The Spoilsmen were also known as Robber Barons or Captains of Industry. From 1865 through the Industrial Revolution, they controlled most of the wealth, and thought that since they or their parents worked hard to get it they deserved it. The Republican Party was corrupt at this time, and was more successful than the Democrats. All the Republican Presidents during this time period were corrupt in some way, and even the leaders of the Republican Party were corrupt, men like Roscoe Conkling and James G. Blaine. In fact, there was so much corruption that reformers were few and frowned upon by the general public. Looking for an escape from corruption, the Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland for president. …show more content…
They worked hard for their money, but did so at the expense of others, including their workers and smaller companies. Most of them had so much money they could spend a million dollars every day for years. They could easily have afforded to be more generous with their money, and spent it on the good of the poorer public rather than on the rich few. The Republicans’ corruption between the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution permitted the huge gap between the rich and the poor. As president, Cleveland was ineffective, having power to at least weaken some of the monopolies, but neglecting to do so. He vetoed bills to help the poor and did nothing to stop the Pullman Strike of …show more content…
Hoover, an engineer, was very smart, and served well in Harding’s presidential cabinet. For some reason, however, he was distrusted by professional politicians but liked by the general public. Hoover was capitalistic and individualistic, and became president at the beginning of the Great Depression.
Hoover insisted the Great Depression was caused abroad. This limited his insight on how to ease it, because he thought it was not the United State’s fault. On top of this, Hoover believed it was not the government’s job to issue relief to the poor, but it was the duty of local organizations. After Hoover left the presidency, he warned and stressed that a poorly managed economy was a threat to world