1.5 Political Corruption Flashcards
What is pork-barrel politics?
A term used to illustrate the way politicians passed laws to dole out federal funds to reward favoured people or regions who had backed them.
In what ways were the main political parties corrupt?
Especially at state and local level, the parties were filled with patronage and pork-barrel politics.
What is an example of pork-barrel politics?
The ‘Tweed Ring’ in New York and its associations with the corrupt political machine of Tammany Hall.
What are cartels and trusts?
Corporations and combinations of companies who joined together to raise more capital (money for investment) in order to gain control of key markets.
What would large cartels and trusts buy?
Companies, banks, railroads, and whenever it was necessary, they could buy politicians, too.
What was the scandal of the New York Custom House?
The collection of duties was blatantly used as a ‘cash cow’ to be milked by corrupt politicians and officials.
Under which president was there the most progress in fighting corruption?
Several efforts were made to deal with the problem during the administrations of Grant and Hayes, but it was only in the short lived presidency of Garfield that there was real progress.
How did Garfield fight corruption?
He strengthened federal authority over the New York Customs House.
How did Cleveland approach corruption?
He ran for corruption on an anti-corruption campaign, but he had struggled to deal with corruption in his home state when he was Governor of New York.
How did Harrison approach corruption?
His public image was one of integrity, but the way he rewarded the Grand Army of the Republic with pensions and federal money fo hospitals for veterans was a classic example of pork-barrel politics.
What was Tammany Hall?
It was built in New York and from the 1870s it became the centre organisation of Irish and American local politics: Catholic in religion and Democratic in political allegiance. The ‘Tammany system’ was regularly accused of corruption but was able to maintain its grip because it could always ‘get out the vote’ for the Democrats.
How had corruption changed by 1890?
There was greater awareness of the nature and extent of political corruption and patronage and the beginnings of backlashes. The arrogant power of cartels and trusts aroused criticism and demands for reform and tighter regulation. Such demands pushed Congress into passing the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.
What was the Sherman Antitrust Act?
A federal law, passed in 1890, to ensure fair competition in business. Trusts were a method used by businesses to organise a monopoly; the Sherman Act used federal powers over interstate commerce to try to restrict these monopolistic practices.
How were the attitudes of farmers towards corruption?
Cartels and trusts were seen as the enemy of farmers; agricultural protest movements were gaining wide support for the attacks on big business in the late 1880s.
