Mark Twain was an influential American author who referred to 19th-century America as "the Gilded Age." By saying this he meant that the period was good at the top but corrupt underneath. During the "Gilded Age" several events occurred, from the Panic of 1873 to the Pullman Strike and much more. One such event that happened around this time was the Crédit Mobilier scandal. This was one of many events that reflected Twain's characterization of this period as the "Golden Age" for many reasons. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The Crédit Mobilier scandal occurred when the Union Pacific Railroad bribed federal lawmakers in exchange for various business favors. Around the 1860s, the Union Pacific Railroad was commissioned to become part of the transcontinental railroad. It was for this reason that Union Pacific executives came up with the idea of ​​creating a dummy company to transfer public funds for their own use. The major shareholders of the Union Pacific Railroad formed a company, called Credit Mobilier of America, and submitted their contracts for the construction of the railroad. Union Pacific officials had made backroom deals with federal lawmakers. They offered MPs shares in the Crédit Mobilier company, which was essentially an assurance of a share of public money that would be channeled through the company. In exchange for the stock options, members of Congress gave the company handsome government subsidies and numerous land grants. As Twain said, this period had underlying corruption, as evidenced by the fact that Union Pacific and the Congressional Credit Mobilier stockholders became rich as a result. Each party ended up getting what they wanted. This scandal affected America politically at the time as it damaged the careers of many Gilded Age politicians. Because of the obvious manner in which they traded favors, scandal broke out in 1872. A Congressional investigation came and brought all the information to public attention. Two members of the House of Representatives at the time, Oakes Ames of Massachusetts and James Brooks of New York, were censured because of their involvement in the scandal. Not only that, but the scandal also ruined the careers of the next Vice President Henry Wilson, Representative James A. Garfield, and outgoing Vice President Schuyler Colfax, all of whom were involved. Ultimately, this scandal revealed the extent to which corruption had corrupted Gilded Age politics and the lengths to which railroads and other economic interests would go to satisfy and increase profits...