Chapter 17: Politics in the Gilded Age Flashcards
the acquisition of money or political power through illegal or dishonest practices
graft
Kansas City political boss who gained political support by providing special services to his African American, Irish American, and Italian American constituents.
James Pendergast
from a novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner; a description of American society in the late 1800s that is based on the image of corruption and greed lurking beneath superficial and prosperity
Gilded Age
a fraction of the Republican Party that strongly opposed reforming patronage, or the spoils system
stalwartz
a fraction of the Republican Party that, although it did not completely oppose patronage jobs, generally supported reform
half-breeds
assassinated President James A. Garfield less than four months after Garfield’s inauguration, hoping that killing garfield would hurt the cause of civil service reform
Charles Guiteau
Algonquian word for “big Chiefs”; republican reformers who backed the democratic candidate for president, Grover Cleveland
mugwumps
organizations in which groups of farmers pooled their resources to buy and sell goods
cooperatives
a tax that taxed higher incomes at a higher rate
graduated income tax
spread the cause of the alliance movement among farmers by speaking out against monopolies
Mary Elizabeth Lease
the rapid growth of cities in the late 1800s placed huge demands on utilities and public services, leading
local politicians and ward bosses to be placed in charge of running their city governments
the reals strength of political machines lay in the relationship between urban voters and….
precinct captains
republicans leader felt that Ulysses S. Grant would be good president candidate because…
his fame as a Civil War general
many critics viewed the corruption in President Grants administration as a result of…
the spoils system
in the 1888 presidential race, Grover Cleveland won the popular vote, but Benjamin Harrison became president because
Harrison won the electoral vote
