Political Parties in the Gilded Age
During the Gilded Age, the nation developed a modern industrial economy built upon a national transportation and communication network. The former agrarian society of small producers transformed into an urban society dominated by industrial corporations. During this period, the gap between the rich and poor expanded, “robber barons” exerted economic and political power, and working-class immigrants and laborers were exploited without any legal protections. In the South and West, farmers struggled because of low prices for their crops and high and arbitrary railroad rates.
The Republican Party moved away from its focus on rights for freedmen and freedwomen and established itself as the party of big business. Despite this, Black voters continued to vote Republican because of their loyalty to the party of Lincoln.
Republicans supported using the federal government’s powers to distribute public lands, promote railroad expansion, and encourage industrial growth at home by imposing high taxes or tariffs on imported goods. Republican presidents repeatedly sided with big business at the expense of the working poor. The Great Railroad Strike, the Homestead Steel Strike, and the Pullman Strike all resulted in defeats for laborers who stood no chance against the combined power and influence of big business and big government.
An 1894 political cartoon of a Pullman Company employee being crushed by Pullman between low wages and high rent.
The Democratic Party gained power in northern cities, where it operated political machines: organizations in which party bosses distributed food and jobs to immigrants and the poor in exchange for their votes. During the Gilded Age, Democrats frequently took control of the House of Representatives, while the Republican Party dominated the presidency.
William “Boss” Tweed, the most famous political boss, ruled New York City with an iron fist.
Take Notes
Consider what you have learned about the Republican and Democratic parties’ policies and actions during the Gilded Age. In the chart below, identify the party that each group would likely have supported, and explain why.
After you complete the chart, open the Answer Key to check your responses.
Black Americans: Republican – Black Americans continued to support the party that ended slavery.
Industrial Laborers: Democrat – Located primarily in the North, laborers depended on the support provided by political machines and saw the Republican Party as allied with hostile business owners and against their interests.
Business Leaders: Republican – Republican policies benefitted U.S. industry and their owners, and Republican leaders routinely sided with business leaders in conflicts with workers.
Immigrants: Democrat – Most immigrants arrived in northern cities, where the Democratic political machines eased their transition to life in the United States in exchange for their vote.
