Unit 8 Lesson 5: The Gilded Age

Question 1

What defined the Gilded Age

Answer 1

Corruption, or the use of power for personal gain, defined the Gilded Age.

Question 2

Soon after the Cilvi War what were many high ranking federal officials involed in

Answer 2

the Crédit Mobilier scandal

Question 3

What was Crédit Mobilier

Answer 3

Crédit Mobilier was the construction company that worked on the first transcontinental railroad.

Question 4

What was the Crédit Mobilier scandal

Answer 4

It overcharged for work on the Union Pacific Railroad. The company then used some of the extra money to bribe federal officials into helping the railroad cover the cost overruns.

Question 5

Who were some people invloved in the Crédit Mobilier scandal

Answer 5

Vice President Schuyler Colfax and many members of Congress were involved in the scandal.

Question 6

When did the Crédit Mobilier scandal becoem public

Answer 6

1872

Question 7

How did the Crédit Mobilier scandal affect Presdient Ulysses S. Grant

Answer 7

President Ulysses S. Grant’s reputation was damaged by the scandal, even though he was not directly involved.

Question 8

What was the second major scandal that happened during Grant’s second term

Answer 8

Whiskey Ring

Question 9

When was the Whiskey ring exposed

Answer 9

1875

Question 10

Where was the Whiskey Ring

Answer 10

This was a plot that began in St. Louis, Missouri, but spread to many other cities.

Question 11

What was the Whiskey Ring scandal

Answer 11

To avoid paying federal taxes, liquor distillers bribed government officials and other business owners.

Question 12

How got blamed for the Whiskey Ring

Answer 12

Republicans controlled government at most levels after the Civil War, so the public blamed them for the corruption.

Question 13

How did the Whiskey Ring affect democrats

Answer 13

This helped Democrats regain some of the political influence they had lost during Reconstruction.

Question 14

Why is it corrupt for government officials to accept bribes?

Answer 14

When government officials accept bribes, they profit personally at the expense of the public they were elected to serve.

Question 15

Why did members of the Whiskey Ring want to avoid paying federal taxes?

Answer 15

Distillers wanted to increase their profits.

Question 16

After Lincoln’s assassination, the balance of power in Washington, D.C. began to shift. What does that sentence mean? Grants marked the begning of..

Answer 16

After Lincoln’s assassination, the balance of power in Washington, D.C. began to shift. Grant’s administration marked the beginning of an era of weak presidencies.

Question 17

Were presidents during the gilded age able to win a big percentage of the popular vote

Answer 17

Most presidents in the Gilded Age struggled to earn more than 50 percent of the popular vote.

Question 18

PResdients during the gilded age lacked mandate what does that mean

Answer 18

This meant that they lacked a mandate, or sufficient approval from voters to be confident that their parties’ platforms represented the voters’ interests.

Question 19

How were member of congress mostlyly goign to intereact with the president

Answer 19

Members of Congress were more likely to oppose the policies of presidents who seemed to lack strong public support.

Question 20

What happned during the election of 1876

Answer 20

After Grant left office, the election of 1876 ended with neither candidate having earned enough electoral votes to claim victory.

Question 21

How did Rutherford. Hayes beceom presdient

Answer 21

Rutherford B. Hayes eventually took office under the Compromise of 1877, a backroom deal that shifted electoral votes in his favor.

Question 22

How did South people feel about Rutherford B. Hayes election

Answer 22

Even though the compromise brought an end to Reconstruction in the South, many Democrats felt that they had been cheated. Their candidate, Samuel J. Tilden, had actually won the popular vote by over 300,000 votes and fallen just one electoral vote short of victory.

Question 23

The power of later presidents was further eroded by many different factors. What were these facotrs?

Answer 23

All of them owed political favors. Some had their terms cut short by assassination or illness. Others were elected to just one term due to unpopular policies.

Question 24

What dominated the government during the Gilded Age

Answer 24

For all of these reasons, Congress, not presidents, dominated the U.S. government in the Gilded Age. Big business campaign donors, in turn, dominated Congress.

