Gilded Age Politics

The Gilded Age lasted from the 1870s through the 1890s. During this time, reformers struggled to clean up political corruption.

Political power in the Gilded Age was split between the two major parties. Usually, the North and West voted Republican, and the South voted Democratic. Neither party controlled Congress for more than a term or two, although Republicans held the White House for nearly 25 years. However, Presidents generally had less power than Congress during the period.

For Americans of the Gilded Age, elections provided great entertainment. Campaigns featured brass bands, torchlight parades, picnics, and long speeches. Americans marched, ate, drank, and listened. Voter turnout has never again been as high—almost 80 percent of eligible voters went to the polls.

Two concerns shaped politics. Many Americans worried about the power of the rich. They feared that bankers, industrialists, and other wealthy men were controlling politics at the expense of the public good. The other worry was corruption, especially bribery and voter fraud. Reformers blamed much of the problem on the spoils system, the practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

How did city governments become so corrupt? As cities grew, they needed to expand services such as sewers, garbage collection, and roads. Often, politicians accepted money to give away these jobs. As a result, bribes and corruption became a way of life.

Corruption at the Top

Powerful politicians called political bosses gained power in many cities. Political bosses also ruled county and state governments. Bosses controlled work done locally and demanded payoffs from businesses. City bosses were popular with the poor, especially with immigrants. They provided jobs and made loans to the needy. They handed out extra coal for heating in winter and turkeys at Thanksgiving. In exchange, the poor voted for the boss or his chosen candidate.

Analyze Political Cartoons The Tammany Tiger represented the strength of “Boss” Tweed and his cronies.

Infer Why do you think the tiger is so large?

Boss Tweed

In New York City, Boss William Tweed carried corruption to new extremes. During the 1860s and 1870s, he cheated the city out of more than $100 million. Journalists exposed Boss Tweed’s wrongdoing. For example, cartoonist Thomas Nast pictured Tweed as a vulture who had fed on the city. Nast’s cartoons especially angered Tweed. His supporters might not be able to read, he said, but they could understand Nast’s cartoons.

Primary Source

“The way to have power is to take it.”

—William M. “Boss” Tweed

Faced with prison, Tweed fled to Spain. There, local police arrested him when they recognized him from Nast’s cartoons. When Tweed died in jail in 1878, thousands of poor New Yorkers mourned for him.

READING CHECK

Identify Cause and Effect Why were political bosses popular with the poor?

The Power of Big Business

Part of the Gilded Age’s excess and corruption stemmed from the philosophical work of Herbert Spencer. Spencer took the scientific idea of another Englishman, Charles Darwin, and applied it to human society. Using Spencer’s interpretation of Darwin’s work about “survival of the fittest” as justification, Gilded Age barons believed that they deserved more wealth and power because they were naturally more “fit” than other people. This philosophy became known as Social Darwinism. It was used to justify poor treatment of workers, racism, and unrestricted, unregulated capitalism.

Social Darwinism supported actions like those taken by Collis Huntington. In 1877, Huntington, builder of the Central Pacific Railroad, tried to bribe members of Congress to kill a railroad bill that would be unfavorable to his interests. “It costs money to fix things,” Huntington explained.

Analyze Images Chinese laborers and their skills were essential to building rail lines.

Evaluate Arguments Some people say that when a business spends so much money on infrastructure, such as building railroad lines, it should not have to share what it built with its competition. What do you think?

Government Regulation of Business

The behavior of men like Huntington convinced many Americans that big businesses controlled the government. They demanded that something be done to limit the power of big business.

In response, the government began to regulate railroads and other large businesses. Under the Constitution, the federal government had the power to regulate interstate commerce, or business that crossed state lines. In 1887, President Grover Cleveland signed the Interstate Commerce Act. It forbade practices such as pools and rebates. It also set up the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to oversee the railroads.

At first, the ICC was weak. In court challenges, most judges ruled in favor of the railroads. Still, Congress had shown that it was ready to regulate big business. Later laws made the ICC more effective.

