Views on Politicians of the Gilded Age by Historians Flashcards
Who created the term “Gilded Age”?
Mark Twain
What does “Gilded” mean?
Something covered in gold to prevent seeing rust underneath
How can the term “Gilded” be applied to America from 1877-90?
There was a lot of economic prosperity but there was also lots of corruption
How have Politicians of the Gilded Age been presented by Traditional Historians? In what way?
Corrupt - taking bribes just to make money for themselves and for the benefit of monopolies
What was the spoils system?
The system of giving loyal supporters of your political campaign governmental jobs if they won an election
Give an example of the spoils system in the New York Custom House when Roscoe Conkling was the head of it
They employed 1000 party workers in the Port of New York who would undervalue products and report their mistake. By law, this made the product a “forfeit” so half of the total price went to the Custom House head
Give an example of a specific time the New York Custom House used the Port method and give the year.
In 1874, this happened and paid a bribe of $50,000 to the New York Custom House Leader
What do Traditional Historians say about the differences between the political parties? What did this mean?
There were no major differences between the parties which made the public uncertain on who to vote for
What can show that there was public uncertainty on who to vote for in terms of the consistency of parties winning elections?
The Democrats usually won in the South and the Republicans usually won in the North
Who were the 4 Presidents during the Gilded Age?
Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland
What stagnation was there in America during the Gilded Age according to historians?
Political stagnation
What are revisionist historians?
More present day historians
What do Revisionist Historians say about politicians’ attempts to reduce corruption?
They did have many attempts to reduce corruption
What do Revisionist Historians say about the differences between the Republicans and the Democrats?
They were different
According to Revisionist Historians, What was the Republican Party main focus?
Republicans focussed more on economic growth and helping immigrants settle quicker
