What is the Gilded Age in the U.S. history? The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines it as the period of gross materialism and blatant political corruption in the U.S. history during the 1870s that gave rise to important novels of social and political criticism.
One of the Editor’s favorite writers is Mark Twain. It is said that the period takes its name from the earliest of these, The Gilded Age (1873), written by Mark Twain in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner. The term satirized an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding.
According to the Britannica, the novel gives a vivid and accurate description of Washington, D.C., and is peopled with caricatures of many leading figures of the day, including greedy industrialists and corrupt politicians. According to Wikipedia, during that era, political corruption was rampant, as business leaders spent significant amounts of money ensuring that government did not regulate the activities of big business.
According to the Wikipedia, former President Ulysses S. Grant was the most famous victim of scoundrels and con-men, of whom he most trusted Ferdinand Ward. Grant was cheated out of all his money, although some genuine friends bought Grant’s personal assets and allowed him to keep their use.
The Wikipedia says that Ferdinand Ward, Jr. (1851–1925) was an American swindler. He was “the Best-Hated Man in the United States”. It is said that the collapse of his pyramid scheme caused the financial ruin of many people, including famous persons such as Thomas Nast and the former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, who had helped him start his banking business.
Interpreting the phenomena, they say that historian Allan Nevins deplored “The Moral Collapse in Government and Business: 1865–1873.”, arguing that at war’s end society showed confusion and unsettlement as well as a hurried aggressive growth on the other. It is said that Historian Howard Zinn argues that the U.S. government was acting exactly as Karl Marx described capitalist states: “pretending neutrality to maintain order, but serving the interests of the rich”.
The Britannica defines corruption as a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted with a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one’s private gain. Political corruption is said to occur when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for personal gain.
Bribery is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. They say that with regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is “Corrupt solicitation, acceptance, or transfer of value in exchange for official action.”
We are trying to look at Memphis from every aspect. Considering the totality of information and experience, Memphis didn’t and couldn’t graduate from the era of “The Gilded Age”. Especially business corruption, political corruption, government corruption, judicial corruption, and their related white-collar crimes are completely deplorable.
Those corruptions produce and manufacture serious social problems around Memphis. Memphis is masked by a thin gold gilding. What are the local people and you going to do about that?
We’re seeing the PROCRASTINATION OF HISTORY in Memphis.
[MemphisTV Editorial]
www.memphistv.org
Published: October 23, 2021
[Related Content] The Gilded Age | American Experience