The Period that emerged from the ashes of the Civil war and the end of reconstruction, following the compromise of 1877 was known widely as the Gilded Age. This term,coined by the renowned author, Mark Twain, alluded to the fact, that despite the seeming affluence of the era, it was only covered in this “layer of gold”, easily stripped away revealing the widespread destitution of the masses. From 1870 to 1890, Big business became a dominant force in American life. These institutions swelled and became glutted, and because of the power that accompanies wealth, these robber-barons seized control of not only the economy, but of the political system as well. With this power, they were able to operate without constraints, for instance they could mistreat their employees, but unions unprotected by a government acting in favor of the businesses were unrecognized, and their efforts circumnavigated. Big business had some benefits, such as lowering consumer costs, however this benefit was not with out cost, workers were often at the expense of such price-cutting.In response to this gross imbalance of power in favor of the all-encompassing control of Big Businesses, Americans took action: they created labor unions for mistreated workers, farmers unions, and attempted to improve the plight of the poor.
During the so-called gilded age, both patronage and the political machines were common ways in which big businesses seized control over the political system and the government. In cities and towns in all regions of the country, big business took advantage of the - impoverished- particularly recent immigrants- using political “bosses” such as the infamous Tamany Hall in New York, who gave those in need things such as financial aid, food, shelter, and employment in return for their vote. This control that Big Businesses exercised over the votes of the people often resulted in the election of the businesses chosen representatives to the senate, where big business had a particularly powerful influence. This degree of control can be observed in Joseph Kepler's 1889 political cartoon, “the Bosses of the Senate”, which depicts trusts as glutted money bag-men looming over the senate, presumably controlling it, and the peoples entrance shut tight, inferring their increasing lack of influence over politics at the hands of big business (doc D). Perhaps the industry that had the most influence over the government however was the railroad industry, and its corporations. Due to their massive affluence and minimal limitations, this sect of big businesses acted on whim. They dismissed employees without cause, withheld wages, indefinitely delayed charges made against them, censured the press, controlled elections, and dictated legislation, they essentially controlled the government (doc B). An example of such corruption can be observed in the Credít Moblier scandal that occurred during the Grant administration; members of congress were bribed by the Credít Moblier construction company in order to prevent an investigation of their fraudulent contracts with the Union Pacific Railroad company, that cost the government millions. The affluent, such as Andrew Carnegie (despite his philanthropic acts) justified this contol because of their belifes in modern philosophies such as Social Darwinism which detailed that the rich were more “fit” to be in a position of power than the poor, and because of this superiority they were able to do “better [for the poor] than they would could do for themselves (doc E)
Big businesses seized control of the brunt of American life not only through politics, but the economy as well. They grew in size and power primarily because they were often able to undercut their competition, driving those who opposed them -often smaller companies- to bankruptcy, or forcing them to give into horizontal or vertical integration, or the trust. Large companies such as Standard Oil, led by James D. Rockefeller utilized horizontal integration to its full effect in an attempt to control every step of the process of the industry from source to sale by making deals with railroad companies in order to obtain lower prices than those of their competitors and drive them to destitution and ruin (doc H). Not only did big business change the economy though the integration of other -often smaller- companies into their own but also by changing the nature of unskilled labor. They did this through the principles of Taylorism, and by using Ford’s assembly line. This new organization was at the bane of the working class, now forced to repeat the same monotonous task over and over, causing extreme boredom (doc C). Workers were robbed of their individuality as a sameness came to characterize their work (doc J). However, despite the working classes sentiments, these new, more efficient techniques in combination with new transport technology led to a decrease in the prices of food, fuel, and lighting across the nation in addition to the cost of living (doc A). As these prices plummeted, the line between “want” and “need” blurred, as new department stores opened and individuals, particularly women, started spending more and more on non- essential items (doc I).
The American people, in particular farmers and industrial workers, were acutely aware of the effects of big business on politics and responded accordingly. The AFL for instance, a labor union, campaigned for the overall improvement of the working conditions of skilled laborers; they demanded shorter working hours- as exemplified with their slogan, “8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, and 8 hours for what we will”-, higher wages, and compensation for injury or death in work-related incidences (doc G). Another example of Americans response to big business can be observed in the Populists “Peoples Party Platform” in Omaha, in which the populists, who were primarily rural farmers, campaigned for the establishment of the silver standard to alleviate the plight of the poor, and the regulation of the railroad corporations, so that they would be forced to provide fair and unbiased rates for their shipping services (doc F). These reformers were met with moderate success, and were unable to enact laws limiting big business such as the Pendleton act, which required a certain number of government employees to take a literacy test in order to assume their appointment. They also were able to pass the interstate commerce act, which banned the discrimination over long and short hauls and required that railroads post rate schedules and file them with the government.
Overall, throughout the Gilded age, big businesses were allowed to expand in size and in power, this expansion not only allowed them to take control of the economy, but both the federal and local governments as well. Big businesses were able to pervade the government through a system of bribery and because of a lack of barriers to prevent them from doing so. They were able to control the economy because little stood to oppose them, much because of integration, the trust, and their control of the government. The American people were not however content to sit back and watch as this corruption and injustice stormed the country, they responded with the formation of unions, political parties,
