Corruption and Graft Following Reconstruction in the war torn South, and the Sioux Wars in the West, America was enjoying an industrialization period unlike any other. Nearly gone was the frontier, industries coming in, with men gaining unheard of wealth, and having leverage in many affairs. With the Robber Barons in control over the nations economy, and men like Oakes Ames, Leland Stanford, and William Boss Tweed, what occurred is that corruption and graft greatly influenced American industry and business between 1860 to 1900. However, labor organizations such as the Knights of Labor and AFL made steps in labor reforms and other government laws attempted to limit monopolies. Undoubtedly, th ...
Credit Mobilier Scandal In 1865 the United States had just concluded the Civil War, and plans of reconstruction of the Union were on the minds of every government official as their first priority, or so it seemed (Phillips 108). Everyone that is except Oakes Ames, a manufacturer, capitalist, and an elected member of the thirty-eighth Congress of the second district of Massachusetts (Brazad 251). After the war anything that would boost patriotism was passed by Congress and a transcontinental railroad was an ideal means by which to bind up the wounded Union (Phillips 107). Ames, in a way to get rich quick and get out, joined a corporation, of which he eventually gained full control, called Cre ...
... f staff, Rumsfeld made Cheney his deputy. When Rumsfeld left the White House to be defense secretary, Cheney moved up to become the youngest chief of staff ever, at age 34. He held the post for 14 months. After Ford left office, Cheney returned to Casper, Wyoming and ran for the state's single congressional seat. Despite his heart attack in the middle of the first campaign -- which he discussed with all of Wyoming's Republicans in a letter explaining why he would continue to campaign -- Cheney won decisively. He went on to win five more terms. In Congress, Cheney quickly rose within the GOP power chain. He was one of President Reagan's most ardent supporters, backing him up on defense is ...
History Maury Kleins A Hell of a Way to Run a Railroad, gives a new perspective of reliable transportation. During much of the 19th century railroads dominated the American industrial landscape. The railroad enabled people to travel farther and also more widely. The railroad was one of the greatest technological advancements of the 19th century. Two hundred thousand miles of track were laid by 1900. The railroad began to symbolize American prosperity. By the 1890s the rail industry was near collapse. Expansion during the 1880s caused rate wars that took the financial strengths of some of the strangest railroads. Regulation of the railroads was controlled by the Interstate Commerce Act of 188 ...
Politics In Gilded Age The paper discusses politics in the Gilded Age. Include major political events and issues, and the roles of the "bloody shirt," corruption, patronage, and reform movements. The term Gilded Age was named for a Mark Twain book. It meant covered with gold, and was applied to this period as a whole. This was a period of corruption in sordid politics. The Republicans and Democrats didnt really have strong opposing beliefs during this period. The Republicans supported high tariffs and sound money. The Democrats supported lower tariffs and expanded currency. Both rural and urban classes supported each party. They worked with spoils and local issues. Both parties worked to ple ...
Post a comment on this essay Read other users' comments Print this essay New Essays | Popular Essays | Submit an Essay Index: Social Issues: Abortion Abortion In Roe et al. v. Wade District Attorney of Dallas County (1973), one of the most controversial cases in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state laws that limit a woman's right to an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Justices Rehnquist and White dissented. Mr. Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.... This Texas federal appeal and its Georgia companion, Doe v. Bolton, post, p. 179, present constitutional challenges to state criminal abortion legislation. The Texas statutes under atta ...
The Infamous Jay Gould Shortly after Gould left for Wall Street he made a modest profit by shorting railroad stocks in the panic of 1857.He had made a modest and profitable investment. He then went long in several railroads, shortly after the panic and his timing prooved to be extremely accurate. In 1867 Daniel Drew, treasurer and longtime director of the Erie Railroad, added Gould and James Fisk to the Erie board of directors. When Cornelius Vanderbilt, of the New York Central, sought to buy control of the Erie a spectacular battle ensued. Gould, Fisk, and Drew promptly issued thousands of shares of new, watered stock. The poison pill of the time, although Gould may hav been as Erie as the ...