Question 25

Weak Presidencies:

Answer 25

• Ulysses S. Grant: plagued by scandals (Crédit Mobilier, Whiskey Ring); partly blamed for policies that helped cause the Panic of 1873
• Rutherford B. Hayes: lacked credibility due to taking office under the Compromise of 1877
• James A. Garfield: assassinated; died after just 200 days in office
• Chester A. Arthur: took office due to Garfield’s assassination; served just one term
• Grover Cleveland: served two terms, but nonconsecutively; blamed for weak federal response to the Depression of 1893
• Benjamin Harrison: served just one term; popularity damaged by high tariffs and high federal spending
• William McKinley: assassinated in the sixth month of his second term

Question 26

Why might it matter if a president takes office without winning the popular vote?

Answer 26

U.S. presidential elections are decided by the electoral college, not the popular vote. However, presidents who fail to win the popular vote are sometimes thought to lack the mandate, or approval, of a majority of voters. A perceived lack of public support may embolden members of Congress to oppose a president’s policy goals.

Question 27

How id the Compromise of 1877 influence politics in the Gilded age

Answer 27

. A backroom deal had decided the presidency and ended Reconstruction. What was to stop city and state governments from doing business the same way? Such dealmaking was not very democratic, but it did allow for fast solutions to pressing problems

Question 28

What led to the rise of political machines

Answer 28

The chance to personally profit from these deals led to the rise of political machines.

Question 29

What is a political machine

Answer 29

A political machine is a group that controls local politics by trading favors for influence or votes.

Question 30

What tactics did politcal machiens use

Answer 30

Political machines often used illegal tactics such as bribery and voter fraud to achieve their goals. Sometimes they even resorted to violence.

Question 31

What is an example of a political machine

Answer 31

One example of a political machine was a group aligned with the Democratic Party that operated out of New York City’s Tammany Hall.

Question 32

What influence did the Tammy Hall have over

Answer 32

The Tammany Hall machine influenced politics in New York from the 1790s through the 1960s.

Question 33

What other places did poltical machines emerge

Answer 33

Political machines also emerged in other large cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

Question 34

Why did political machines become common during the Gilded Age?

Answer 34

Political machines offered quick solutions to pressing problems.

Question 35

The Tammany Hall political machine became infamous for corruption under the leadership of

Answer 35

William M. Tweed

Question 36

When was Boss Tweed elected to congress

Answer 36

Boss Tweed, as the press called him, was elected to the U.S. Congress in the 1850s

Question 37

What government postions did Boss Tweed have

Answer 37

He went on to serve several terms in the New York state legislature. He also held positions on many different boards and commissions at the city and county level

Question 38

What did Tweed control

Answer 38

Tweed controlled who got government contracts and jobs in New York City.

Question 39

Waht did Tweed use to ahcive his goals

Answer 39

He sometimes used bribery to achieve his political goals.

Question 40

How did Boss Tweed make a profit

Answer 40

He also profited by awarding government work to contractors who agreed to give him kickbacks

Question 41

What is a kickback

Answer 41

A kickback is a form of bribery in which a portion of legally spent money is illegally returned to someone as part of a secret agreement.

Question 42

How did Tweed earn money from contractos

Answer 42

Tweed hired contractors and overpaid them using city funds. Then the contractors secretly paid part of the extra money back to Tweed.

Question 43

Who started realziing what Tweed was doing

Answer 43

Eventually government officials and the news media started to notice Tweed’s corrupt practices. Newspapers such as the New York Times began to report on Tweed’s activities.

Question 44

Who was Thomas Nast

Answer 44

Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly magazine, also targeted Tweed. Nast was known for challenging bigotry and injustice with his satire.

Question 45

What impact did Nast have

Answer 45

He helped turn public opinion against Tweed by mocking him and Tammany Hall in his cartoons.

Question 46

What did invetigators suspect Tweed of doing

Answer 46

As public pressure against Tweed grew, investigators came to suspect that Tweed had stolen millions of dollars from New York City’s treasury.

Question 47

What role in Samuel J. Tilden have in Tweeds case

Answer 47

. Samuel J. Tilden, the man who lost the presidential race to Hayes in the Compromise of 1877, led the effort to hold Tweed accountable for his crimes.

Question 48

How many crimes was Tweed charged with

Answer 48

. Eventually, Tweed was charged with 120 counts of fraud and corruption

Question 49

What was the end result of Tweed and his cirmes

Answer 49

He was convicted for his crimes, but escaped and fled to Spain. In the end, Spanish police identified Tweed after someone recognized his face from Thomas Nast’s cartoons. Spain sent him back to the United States, where he died in prison in 1878.

