Gilded Age Research Paper
The Gilded Age
P. 9 US 1 Honors
Mrs. Martin, P. 9, Honors US 1
6/2/2014
The Gilded Age
The President of the United States, responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress, Chief of the Armed Forces, and face of the nation, an unsurmountable amount of pressure, reliance and demand to be the best leader possible. It is no wonder why some men could not handle the task and fall short. The “Gilded Age," coined by Mark Twain as a time of great corruption, is the time period after the Reconstruction era of America after the Civil War, to the beginnings of the 1900s. It is a time littered with corruption, rapid economic growth and social conflict. Strife riddled poor immigrant workers hailing from …show more content…
He is acclaimed as selfish, simple and lead with no real sight into the future, a blunderbuss at best. A rich aristocrat with no real college education or understanding of political history, he could not seem to connect with the working class, or common people. Cleveland even appeared as an enemy to the middle class’ labor force, even more so when he issues federal troops to Washington to stop the unemployed marchers in “Coexy’s Army," as well as the Pullman Strike. Cleveland’s terms as president will encompass some of the nations most exuberant labor strikes. The Pullman Strike is one of the nations most violent labor disputes, when 30% labor cuts are enacted, massive riots and the use of the federal army come alive. The Pullman Strike wasn 't the only major strike, use of the federal army is again exercised in Chicago at the Haymarket Riots, and in 1886 General Strike when workers demanded 8 hour work days. As shown the economy and country were in shambles and suffering from extreme discord. Cleveland took no real action to fix these riots, only the use of the army to quiet them, something a weak leader would do. In Cleveland 's first term, the economy was already threatened with a great collapse. Cleveland called for a reduction in tariffs, arguing that high tariffs were contrary to the American idea of fairness. His opponents argued that high tariffs protected US businesses from foreign competition and Cleveland lost that election. It seems that the peak of problems during the Gilded Age all mounted up and broke free during the second term of the Cleveland Administration, the financial Panic of 1893. It was marked by the overbuilding and shaky financing of railroads something that the Sherman Antitrust Act would have prevented if actually enacted and enforced, resulting in a series of bank failures. By 93’ the economy was in a depression, 74 railroad companies, 600 banks and
P. 9 US 1 Honors
Mrs. Martin, P. 9, Honors US 1
6/2/2014
The Gilded Age
The President of the United States, responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress, Chief of the Armed Forces, and face of the nation, an unsurmountable amount of pressure, reliance and demand to be the best leader possible. It is no wonder why some men could not handle the task and fall short. The “Gilded Age," coined by Mark Twain as a time of great corruption, is the time period after the Reconstruction era of America after the Civil War, to the beginnings of the 1900s. It is a time littered with corruption, rapid economic growth and social conflict. Strife riddled poor immigrant workers hailing from …show more content…
He is acclaimed as selfish, simple and lead with no real sight into the future, a blunderbuss at best. A rich aristocrat with no real college education or understanding of political history, he could not seem to connect with the working class, or common people. Cleveland even appeared as an enemy to the middle class’ labor force, even more so when he issues federal troops to Washington to stop the unemployed marchers in “Coexy’s Army," as well as the Pullman Strike. Cleveland’s terms as president will encompass some of the nations most exuberant labor strikes. The Pullman Strike is one of the nations most violent labor disputes, when 30% labor cuts are enacted, massive riots and the use of the federal army come alive. The Pullman Strike wasn 't the only major strike, use of the federal army is again exercised in Chicago at the Haymarket Riots, and in 1886 General Strike when workers demanded 8 hour work days. As shown the economy and country were in shambles and suffering from extreme discord. Cleveland took no real action to fix these riots, only the use of the army to quiet them, something a weak leader would do. In Cleveland 's first term, the economy was already threatened with a great collapse. Cleveland called for a reduction in tariffs, arguing that high tariffs were contrary to the American idea of fairness. His opponents argued that high tariffs protected US businesses from foreign competition and Cleveland lost that election. It seems that the peak of problems during the Gilded Age all mounted up and broke free during the second term of the Cleveland Administration, the financial Panic of 1893. It was marked by the overbuilding and shaky financing of railroads something that the Sherman Antitrust Act would have prevented if actually enacted and enforced, resulting in a series of bank failures. By 93’ the economy was in a depression, 74 railroad companies, 600 banks and