Railroad Corruption In The Gilded Age Of America

The gilded age refers to the period in American history from the civil war in the1860 s to the 1890 s.In the gilded age,the capitalist economy of the United States developed rapidly,and finally achieved the goal of surpassing Britain’s Gross value of industrial output in 1894,becoming the largest industrial country in the world.As a new transportation industry in the 19 th century,the railway industry undertakes the important function of communicating with all parts of the United States and further developing other industrial and commerce.Therefore,the railway industry also has a great-leap forward development in the gilded age,which can be called the pillar industry in the middle and late 19 th century of the United States to a certain extent.However,with the rapid growth of wealth and opportunities for capitalist development,there are political and economic corruption,and the railway industry bears the brunt because of its important position.The development of American Railway Industry in the 19 th century reflects many unique characteristics in the process of construction and development because of its special factors such as geographical environment and era background.In the railway industry itself,the activities and operation of the railway companies are characterized by the deep participation of the federal government in the railway industry because of the nature of the franchise companies and the expansion of the federal government’s power after the civil war.In the process of railway construction,the harsh environment in the Midwest of the United States determines that most of the long-distance railway lines represented by the Pacific Railroad are difficult to rely on formal construction and operation for profit.These two characteristics determine the development direction of American Railway Industry and lay the foundation for the occurrence of corruption.The corruption of American railway industry can be divided into three types:Systematic corruption,Venal corruption and Asset corruption.In the vast majority of corruption cases,three kinds of corruption are carried out alternately,but basically one of them is particularly prominent.Systematic corruption is a top-down form of corruption,in which federal government and congressional officials control large-scale railway companies through the connection between franchise companies and management personnel,thus opening a convenient backdoor for them;Venal corruption is mainly manifested in the fact that railway companies bribe congressmen in order to obtain funds and land subsidies,so as to pass a series of state-owned assets bills in favor of railway companies;Asset corruption often occurs after the railway companies have received a lot of subsidies,and they use the acquired assets to participate in land speculation,bid up land prices,so as to make profits.The combination of the three forms of corruption made the railway industry in the Gilded Age of the United States synonymous with "corruption" at that time,and the reputation of railway companies and railway capitalists plummeted.The causes of corruption in the railway industry are very complex,which are closely related to the background of the times,the background of the system and the construction characteristics of the railway industry itself.From the perspective of the railway industry itself,the number of railway companies and railway lines in the middle and late 19 th century formed a blowout trend with the arrival of the construction frenzy.Under the huge pressure of competition,the laissez faire capitalist business model led to the formation of disorderly competition in the railway industry.Bribing officials to curry favor with the government became a shortcut for railway companies to obtain the development priority in the chaotic situation.From the perspective of the federal government,the government’s own punishment for corruption is very low,and there is no reliable anti-corruption federal law to refer to.The civil service system represented by the booty sharing system makes government officials easy to become the "Prisoners" of interest groups,thus weakening the government’s anti-corruption function.From the perspective of Congress,due to the special national conditions and the bicameral system,the legislative efficiency of the US Congress and the state legislatures is low.When the railway industry standardization law and the anti-corruption law are called for,which are related to the vital interests of the wealth class,the disputes of interest groups are more serious,and it is more difficult to control corruption from the perspective of legislation.From the perspective of social thought,American society in the gilded age was influenced by Puritanism and social Darwinism.The prevalence of money worship and the degeneration of social values opened a window for the atmosphere of corruption.With the exposure of the "Crédit Mobilier Scandal" in 1872,as a pillar industry in the Gilded Age,the corruption of the railway industry caused the panic of the public and ordinary investors,and caused a series of effects.Economically,the Panic of 1873 broke out in the United States.As one of the most important economic crises in history,the Panic of 1873 showed the characteristics of internationalization for the first time,and its influence even spread to the Far East.However,at the time of its occurrence,capitalism was still on the rise,and its influence was more to promote the internal correction of capitalism.At the government level,both the federal government and Congress of the United States have reformed the civil service system which is prone to corruption,and adopted a series of standardized rules and regulations for the railway industry.For the railway industry itself,the market disorder and the collapse of personal investment reputation forced some railway capitalists to purchase a large number of affiliated enterprises and establish monopoly capital,which accelerated the monopoly process of the railway industry.For the society,a large number of exposure of corruption made people of insight begin to reflect,and promoted the "exposing the black curtain movement" and the progressive movement.