Question 50

Who was the frist to use a spolils system

Answer 50

Andrew Jackson

Question 51

What is a spoils system

Answer 51

A spoils system, sometimes called a patronage system, is the practice of naming family members, friends, and political supporters to posts regardless of their experience or skills.

Question 52

What would president do other a spoils system and what mattered the most

Answer 52

Each new president would fire large numbers of federal employees and replace them with his own supporters. The most important qualification was that they support the president, not necessarily that they were good at the job they had been given.

Question 53

What role did spoils system have on weak presidenecies

Answer 53

In this era of weak presidencies, the use of patronage was one of the few ways these presidents could assert control over the government.

Question 54

Who won the elction of 1880

Answer 54

Republican James A. Garfield had won the presidential election of 1880. His running mate was Chester A. Arthur.

Question 55

Who was Garfiled Charels Guiteat

Answer 55

A minor campaign supporter of Garfield, Charles Guiteau, expected Garfield to reward him with a job. Garfield enraged Guiteau by ignoring his demands

Question 56

What happened in July of 1881

Answer 56

In July of 1881, Guiteau shot Garfield in the back. Garfield died two months later after the wound became infected. He had only been president for 200 days.

Question 57

Why did Cehster A Arthur actions surpirse many

Answer 57

Chester A. Arthur, became president. Arthur took office without owing many political favors. This gave him a unique chance to enact reforms. He surprised both parties by pushing for changes in federal hiring practices.

Question 58

Artuhr sigined the Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883 what did it do

Answer 58

This law limited the spoils system by requiring some federal jobs to be awarded based on a merit-based civil service exam. Presidents could still choose whoever they wanted, but nominees had to show they had the education, experience, and skills needed to do the job well before taking office.

Question 59

Why is a merit-based civil service system more likely to serve the public good than a spoils system?

Answer 59

People who are hired under a merit-based system have the education, experience, and skills necessary to perform their jobs effectively. Under the spoils system, presidents often hired people who were loyal to them, even if they weren’t qualified.

Question 60

What else did Presdeitn Aruther reform during his presidency

Answer 60

In addition to civil service reform, President Arthur also tried to reform tariffs.

Question 61

What is a tariff

Answer 61

A tariff is a tax on imports or exports.

Question 62

Why have tariffs been a long source of deabte

Answer 62

Business leaders pressured politicians to raise tariffs. They wanted to ensure that people bought American-made goods rather than imports. Working-class families and farmers wanted lower tariffs to reduce prices. Lower prices would increase their buying power.

Question 63

Why was the Tariff Commission in 1882made

Answer 63

. Concern for poor workers and farmers led Arthur to create the U.S. Tariff Commission in 1882.

Question 64

Waht did the Tariff Comssion in 1882 reveal

Answer 64

The commission investigated rising tariff rates and found evidence of illegal deals.

Question 65

How did President Arther respond to the results of the Tarifff Commsions in 1882 what was the Mongreal Tariff of 1883

Answer 65

It called for a 25 percent rollback in most tariffs, but the most Arthur could get from Congress was the so-called Mongrel Tariff of 1883, which lowered tariff rates by just 5 percent.

Question 66

What was an imporant econmic issue of the Gilded age

Answer 66

Another important economic issue of the Gilded Age was monetary policy.

Question 67

What was the monetary police

Answer 67

Monetary policy is the process through which the government can influence the nation’s economy through changes in the money supply and the availability of credit.

Question 68

What was a major concern for faremrs

Answer 68

The issue of gold versus silver as the basis of U.S. currency was a major concern for many farmers.

Question 69

Industrialization had led to great increases in farm productivity. But hwo did htis impact farmers neagtively

Answer 69

. However, the more farmers produced, the less valuable their crops became due to oversupply. In addition, many farmers owed large debts from buying new farm equipment and paying the high prices railroad companies demanded for shipping farm products.

Question 70

What did famers neeed to help with there debt

Answer 70

Farmers needed more money in circulation, whether it was paper or silver, to create inflationary pressure. This would allow prices on the crops they produced to increase. As a result, farmers could earn more money and pay down debt more quickly.

Question 71

However, the government insisted on the gold standard. It stopped using silver for money altogether in 1873. Who did this impact

Answer 71

This position helped increase the profits of businesses based on foreign trade. It also drove farmers and working-class Americans deeper into debt

Question 72

Why did American business owners favor high tariffs on foreign goods?

