166 a short history of the united states
former Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens; six
cabinet offi cers; fi fty-eight members of the Confederate Congress; and
nine high-ranking army officers. The South was slowly being reclaimed
by its former ruling class.
But Congress did attempt to protect certain rights of African-
Americans from infringement by whites. The Civil Rights Act of 1875
prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations, public
transportation, and jury selection. The bill was passed and signed by
President Grant on March 1 , 1875.
It was a landmark event. It culminated what was a constitutional
revolution. Together with ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
and Fifteenth amendments, this Civil Right Act extended equality
under the law to millions. Democracy in America had made a notice-
able advance. It only remained to grant these privileges to all persons
regardless of gender.
And a new age began, an age that extended to the end of the cen-
tury, an age Mark Twain and coauthor Charles Dudley Warner de-
scribed in a book depicting American society. This society was
profoundly corrupt. The main characters in their book are involved in
a railroad bribery scheme in which the government is a participant. It
was a “tale of today,” the coauthors wrote in 1873 , because it typifi ed
business operations throughout the nation following the Civil War.
The book was titled The Gilded Age.
Henry Adams, an historian of note and a contemporary, described
this era as “poor in purpose and barren in results. One might search the
list of Congress, Judiciary, and Executive during the twenty-fi ve years,
1870 – 1895 , and find little but damaged reputations.” There was more
than simply damaged reputations, but the damage was quite extensive
and reached right up the political chain of command.
The industrialization of the country, stimulated by the Civil War
and continuing unabated to the end of the nineteenth century, resulted
in large mea sure from the direct and indirect support and subsidy given
it by government, especially the national government. The railroads
throughout the nation expanded from over 30 , 000 miles of track to an
estimated 200 , 000 , and this expansion involved extensive public assis-