In a report carried by the BBC, an OED lexicographer has shown that "lobbying" finds its roots in the gathering of Members of Parliament and peers in the hallways ("lobbies") of the UK Houses of Parliament before and after parliamentary debates where members of the public can meet their representatives. One story held that the term originated at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, where it was supposedly used by President Ulysses S. Grant to describe the political advocates who frequented the hotel's lobby to access Grant-who was often there in the evenings to enjoy a cigar and brandy-and then tried to buy the president drinks in an attempt to influence his political decisions. Although the term may have gained more widespread currency in Washington, D.C. The term "lobbying" also appeared in print as early as 1820:īy virtue of this practice during the Grant Administration, the OED cites numerous documented uses of the word well before Grant's presidency, including use in Pennsylvania as early as 1808. 'Lobbying' (also 'lobby') is a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by the government by individuals or more usually by lobby groups it includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents, or organized groups.Other letters from Washington affirm, that members of the Senate, when the compromise question was to be taken in the House, were not only "lobbying about the Representatives' Chamber" but also active in endeavoring to intimidate certain weak representatives by insulting threats to dissolve the Union. #BIG BUSINESS POLITICAL CARTOON PROFESSIONAL#Ī 'lobbyist' is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby.By the late 1890s, American politics had moved toward the ideals of Progressivism, which sought to protect social welfare, encourage productivity, ensure morality, and generate economic reform by reinterpreting the United States Constitution as an organic or alterable document. Nast’s cartoons spurred citizens’ opposition to corruption throughout the era. One of the most active critics of Gilded Age politics was Thomas Nast, a New York political cartoonist best known for creating the elephant and donkey as symbols for the Republican and Democratic parties. Both groups also pushed for bimetallism-backing American currency with both gold and silver-and wanted to put more paper money into circulation. The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry and the Populist Party both rose to national prominence for their fight against railroad conglomerates’ preferential treatment of business allies. A decade later, Charles Guiteau murdered President James Garfield Guiteau believed the President owed him a government job as recompense for unsolicited political campaign work. Backlash to self-serving Gilded Age politicians led to the arrest of New York Democratic Party Boss William Tweed, who controlled votes and appointments. This corruption met various forms of resistance. Campaigns promised patronage and civil service positions in order to win elections and access to infrastructure benefitted corporations over small-scale farmers. In the Gilded Age, corruption and graft permeated every level of American politics. Twain’s phrase uses the practice of gilding, in which a thin sheet of gold leaf is laid over plain metal, as a metaphor to describe how major societal and political problems were hidden with a veneer of respectability during the post-Civil War era. The term “Gilded Age” was coined by Mark Twain in his 1873 book, The Gilded Age: A Tale for Today.
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