The final episode examines the political corruption and institutional weakness that characterized Gilded Age government, analyzing how the combination of rapid social change and inadequate institutions created opportunities for systematic graft and influence-peddling. The episode explores the weakness of federal institutions, particularly the presidency, which became a diminished office between Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, leaving real power with a Congress heavily influenced by business interests. Through detailed analysis of political machines like Tammany Hall under Boss Tweed, the episode shows how urban organizations combined genuine social services with systematic corruption, providing essential support to immigrant populations while looting public treasuries. The episode examines the spoils system that treated government jobs as political rewards, the corrupt resolution of the 1876 presidential election, and the inadequate response to economic crises like the Panic of 1873. By analyzing the relationship between political machines and business interests, including the influence of corporate money on tariff policy and railroad regulation, the episode reveals how the absence of effective government oversight facilitated the concentration of wealth and power. The episode concludes by examining how the excesses of Gilded Age politics ultimately generated the reform movements that would create modern American government.

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