'The presidents of the Gilded Age were weak.' Assess the validity of this view (25
marks)
(Planned on paper)
This statement displays validity to a certain degree, arguably some of the Gilded Age
presidents were stronger than others. In terms of strength, strength is referring to their ability
to enforce control and support rather than what is morally correct. Effectively, Hayes was one
of the strong presidents of this era as he was a catalyst for the reform of civil service and
had long term influence for the future of America. Additionally, Chester Arthur and Cleveland
are also considered some of the strongest American Gilded Age Presidents because of the
substantial amount of political activity he enforced and the great control he held over affairs
when in power. It could be argued that Garfield held a weak presidency due to his short
term, however it is plausible that all of these presidents held their own strengthening
attributes and hamartias, so to define them all as weak is a reductionist viewpoint. Defining
whether a gilded age president was strong or weak is conditional and tentative to their
actions during their term.
Arguably to begin with, the first Gilded Age Rutherford Hayes has proven to be a relatively
strong president, yet not the strongest due to inactivity during his own term, that was passed
to succeeding presidents to continue. Throughout his presidency, Hayes introduced the idea
of reforming the civil service by attempting to eliminate the spoils system and to replace this
with a merit system. This ideology is strong because it entails that the corruption in
government positions would significantly decrease, affecting America because individuals in
political positions would be better equipped with the qualifications and knowledge to manage
the nation more effectively than with the spoils system. With use of the spoils system, it
interferes with the voting process as it provides people with an incentive to vote for a certain
figure, regardless of their presidential promises and instead personal motivations and a
desperation for a position of employment or economics. This idea is strong because it
prioritises a fairer governmental employment system which in turn benefits the nation
economically, socially and politically. However, the strength of Hayes’ presidency is impacted
as he was unable to successfully pass any political action to support his idea; congress
directly refused to outlaw the spoils system and no reform legislation was passed during his
presidency. Regardless of this, his ambitious intentions were continued throughout the
presidency of the next four presidents, being carried out under Chestur Arthur, which
effectively shows his strong, long term influence which is still in place today. Overall,
Rutherford Hayes was a strong Gilded Age president to some extent because although he
introduced ideas of reform and reducing corruption, these were not implemented during the
course of his presidency but subsequently over the next 20 years.
In the wake of the end of Hayes’ presidency James Garfield succeeded him, who arguably
was a strong presidential candidate to some extent, as his presidential impact was not as
significant as his associates. This is because throughout his brief term, he struggled
significantly with being in authority control and there was lots of corruption in this time, as
well as involvement in the Credit Mobilier scandal which undermined his credibility and
reputation. This was a construction company for the Union Pacific Railroad which was
marks)
(Planned on paper)
This statement displays validity to a certain degree, arguably some of the Gilded Age
presidents were stronger than others. In terms of strength, strength is referring to their ability
to enforce control and support rather than what is morally correct. Effectively, Hayes was one
of the strong presidents of this era as he was a catalyst for the reform of civil service and
had long term influence for the future of America. Additionally, Chester Arthur and Cleveland
are also considered some of the strongest American Gilded Age Presidents because of the
substantial amount of political activity he enforced and the great control he held over affairs
when in power. It could be argued that Garfield held a weak presidency due to his short
term, however it is plausible that all of these presidents held their own strengthening
attributes and hamartias, so to define them all as weak is a reductionist viewpoint. Defining
whether a gilded age president was strong or weak is conditional and tentative to their
actions during their term.
Arguably to begin with, the first Gilded Age Rutherford Hayes has proven to be a relatively
strong president, yet not the strongest due to inactivity during his own term, that was passed
to succeeding presidents to continue. Throughout his presidency, Hayes introduced the idea
of reforming the civil service by attempting to eliminate the spoils system and to replace this
with a merit system. This ideology is strong because it entails that the corruption in
government positions would significantly decrease, affecting America because individuals in
political positions would be better equipped with the qualifications and knowledge to manage
the nation more effectively than with the spoils system. With use of the spoils system, it
interferes with the voting process as it provides people with an incentive to vote for a certain
figure, regardless of their presidential promises and instead personal motivations and a
desperation for a position of employment or economics. This idea is strong because it
prioritises a fairer governmental employment system which in turn benefits the nation
economically, socially and politically. However, the strength of Hayes’ presidency is impacted
as he was unable to successfully pass any political action to support his idea; congress
directly refused to outlaw the spoils system and no reform legislation was passed during his
presidency. Regardless of this, his ambitious intentions were continued throughout the
presidency of the next four presidents, being carried out under Chestur Arthur, which
effectively shows his strong, long term influence which is still in place today. Overall,
Rutherford Hayes was a strong Gilded Age president to some extent because although he
introduced ideas of reform and reducing corruption, these were not implemented during the
course of his presidency but subsequently over the next 20 years.
In the wake of the end of Hayes’ presidency James Garfield succeeded him, who arguably
was a strong presidential candidate to some extent, as his presidential impact was not as
significant as his associates. This is because throughout his brief term, he struggled
significantly with being in authority control and there was lots of corruption in this time, as
well as involvement in the Credit Mobilier scandal which undermined his credibility and
reputation. This was a construction company for the Union Pacific Railroad which was
