Politics of the Gilded Age I. The Political Machine- A. The political Machine was organized in a pyramid. The Precinct workers and captains at the bottom, Ward Boss in the middle, and the City Boss at the top. 1. Many City Bosses were 1st or 2nd generation immigrants. 2. The Political Machine provided services to immigrants and businesses in exchange for votes and support.

B. City Bosses Influence. 1. Whether or not the Boss officially served as mayor, he controlled access to municipal jobs, business licenses and influenced the courts. 2. The Boss controlled the activities of the political party throughout the city. 3. Roscoe Conkling, a Boss in New York used his power to build parks, sewers, waterworks and gave money to schools, hospitals and orphanages.

II. Election Fraud and Graft- A. Voters often voted many times under different names. 1. After being elected, Bosses would put workers in jobs for the city and have them charge too much for the work they were doing 2. They would take the extra money called a Graft or Kick back and put it in their pockets. B. William Tweed became head of Tammany hall, New York City’s powerful democratic Political Machine.

III. Patronage Spurs Reform- 1. Boss Tweed charged 10 million dollars more than what was needed to build the county court house. 2. Tweed was indicted on 210 counts of fraud and extortion III. Patronage Spurs Reform- A. Patronage, or giving government jobs to people who helped the candidate get elected. 1. Reformers believed jobs in civil service and government administration, should go to the most qualified persons based on a merit system.

IV. Reform under Hayes, Garfield and Arthur- A. President Hayes set up a commission to investigate the nations customs houses. Hayes fired two top officials. 1. Hayes doesn’t run for reelection and Garfield becomes President. Garfield is shot in a D.C. train station and dies. 2.The vice president Chester A. Arthur takes office and urges congress to pass a civil service law.

V. Business Buys Influence- 3. The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 authorized a bipartisan civil service commission to appoint federal jobs 4. By 1901 more than 40% of all Federal jobs were civil service positions. V. Business Buys Influence- A. Politicians turned to wealthy business owners 1. In 1884 the Democratic Party won a Presidential election for the first time in 28 years, Grover Cleveland. 2.Cleveland lowered the tariffs and repealed the Tenure of Office Act, which restricted the president from removing incompetent office holders.

B. Benjamin Harrison is elected President 1. Harrison passes the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 which raised tariffs to their highest level ever. C. To fight these high tariffs, Grover Cleveland ran for re-election in 1892 and was the first president in history to serve two non- consecutive terms in office. 1. Cleveland desired lowering the tariffs but refused a federal income tax that was tied to the bill. 2. The Wilson-Gorman Tariff became law without his signature D. The new century would have to fight for reform, with the namesake of high tariffs, becoming the president in 1897. William Mckinley.