1. The Role of Government in Economic and Political Affairs

2. Spoils & Pendleton After the death of Lincoln, corruption grew in politics Grants Presidency – the Credit Mobilier Scandal – involving government officials and stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad Many blamed the spoils system for the corruption In 1881 a man assassinated James Garfield because he was not given a political position Led to the passage of the Pendleton Act – established a Civil Service Commission that required applicants to pass a civil service exam before being considered for government positions

3. James Garfield Picture

4. The Rise of Political Machines Corruption took place in state and local governments as well as the federal government The rise of cities gave cause for increased performance of police & fire departments, transportation systems, public services, & sewage systems This caused for public money to be more important in government Political Machine – Led by a boss, these entities were meant to keep certain parties/groups in power

5. Boss Tweed Picture

6. Who’s the Boss? The most notorious of all political bosses was Boss William Tweed Tweed ran Tammany Hall – a political club that controlled the city’s Democratic party. Over time, Tweed stole over 100 million dollars from the city treasury Eventually Tweed was exposed by the political cartoons of Thomas Nast

7. Tweed Cartoon

8. Government Regulation During 1884 Election – lack of trust in candidates, both seemed corrupt Grover Cleveland admitted however to fathering a son out of wedlock – despite a social no-no, people respected his honesty in admitting Many Radical Republicans switched sides to vote for Cleveland, they became known as mugwumps Cleveland passed the Interstate Commerce Act – regulated railroad rates Under Harrison, Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act – hoped to ensure competition by making monopolies illegal *Video 64*

9. Sherman Act Marker

10. United States v. EC Knight What? – During Cleveland’s second term he used the Sherman Antitrust Act in attempt to prevent the EC Knight Company from maintaining a monopoly Ruling? – Court ruled 8 – 1 that the government did have the authority to break up monopolies when it came to distribution of a product, however it could not break up the manufacturing of products

11. Populist Reforms Corruption helped to fuel the Populist Movement 1. Secret Ballot – also called an Australian ballot – simply meant that individual’s votes would be cast in secret 2. Referendum – political issues/debates decided by the will of the people 3. Recall – meant that people would have power to remove corrupt officials from office before their term expired *Video 205* 4. Initiative – people could force a vote on an issue if they provided enough signatures from registered voters

12. Recall in California Picture