Background

Politics have always been a point of tension in American history. While most American citizens focus on the position of the United States President, the elected officials on the state and local levels tend to have more influence on the lives of everyday Americans. Industrialization led to an increase in job opportunities, specifically in factories creating goods for corporations. With the increase in job opportunities, the United States saw their second wave of immigration. From 1880-1920, approximately 20 million immigrants came to the United States, the majority of which settled in the newly popular urban areas such as New York City and San Francisco. The factory workers were largely immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and Germany or working-class Americans.

Figure 1. This political cartoon by Thomas Nast depicts Boss Tweek with a head as  money bag. The cartoon caption reads: “The ‘Brains’ that achieved the Tammany victory at the Rochester Democratic Convention.”

To adhere to a larger population, many cities adopted a city-wide government system, and corresponding political parties. With the creation of these systems, political machines were formed. Political machines are defined as a party organization, headed by a single boss or small autocratic group, that commands enough votes to maintain political and administrative control of a city, county, or state. The majority of city dwellers lived in poverty during this time period, in small apartments known as tenements. Due to their socio-economic or citizenship status, most of the constituents were unable to read. As a result, they were often taken advantage of by the political machines. As a way to advocate for change, political cartoons became a huge source of information for city dwellers. One of the most famous political cartoonists was Thomas Nast, who was successful in unseating the political boss of Tammany Hall, the most influential New York City political machine’ William ‘Boss’ Tweed through the use of his cartoons.

Discussion

To enhance your understanding of politics in the gilded age, complete the following discussion post by following the steps below.

Step 1: Choose two political cartoons from this bank, under the section “Political Corruption”, and respond to the following prompt:

In a full paragraph, please paint a picture for your classmates about what is happening in the images that you chose. Here are some questions to help guide your response: Who is in this image? Who is holding the power in this image, and how do you know? Who is missing from this image? What can you infer about society in America during 1889 based on this image? Make sure to include the name of both images you chose.

With an increase in immigration, came a rise in xenophobia, the fear of people from different countries.

Throughout American history, there is a trend of villainizing a group of Immigrants. Whichever ethnic group is composing the most of an immigrant population becomes the target in discussions against immigration. An example is the ongoing conversation surrounding immigration from Mexico and stereotypes associated with Mexican-Americans.

Step 2: Choose two political cartoons from this bank, under the section “Immigration” (starting page 6), and respond to the following prompt:

Which immigrant group is featured in this cartoon, and how are they being depicted? How do you know? What are the similarities and differences between how each group is depicted in the two cartoons you chose? How are the immigrant groups featured in the cartoon you chose represented in current media and society?

Step 3: Respond in two separate posts to two classmates (in at least 75 words). Explicitly address their examples and try to extend, complicate, or redirect their points in a substantive, knowledge-demonstrating way.

Discussion Grading Rubric