The Gilded Age, Corruption, and Political Decline

* This episode was recorded a few months ago. More coming soon!
The Gilded Age is an era of great contrasts. On one hand, it was an era of staggering national growth as the industrial revolution remade the country. It was an era in which new millionaires built brilliant new empires in new industries. It was an era of bursting cities in which a flood of immigrants arrived looking for work in bustling new factories. It was time of new technological marvels and glistening wealth as America transformed into a great world power. Yet at the same time, the Gilded Age was also a time of disruption and often decline. It was a time when the small towns that long made up America’s backbone slowly drained away. For the family farmers who making up a lot of America’s middle class, it was a time of declining agricultural prices, growing debt, and frequently foreclosure.
Most of all, however, the Gilded Age was a time of shocking corruption and political drift.
America’s political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, were still their Third Party System incarnations defined by America’s Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Civil War settlement. At election time, these parties continued to fight over old war resentments, waving bloodied shirts and crying out over Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion. Yet since the end of Reconstruction in 1876, those issues were no longer really on the table. Politics was now mostly a matter of symbolism, identity, and airing old grudges. Thus corruption overwhelmed the system and American politics went into decline.
American politics, still stuck in the battles of the past, had almost nothing to say about the economic transformation disrupting America.
This episode we talk about the decline of Third Party System politics during the Gilded Age. We explain how and why politics got so corrupt during the Gilded Age while our parties ignored the new problems industrialization had created for Americans.
All that remained was the right crisis to trigger America’s next great political realignment, which arrived with the Panic of 1893.
Check out the book: www.amazon.com/Next-Realignme...
Follow Frank on twitter: @frankjdistefano
Learn more: www.frankdistefano.com/

[@politicallil7060]

Well this Gilded Age 2K gonna put most people in poverty on a scale we the people have never seen...

[@dchap43]

This is an amazing series. Thank you

[@brentdennison176]

Oh good! You’re back! I couldn’t get enough, lol. Glad to see the series continue.

[@FrankDiStefano]

Thank Brent! Sorry for the long delay. A few things got in the way, but more is coming!

[@purpledurple621]

what made you post all of a sudden?

[@FrankDiStefano]

Sorry for the long delay in new videos! I have a number of episodes worth filmed but just needed to clear time to edit them together.