to grand contracts to its supporters and embezzle public funds. The corruption practices eventually came to light, thanks to the efforts of investigative journalists and reformers. The NY Times played a very important role in exposing the crimes of the Tweed ring leading to public outrage and a call for accountability. Tweed was arrested in 1871 on charges of corruption and fraud.

Railroads- Farmers began using railroads as a faster way to transport goods and had the idea that if they could get their goods shipped faster that they could increase their profits. However railroad companies refused to let farmers benefit too much off of their system and bengan charging farmers higher rates for shipment than they charged for big industry companies whom they supported. This made it harder for Farmers to pay back the debt from loans taken out to help purchase and run their farms. This corruption led to the Grange Movement which was a movement in which farmers fought for fairer traits and regulations. The people of the Grange movement were not successful because they were overpowered by the big railroad companies.

The Spoils System- The spoils system was a practice that awarded the supporters of politicians campaigns with high ranking government positions because of their loyalty. Sometimes these government positions would also be awarded to the friends and family members of politicians. This system encourages corruption because officials used the power granted to them through their position for personal gain and benefit. James Garfield himself was a victim of this system.

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Key Laws/ Court Decisions____

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act(1883)

This law guarantees the rights to all citizens to compete for federal/government based jobs without preferential treatment given based on religion, race, gender, or politics.

Interstate Commerce Act(1887)~

This act addressed the issue that came with railroad monopolies by setting guidelines for how railroads could conduct their businesses. This act was constitutional because it applied to the constitutions "Commerce Clause" - granting congress the power " to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states" - leading to the regulation of railroad rates.

Sherman Antitrust Act(1890)

This law authorized the federal government to institute proceedings against trusts in order to dissolve them. It also prohibited businesses practices that restrain trade and are anticompetitive. Focused on price fixing, collusion, monopolization, resale price maintenance , exclusive contracts, ect.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act(1890)

This act was passed to increase the money supply and help farmers pay back their debts, it required the U.S treasury to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver each month.

Evaluation

While several laws were passed to stop corruption, the political and economic climate made it difficult to enforce them effectively. Despite these limitations, some laws did actually have a positive impact like the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act which helped regulate railroads and break up monopiles. Though Chester A. Arthur was the creator of the Pendleton Act he himself was a believer of the Spoils system, which leads me to believe he only passed the law because of pressures to somehow make sure an occurrence like the assassination of Garfield would not happen again. Especially due to the Reasoning behind it.

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