Answer 72

High tariffs made foreign goods more expensive. This made people more likely to buy goods from American business owners than foreign goods.

Question 73

How did high tariffs affect farmers and working-class people?

Answer 73

High tariffs reduced their buying power and raised their cost of living.

Question 74

Why did farmers want to cause inflation by increasing the money supply?

Answer 74

Farmers wanted to increase the value of farm products so they could earn more money for their labor. This would help them repay their debts more quickly.

Question 75

What negtiave impact did railroads have

Answer 75

Railroads were a major force for economic growth in the Gilded Age. The Panic of 1873

Question 76

Wh

What was the Panic of 1873

Answer 76

The Panic of 1873 was an economic downturn caused by banks that invested too much in railroads. Banks began to run low on cash reserves.

Question 77

What triggered bank runs

Answer 77

When the federal government demonetized silver in 1873, the cash crunch began to trigger bank runs.

Question 78

What is a bacnk run

Answer 78

. A bank run is a panic in which so many depositors withdraw so much money that the bank runs out of money and collapses.

Question 79

What was sitituion of bacnks like during 1873

Answer 79

The banks that did survive often had little money to lend.

Question 80

What negative impact did the panic of 1873 have

Answer 80

This slowed new business start-ups and left existing businesses unable to expand their operations.

Question 81

During the panic of 1873 what also influnced the econmy negatively

Answer 81

. Tariffs also played a role in slowing the economy because they reduced foreign trade.

Question 82

Impact sof the panic of 1873 on epople

Answer 82

Railroads failed, factories closed, and workers lost their jobs.

Question 83

What was the New York Stock Exchange clsoed

Answer 83

The New York Stock Exchange was shut down for 10 days to save the market from completely collapsing.

Question 84

Global impacts of the PAnic of 1873

Answer 84

These economic problems spread to Europe, further slowing the global economy. Conditions did not begin to improve until 1879.

Question 85

How did the Depression of 1893 happen

Answer 85

they overinvested in the railroads. Bank reserves were low because so much money was tied up in railroad stocks. Many railroads went bankrupt. Related industries such as steel mills also suffered losses. Low cash reserves caused bank runs and another credit crunch. Low gold reserves in the U.S. Treasury added to the turmoil. The same cycle of farm and business failures, rising unemployment, and slowing foreign trade that had happened in 1873 repeated itself.

Question 86

What was the depression of 1893

Answer 86

This economic downturn, which lasted from 1893 until 1897, became known as the Depression of 1893.

Question 87

Which was worse the panic of 1873 or the depression of 1893

Answer 87

Economic conditions grew far worse than they had in 1873. In 1890, the U.S. had a low unemployment rate of about four percent. Estimates vary, but by 1894, the jobless rate had grown as high as 18.4 percent. Unemployment did not return to pre-depression levels until 1900. Homelessness became widespread in most major cities.

Question 88

What helped to cause both the Panic of 1873 and the Depression of 1893?

Answer 88

over-investment in railroad stocks, low bank reserves, bank runs

Question 89

How do bank runs make economic problems worse?

Answer 89

Bank runs cause banks to fail. When banks fail, other businesses struggle to find the credit and investment money they need to operate. Without access to these funds, a cycle of business failures may spread throughout the economy.

Question 90

Why did congres pass the Sherman Silver Purchse Act in 1890

Answer 90

In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to help farmers and workers who were struggling with debt.

Question 91

What was the Sherman Silver Ousrchse Act

Answer 91

Under this law, the government would buy silver and issue silver-backed dollars to increase the money supply.

Question 92

What did the Sherman Silver Purchasae act backfrie

Answer 92

It backfired when investors began to buy silver and trade it for gold dollars that they then resold at a profit. Due to this practice, the U.S. Treasury was soon running low on gold reserves.

Question 93

In repsonse to the US Treasury running low on gld PResident Grover Clevand repaled the Sherman Silver Purshace act what effect did this hve

Answer 93

In 1893, President Grover Cleveland pushed through a repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. The value of silver-backed dollars plunged. As a result, the working-class debt crisis grew even worse.

Question 94

How did Americna people feel about the govement by 1893

Answer 94

They felt that the government should not intervene in the economy. As people became increasingly desperate, much of the public began to view their leaders as weak, ineffective, and driven mainly by self-interest.