Gilded Age Politics

Gilded Age• Mark Twain coined the term—describes the

excesses of the late 19th century– Political bribes– “glittering exterior” hides corruption & gap b/w rich and

poor

Political Machines• Pol. Machine = group that controls the activities

of a political party in a city– Offered services to voters & businesses in exchange for

political support– Controlled: New York, Baltimore, San Francisco, & other

cities– Worked to elect their candidates

Political Machine

City Boss—controlled activities of

city

Ward Bosses—worked to secure vote in all

precincts in their ward

Precinct Captains—tried to gain voters on a city block or

neighborhood

Political Boss• Sometimes served as mayor• Controlled access to gov. jobs & business licenses• Influenced courts• Positive role:

– Built sewer systems; gave money to schools, hospitals, orphanages

– Helped immigrants w/ naturalization & jobs– By solving these problems, they could gain more votes

Graft & Fraud• Many political machines used election fraud

– People used fake names to vote several times

• Graft = illegal use of political infl. for personal gain– Kick backs = when you charge more than necessary for

a job (labor) and give the extra money to the political machine

– Accepted bribes for illegal activity

• Police rarely interfered

Do you think grafts (using political influence for personal gain) are

still a major issue today?

Give an example.

Boss Tweed Scandal• Boss Tweed—head of Tammany Hall in NYC• “Tweed Ring”—group of corrupt politicians• New York City County Courthouse—over-charged

the city by $10 million– His “ring” kept the money– Jailed for this

Reforms in Politics• Patronage—giving civil service jobs (gov. jobs) to

people who had helped the candidate get elected – Reforms wanted jobs to go to most qualified

• 1880—Pres. James Garfield elected– Appointed people based on qualifications– July 2, 1881—Garfield assassinated by a man that had

been turned down for a gov. job

• Pendleton Civil Service Act—appoint people for gov. jobs based on merit/qualifications

Presidential Curse• Between 1840 and 1960, all 8 Presidents elected

in a 0 ended year died in office• Only one president has ever died in office outside

this 20 year death cycle – Zachary Taylor who was elected in 1848 and died in

1850

20 Year Cycle• President Died• 1800 Jefferson Survived: Died July 4, 1826.• 1820 Monroe Survived: Died July 4, 1831.• 1840 Harrison April 4, 1841. Pneumonia.• 1860 Lincoln April 15, 1865. Assassinated.• 1880 Garfield September 19, 1881. Assassinated.• 1900 McKinley September 14, 1901. Assassinated.• 1920 Harding August 2, 1923. Food poisoning.• 1940 Roosevelt April 12, 1945. Stroke, medical records

missing.• 1960 Kennedy November 22, 1963. Assassinated.• 1980 Reagan March 30, 1981. Assassination attempt.

Survived: Died June 5, 2004.• 2000 G W Bush Survived.

Political Machine Web• Create an ILLUSTRATED web diagram showing the

major aspects of the Political Machine• You need a 5 aspects• Draw a picture to represent each aspect

POLITICAL MACHINE

Election fraud

Example