Promoting Competition

In 1888, Grover Cleveland lost his bid for another term as President to Benjamin Harrison. In 1890, Harrison signed the Sherman Antitrust Act. The act prohibited businesses from trying to limit or destroy competition.

The Sherman Antitrust Act sounded strong, but enforcing it proved difficult. Opponents claimed that the law was an illegal attempt by the government to control private property.

Courts even used the law against labor unions. They said strikes blocked free trade and thus threatened competition. Later on, as the reform spirit spread, the courts began to use the Sherman Antitrust Act to regulate monopolies.

READING CHECK

Identify Supporting Details How did the courts use the Sherman Antitrust Act to help big business?

Progressive Reforms

By 1900, reformers were calling themselves Progressives. By that, they meant that they were forward-thinking people who wanted to improve American life. Progressives won many changes during the period from 1898 to 1917. As a result, this period is called the Progressive Era.

Progressives were never a single group with a single goal. Instead, they came from many backgrounds and backed different causes. They were united by a belief that the ills of society could be solved. Progressives wanted the government to act in the public interest, for the good of the people.

Both religion and science inspired Progressives. The Social Gospel movement of the late 1800s stressed the duty of Christians to improve society. At the same time, Progressives used scientific studies and statistics to find ways to solve society’s problems.

Progressives valued education. John Dewey, a Progressive educator, wanted schools to promote reform. Schools must teach democratic values by example, he argued. He therefore urged students to ask questions and to work together to solve problems. He believed that students should be able to apply what they learned in school to their lives outside of school

The Wisconsin Idea

Robert La Follette of Wisconsin was another influential Progressive. “The will of the people shall be the law of the land,” was his motto. His fighting spirit won him the nickname “Battling Bob.”

As governor of Wisconsin, La Follette introduced various Progressive reforms that became known as the Wisconsin Idea. For example, he lowered railroad rates. The result was increased rail traffic, which helped both railroad owners and customers.

Empowering Voters

Progressives like La Follette wanted voters to participate more directly in government. Since Andrew Jackson’s time, party leaders had picked candidates for local and state offices. Progressives called, instead, for primaries. In a primary, voters choose their party’s candidate for the general election. In 1903, Wisconsin was the first state to adopt a primary run by state government officials. By 1917, all but four states had done so.

Other reforms gave voters more power. They included the initiative, which gave voters the right to put a bill before a state legislature. A certain number of qualified voters must sign initiative petitions to propose a law. The referendum allowed voters to put a bill on the ballot and vote it into law. The recall allowed voters to remove an elected official from office. That reform let voters get rid of corrupt officials.

Progressives from other states visited Wisconsin to study La Follette’s reforms. A number of states elected Progressive governors eager for reforms.

Analyze Images In the early 1900s, Governor Robert La Follette of Wisconsin promoted a number of Progressive reforms known as the Wisconsin Idea.

Summarize In what ways did La Follette inspire others?

Amending the Constitution

Progressives fought for other changes, too. They favored lowering tariffs on imported goods. If American industry had to compete against foreign imports, they argued, consumers would benefit from lower prices.

Some reforms led to changes in the U.S. Constitution. Many reformers backed a graduated income tax, which taxes people at different rates. The wealthy pay taxes at a higher rate than the poor or the middle class. However, the Supreme Court had held that a federal income tax was unconstitutional. So, Progressives sought an amendment to give Congress the power to pass an income tax. By 1913, the states had ratified the amendment.

The states approved another amendment in 1913. Since 1789, state legislatures had elected senators. Powerful interest groups had sometimes bribed lawmakers to vote for certain candidates. Progressives wanted to end such abuses by having voters elect senators directly. In 1912, Congress approved the Seventeenth Amendment, which allowed for the direct election of senators. It was ratified a year later.

Analyze Images In many states, Progressive reforms shifted political power to voters.

Draw Conclusions What responsibilities does a citizen have when voting on a referendum?

READING CHECK

Identify Main Ideas What belief united the Progressive movement?