The last frontier of the United States was a great time period where Americans and immigrants from around the world came and settled for new land. It was a time where the federal government encouraged western settlement and economic exploitation. The United States of America came of age after the civil war. In a period of less than fifty years, it was transformed from a rural republic to an urban state. The frontier had vanished. Great factories and steel mills, transcontinental railroad lines, flourishing cities, vast agricultural holdings marked the land. And in them came accompanying evils: monopolies tended to develop, factory working conditions were poor, cities developed so quickly tha ...
The Tobacco Industry The Tobacco Industry From the beginning of time, the Tobacco plant has had a prominent impact on the lives of those involved, those involved being absolutely everyone, for smoking and chewing tobacco affects both the users and those surrounding them. While years ago, tobacco was not so much of an industry, but actually just randomly used as gifts or a simple pleasure for oneself, it certainly has become one today. This industry has greatly evolved over the years to be now one of the most prominent industries in the United States. From its history to an in depth look at its economic side, much can be learned about the tobacco industry in general. The history of tobacco in ...
The Union Movement Of The Late 19Th Century The union movement of the late 19th century by Eli Hatch During 1870 through 1900 workers joined together; responding to the power of their employers caused by the growth of industrialization. The worker did not always have the luxury of leaving after eight hours of work, the right to representation, or the even the right to work in a safe environment. The working people of nineteenth century America had to unite in struggle to achieve the gains that are often taken selfishly and taken for granted today. There were many successes and failures in organized labor; the successes were often obtained through the loss of the worker, often through lost wa ...
... nd the Confederates fled into Georgia(Ulysses S. Grant 2). All Tennessee was now captured, and the power of the Confederacy was effectively broken. In the final battle of the Civil War, Grant found himself up against Robert E. Lee. Lee was the only general left in the south who had a chance of beating Grant and the North. With troops outnumbering Lee's two to one, Grant sought out to destroy the Southern army. Grant's strategy was simply to send all his men into battle at once, never letting them rest until victory prevailed. Lee saw that Grant wouldn't back down, so he surrendered in order to save lives of the all ready bloodthirsty war(Krick 26). Grant went to Washington to disband the ...
... er groups to move West with the American Dream held strong in the hearts of many. The animosity with the Mexicans finally came to rise in the Mexican-American wars which spanned from 1846-1848. The reasons for the eruption of the hostilities included the annexation of Texas in 1845, claims of property damage by US citizens against the Mexican government and the desire of the United States to acquire California into their boundaries (manifest destiny). After failed negotiations in 1845 regarding land, the movement of an American army was considered as act of aggression and Mexican troops were sent to protect their land, in turn America declared war on 13th May 1846. The Mexicans lacked re ...
Where The Heart Is Novalee is unlucky. She's seven months pregnant, homeless and headed to California for an unknown reason. Her dreams of houses, family and love seem far away. Willy Jack wants money. He craves boozes, sex and freedom. He finds himself jobless, with a pregnant girlfriend, and a beat up Plymouth destined for California. In the Billie Letts novel, Where the heart is the American dream involves family, friends, and material goods. Both Novalee and Willy Jack are in search of their dreams, the success of which relies on the decision they make along the way. Family is an important part of Novalee's dream. Novalee's childhood was filled with sadness. Her mother deserted her when ...
... y became preoccupied with the soul, death, and immortality. He turned 45, shortly after the war. On his birthday, he wrote letters to soldiers he helped during the war. (Kaplan, Justin- page 323). He received many thank you letters from the soldiers and their families because of the great things he did for them. Whitman was devastated by the death of President Abraham Lincoln and his reflections and tribute to the "great leader" were found in the poems, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomd" and "OCaptain, My Captain." (Lowen, Nancy- pages 29-30). Whitman described Lincoln as the most "satisfactory thing I have ever seen, and I have seen hundreds of different ones." These poems showed ...