KAY GALLANT: Other incidents followed. One of the biggest was called the Whiskey Ring. It involved a group of whiskey producers and some high officials who were friends of President Grant. Together, they found a way not to pay taxes on their whiskey.
One of Grant's close advisers was at the center of the incident. A grand jury found him not guilty of any crime. However, it charged several hundred whiskey producers and government officials with illegal activities.
President Grant had done nothing illegal. But the Whiskey Ring incident increased public feeling that there was no honesty in the White House. The feeling grew that Grant was a failure.
HARRY MONROE: These incidents took place during a time of intense social and political change in the United States. The period after the Civil War was a time of industrial revolution and business growth. Most of this growth was taking place in the North.
Before the Civil War, most businesses were small. Now there were many companies with large numbers of workers. The companies also had large numbers of owners. They sold shares of ownership to anyone with enough money to buy.
(MUSIC)
KAY GALLANT: A few men rose to positions of great power in business. In the steel industry, for example, there was Andrew Carnegie. He came to the United States as a boy from Scotland. He took a low-paying job in a factory that produced cotton cloth. He worked hard. In time, he earned enough money to take control of an iron factory.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25