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AP®HistoryCollege BoardUS HistoryExam QuestionsPeriod 6: 1865-1898Politics in the Gilded Age

Politics in the Gilded Age (College Board AP® US History): Exam Questions

4 mins4 questions
11 mark

"Everybody is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft...Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin' richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft—blackmailin' gamblers, saloon-keepers, disorderly people, etc.—and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics."

George W. Plunkitt, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (1905)

The passage could be best understood as

  • An exposé of the corruption within Tammany Hal

  • A defense of political machines as necessary institutions

  • An argument supporting a Progressive reform effort to end machine politics

  • An expression of Plunkitt’s intent to run for public office

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21 mark

"Everybody is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft...Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin' richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft—blackmailin' gamblers, saloon-keepers, disorderly people, etc.—and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics."

George W. Plunkitt, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (1905)

Concerning the practices that Plunkitt describes in the excerpt, urban working-class immigrants

  • Opposed political machines for engaging in corruption and bribery

  • Demanded stricter government regulation of the Tammany Hall organization

  • Preferred Progressive reformers who sought to dismantle political machines

  • Generally supported political machines for providing jobs and services

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31 mark

"Everybody is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft...Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin' richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft—blackmailin' gamblers, saloon-keepers, disorderly people, etc.—and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics."

George W. Plunkitt, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (1905)

The ideas expressed in the excerpt were most similar to which of the following earlier political trends?

  • The spoils system used by Andrew Jackson in the 1830s

  • The Progressive reform movements of the early 20th century

  • The Whig Party’s emphasis on government-led economic development

  • The anti-corruption measures of the Reconstruction governments

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41 mark

"Everybody is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft...Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin' richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft—blackmailin' gamblers, saloon-keepers, disorderly people, etc.—and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics."

George W. Plunkitt, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (1905)

Which of the following later reforms was most directly aimed at reducing the influence of the political system described in the excerpt?

  • The Pendleton Civil Service Act 

  • The Hatch Act

  • The establishment of direct primaries in state elections

  • The Progressive Era’s municipal government reforms, such as the city-manager system

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