US History › Section J · Cities and Gilded Age politics › Topic J.4
Political corruption after the Civil War
After the Civil War, closely balanced parties, loyal voters and fast-growing fortunes produced a politics full of scandal. Mark Twain called the era gilded: gold on the surface, cheaper metal underneath.
In this topic
- A gilded surface
- A politics of stalemate
- Loyal voters and the bloody shirt
- Scandals in Washington
- Business and influence
- The Tweed Ring
- Worked example: reading a Nast cartoon
- 1876 sets the tone
- Worked example: a do-nothing government?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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