Summary
Highlights
Gilded Age national politics were dominated by Republicans and Democrats, appealing to post-Civil War divisions. Democrats, mainly Southerners, favored states' rights and segregation, while Republicans, primarily Northerners, represented industrial interests. A constant stalemate existed due to divided government and thin majorities. Corruption was rampant, with politicians accepting payments from corporations and enriching themselves, as exemplified by the Crédit Mobilier scandal, where Union Pacific Railroad executives defrauded the government and bribed congressmen.
Three major issues stirred federal government: the patronage system, currency debates (gold vs. silver standard), and tariffs. The assassination of President James Garfield, denied a job to a supporter, led to the Pendleton Act of 1881, which introduced competitive examinations for federal jobs, replacing patronage. The debate over currency centered on expanding the money supply with silver to help indebted farmers, opposing the gold standard favored by the wealthy. Tariffs, benefiting corporations, were another contentious point.
Local politics during the Gilded Age were dominated by political machines, run by 'bosses' who maintained power by providing public welfare services to immigrants and the working poor in exchange for votes. Voting was public, making this system effective. Bosses also enriched themselves through illegal activities like gambling and prostitution. The most famous example is Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall in New York, who fraudulently inflated the cost of a courthouse construction project for personal gain, eventually leading to his conviction.
The Panic of 1893 and a severe debt crisis among Western farmers led to the formation of the Populist Party in 1892. This party, composed of diverse groups including farmers, labor unions, and reformers, sought to address government corruption and economic suffering. Their Omaha Platform called for political reforms like direct election of senators and referendums, and economic reforms such as expanded silver coinage, a graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads, federal loans for farmers, and an eight-hour workday.
Though the Populists won some congressional and state seats in 1892, their presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, a proponent of silver coinage, lost the 1896 election to William McKinley. The end of the economic depression and internal party divisions contributed to the rapid decline of the Populist Party. However, many of their proposed reforms were later adopted during the Progressive Era.