Turn Of The Century Summary

Turn of The Century Author Project: Text Analysis The turn of the Century brought rapid industrialization, resulting in an increase in consumer goods and wealth. This industrialization, however, came with a price. The rise of trusts and monopolies consolidated the wealth and power in the hands of the few. To secure power, Political Machines were born and corruption in government and politics reached an all-time new high. Corruption permeated the American society and many authors, such as Lincoln Steffens, took their inspiration from it. The chapter, Philadelphia: Corrupt and Contented, in Steffens book, The Shame of the Cities, shows how widespread corruption affected literature to take on a more journalistic tone to show the population how
By focusing on specific cities, the book serves as an exposé on the corruption in government. Using the government of Philadelphia as an example, the book demonstrates the extent of corruption in Philadelphia. It states that the entire electoral process in Philadelphia is corrupt and controlled by the political machine: “The machine controls the whole process of voting, and practices fraud at every stage” (Steffens 199). The chapter shows the extent of corruption in government. The Political machine, control the elections, with any means necessary, to stay in power. The widespread reach of the political machine demonstrates how widespread corruption was at the turn of the century. The chapter in Lincoln Steffens’ book also epitomizes the level of corruption present in the old city of Philadelphia by stating, “Philadelphia is not merely corrupt, it is corrupted” (Steffens 212). The book is commenting on how corruption permeated the American government. The book states that corruption is deeply rooted within the history of the city and is permanent. The book shows that corruption is not isolated, but rather it is present throughout society, especially that of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Corrupt and Contented shows how corruption permeated through the American society and how it affected American