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Corruption And Reform In The Gilded Age Essay

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Corruption And Reform In The Gilded Age Essay
Corruption and Reform in the Gilded Age of American Politics

Thesis: The Gilded Age of American politics was the most corrupt and lowest point of our government. Although power was ripped from the hands of the people, it eventually led to much-needed reforms during the progressive-era.

I. Politics existed to benefit interest groups during this time-period. A. Conservative presidents attempted to avoid controversy and practiced laissez-faire policies. This allowed businesses to get away with whatever they wanted. a. Rutherford B. Hayes, ended reconstruction in exchange for votes. “Corrupt Bargain” of 1877. b. Garfield, killed by civil servant; starts civil service reforms. c. Chester Arthur, elected due to …show more content…
People were getting sick of corruption in the Gilded Age. They began to fight back through various political movements and parties. This fight laid an infrastructure for the Progressive Era. A. Farmers faced a number of difficulties during this time period. a. Land wasn’t as productive due to natural disaster and overuse. b. Land was easy to tax. c. Barbed wire, fertilizer, and harvesters were all owned by trusts who pushed prices very high. d. Railroads drove up prices of their transportation. e. Farmers can’t organize. f. Rising prices with a lower cost of goods lead to farmers not being able to pay back their debts. B. The farmers, who accounted for half the population, organized with the Farmer’s Alliance party. This turned into the People’s Party, better known as the Populists. C. The Populist party platform: g. Free coinage of silver. h. Graduated income tax based on wealth. i. Government takeover of utilities. j. Direct election of senators and one-term limit on presidents. k. Initiatives and Referendums for civilians to control municipal issues. l. Shorter workday. (They united with citizens in the cities and
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