(EQ1) To what extent did the political, economic, and social forces within American society during the

Gilded Age create a nation with new economic configurations and new political alignments?

A time of unbridled growth, The Gilded Age was ablaze with new institutions cropping up to manage the new wealth. Political corruption flourished, while meekness in Presidents was standard. The economy was rapidly expanded, but then snapped back periodically in self-correction. Immigrants flocking to stake their own claim along with newly enfranchised blacks competed with sidelined famers and industrialists. Combined, all factors led to a country that was to emerge bewildered by its own transformation from straightforward to impossibly intertwined. Ranging from the Crdit Mobilier and Whiskey Ring to the political machines of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall corruption was at its peak during the Gilded Age. Slightly less dishonest was the appointing of political supporters along with friends and family to government positions (also known as patronage), and suspicious deals with big business. However, contempt grew within American society with each new story of misdeeds and reform of government was clamored for. Unfortunately, each party was as broken as the other and so little competition was provided until the radical Peoples party broke onto the scene. This proved too radical, however, and was quickly dismantled. However, mild reforms were put in place by presidents, either looking to satisfy moral yearnings or to cajole voters. Most notable was the Civil Service system that was implemented by Chester Arthur, beginning a tradition of office by merit, and not by acquaintance. Wildly expansive, the economic conditions of the Gilded Age were overall extremely positive, but tainted by harsh withdrawals resulting from overexpansion and speculation. Large corporations flourished during this time, and set a system of monopolies and trusts that would have to be dealt with later to avoid damaging the economy. The fight over which metal should back the currency, either silver or gold, was also directly important to most Americans. Silver was supported by farmers, looking for

inflation to buy more land and pay off debts, while industrialists yearned for gold, hoping to make more real profit. Gold was, at first, the primary backer of currency but then was soon followed by a bimetallurgic system in which silver could be traded in for gold at a set rate of sixteen to one. Later, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Act, which forced the government to buy silver, showed that gold was to be the more favored metal of choice. Society was no less convulsive than either politics or economic affairs of the Gilded Age. Immigrants made up a large part of the Democratic Party, and would often swing the vote in volatile states such as New York. Many of the positions immigrants filled before stayed the same, though different immigrants filled them. Notably in the West, Chinese immigrants flocked to mines and tracks looking for jobs that consisted of hard labor. Farmers and industrial owners groped at each others necks over the conflict of gold and silver backing, and big business, most remarkably J.P. Morgan, would strike deals that bridged the national economy with single capitalists. The creation of Jim Crow laws dug a path for blacks in the South, one of marginalization that accompanied with new systems of share cropping and tenant farming, provided for a bleak existence. The Gilded Age provided The United States with a whirlwind of activity that allowed a flurry of activity to occur that would have probably been otherwise questioned. With little time between changes, Americans were shocked into compliance, leading to new methods that would have to be more carefully scrutinized in later history.