Chapter 23: The Gilded Age
Rohan Panaparambil
Gilded - covered in gold.
The term Gilded Age was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. It was named as such, because the Gilded Age was an era of major societal problems which were ignored as if they were coated with a thin gold gilding.
Election of Grant
Grant's campaign, in particular, was based on Bloody Shirt strategies because the North was infatuated with Grant, the general who led the Union to victory. He was running against Horatio Seymour from the Democrats. Although Seymore was close in the popular vote, Grant carried the electoral vote. Grant also became the first president to win with a white minority vote, relying on the newly established votes from African Americans to win.
Corruption
Thomas Nast was a cartoonist, considered the father of the American cartoon. He is known for popularizing images such as Uncle Sam, Columbia, Santa Claus, and the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey. He also went on a mission to reveal the scandal of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, which was eventually successful largely due to his singlehanded efforts.