Post Civil War Period (1865 to 1900) Gilded - covered with a thin layer of gold “Gilded Age” – term used by the writer

Mark Twain to describe what he believed was a time ofgreat prosperity for the robber barons

(captains of industry)misery and poverty for immigrants, farmers,

and workerscorruption in government 1

• French for “allow to be”• Economic principle that the

government should not interfere with the operation of business.

• Prosperous businesses create a wealthy nation; therefore businesses should be allowed to operate freely.

2

• Businesses said that government should not attempt to control them in any way.

• But these same businesses were always very willing to accept help from the federal government.

A payment made by the government to help the growth of some industries

Example - Land grants from the federal government to encourage railroad companies to build across the Great Plains

Company hired by the Union Pacific Railroad to actually lay the tracks for the transcontinental railroad

They greatly overcharged the Union Pacific.

They bribed members of Congress to keep funding the project by giving them valuable shares of stock in Credit Mobilier.

Other possibilities for corruption had existed

since the age of Andrew Jackson.

Government jobs, such as cabinet positions and customs officers or post office officials

These positions are usually appointed by an elected official (such as the President)

3

Civil Service

“To the victor goes the spoils.” The idea that the winner in warfare had the

right to reward his warriors with whatever he took in battle.

First openly practiced by President Andrew Jackson

Also called the patronage system The practice of elected officials giving

government jobs to friends and supporters

Is it wrong for a politician to reward his supporters this

way after they helped him win an election

?

Usually it causes Corruption such as bribery and

graft because people use their powerful positions for their own person financial profit

Incompetence – poor performance by workers who were really not qualified for the job they were given

How did various Presidents deal with this issue during the

Gilded Age

• 19th President (1877-1881)• Republican from Ohio• Refused to use the spoils

system• Appointed qualified

people to government jobs instead of supporters

• Angered fellow Republicans

• 20th President (1881)• Republican from Ohio• Planned to reform the

spoils system• July 2, 1881 –

Assassinated by a mentally unstable lawyer who had expected a political job appointment

• 21st President • (1881-1885)• Republican from NY• Garfield’s Vice Pres• Worked to reform the

spoils system• Signed the Pendleton

Civil Service Act

• Passed in 1883 (signed by Chester A. Arthur)• Created the Civil Service Commission• Government workers now have to pass a civil

service exam which tests their fitness for government jobs.

• Government workers can not be fired for political reasons or forced to make campaign contributions.

• 22nd President• 1885-1889• Democrat , Governor of

NY• “Grover the Good”• 1887 – signed Interstate

Commerce Act, regulating the railroads

• Took back 80 million acres of lands given to RR’s

• 1887• Regulated prices

that RRs charged to move freight based on distance.

• Made special secret rates for some customers illegal.

• But did not stop RR monopolies.

• 23rd President• 1889-1893• Republican – Indiana• 1890 – signed the

Sherman Antitrust Act• Gave huge pensions to

Civil War veterans

• 1890• Outlawed any

combination of companies that restrained (limited) interstate trade or commerce.

• Was never really effective in limiting trusts – actually used against labor unions in some court cases.

• 24th President• Democrat• 1893-1897• Economic depression in 1893 caused massive

unemployment• Vetoed 413 pieces of legislation • Vetoed a bill to help farmers recover from a severe

drought• “While the people should support the government,

the government should not support the people.”

• 25th President• 1897-1901• Republican from Ohio• Supported gold standard• Defeated the Populist

Wm. Jennings Bryan in 1896 and 1900

• Campaign slogan – “A Full Dinner Pail”

• September 6, 1901 assassinated by an anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY

McKinley Assassin - Czolgosz

McKinley Assassin – Czolgosz(Police Mug Shot)

McKinley Assassination Newspaper Account• On August 31, 1901, Czolgosz moved to Buffalo, New

York and rented a room near the site of the Pan-American Exposition. On September 6 he went to the exposition with a revolver pistol in his pocket, concealed in a handkerchief. McKinley had been standing in a receiving line outside of the Temple of Music greeting the public for several minutes when, at 4:07 p.m., Czolgosz reached the front of the line. The President thrust out his hand; Czolgosz slapped it aside and shot McKinley twice at extremely close range, close enough to leave powder burns on the President's vest. Members of McKinley's security team as well as citizens in the crowd immediately subdued Czolgosz, beating him so severely it was initially thought he might not live to stand trial. McKinley died from his wounds on September 14.

• A special grand jury forthwith indicted the assassin, who, talking freely enough with his guards, refused all interaction with the attorneys assigned to defend him, and with the expert sent to test his sanity. He was convicted and sentenced to death on September 23, in a brief trial that lasted eight and a half hours from jury selection to verdict, and executed by electrocution, by three jolts at 1700 volts each, on October 29, 1901, in Auburn Prison in Auburn, New York. His last words were "I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people — the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime." As the prison guards strapped him into the chair, however, he did say through clenched teeth, "I am sorry I could not see my father." Sulfuric acid and lye were thrown into his coffin so that his body would be completely disfigured, and to aid in its decomposition. His letters and clothes were burned.

McKinley Assassination Newspaper Account

It’s 1901 and the nation is dealing with many problems, including:• Corruption in politics• Terrible working conditions in factories• Crime, overcrowding, and disease in the cities• Damage to the environment because of

industrialization• Unfair, ruthless business practices by huge

corporationsMany Americans were ready for a change, but what

could possibly turn this situation around?

Why is the McKinley assassination one of the most important events in our history?

Who became President when McKinley died?

Theodore Roosevelt