19^th Century Corruption in American Business and Politics

BIG BUSINESS GROWS OUT OF CONTROL

•       _________________________________________ OF THE LABOR FORCE—CHEAP LABOR

•       FORMER SLAVES _________________________________________ OPPORTUNITIES

•       SOME INDUSTRIAL LEADERS _________________________________________ EXPENDABLE…“There are plenty more where you came from…”

•       _________________________________________ WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH

o   WEALTH CONCENTRATED _________________________________________

o   FOR PROFIT—_________________________________________ FOR INJURY

COMPANIES BEGAN TO FORM MONOPOLIES AND TRUSTS

•       MONOPOLIES—_________________________________________ BY A SINGLE COMPANY OR CORPORATION

•       TRUSTS—HIDDEN COMPANIES THAT _________________________________________ GROUP OF UNRELATED COMPANIES, ACTING INDEPENDENTLY

ANDREW JACKSON’S SPOILS SYSTEM WAS OUT OF CONTROL

•       PATRONAGE—CIVIL SERVICE _________________________________________ LOYALTY, FAMILY CONSIDERATIONS OR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

•       _________________________________________ INDUSTRY & CORRUPT POLITICIANS FROM REGULATION

•       FUELED BY PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS—GRAFT—THE USE OF GOVERNMENT _________________________________________

POLITICAL CORRUPTION WAS COMMON IN THE LAST HALF OF THE 1800'S

•       BUSINESS INTERESTS _________________________________________

•       _________________________________________ LAWSßàBRIBES, VOTES (OPEN BALLOT VOTING), EXTORTION

•       _________________________________________—CORRUPTION/INTIMIDATION OFTEN CONTROLLED THE PRESS

POLITICAL MACHINES CONTROLLED CAMPAIGNS AND GOVERNMENT

•       POLITICAL MACHINE—_________________________________________ LEADERS AND/OR CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTROL NEIGHBORHOODS, CITIES, COUNTIES, AND STATES

•       _________________________________________—JOB SECURITY, HOUSING, AND/OR PERSONAL SAFETY WERE USED AS LEVERAGE FOR THEIR VOTES

•       BOSS TWEED—_________________________________________—GRAFTED MILLIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT

CORRUPTION WAS RAMPANT IN ALL LEVELS OF POLITICS

•       _________________________________________—KILLED BY LUNATIC WHO BELIEVED HE WAS OWED A JOB PROMISED BY MACHINE POLITICIANS

•       MANY AMERICANS WERE _________________________________________—REFORM MOVEMENTS BEGIN

Political Scandals & Corruption

·         Grant’s presidency was riddled with scandal:

• Crédit Mobilier—_________________________________________
• Pension Grabs—_________________________________________
• Whiskey Ring—_________________________________________

·         Election of 1876—Most Corrupt Election in American History

• _________________________________________—in spite of the reform candidates—Samuel Tilden (D) & Rutherford Hayes (R)
• _________________________________________—end of reconstruction

·         Reform split the Republican party

• 1880—Pres. Garfield was assassinated—______________________________________
• 1882—Arthur—___________________________________—reduced the spoils system

Segregation and Discrimination

• Plessy v. Ferguson—___________________________________—“separate but equal” facilities didn’t violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
• ___________________________________—Black Codes/Jim Crow Laws
• The worst outcome ___________________________________—900 African Americans murdered from 1882-92 by lynch mobs.
• ___________________________________—accept segregation and learn skills to rise up…or…strive for full rights immediately.
• Two leaders represented these groups.

o   Booker T. Washington

1.       Born into slavery

2.       ___________________________________the moment

3.       ___________________________________and vocational skills

4.       Founded the ___________________________________

o   W.E.B. Du Bois

1.       strive for ___________________________________

2.       founded the ___________________________________ equal rights

3.       Led to the ___________________________________—legal defense

Workers Organize

·         ___________________________________—controlled by political machines

·         When the economy struggled…___________________________________

·         Government, though dominated ___________________________________ big busines

• 1890 ___________________________________by trusts illegal…rarely enforced it—didn’t want to hurt business

  • Concerns about ___________________________________

·         Workers often worked ___________________________________sick leave or compensation for common workplace injuries.

·         By the late ___________________________________ employers into giving better pay and safer workplaces—COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

·         The ___________________________________for eight-hour workdays, the end of child labor, and equal pay for equal work in Philadelphia.