A Study On Mugwump’s Claims For Reform In The Late Of19^th Century U.S.

At the turn of20thcentury, American society has witnessed all-roundtransformations. In this period, America achieved industrialization and urbanizationwith great speed, and has become the world’s largest economy. Furthermore, USbegan the transition from liberal capitalism to monopoly capitalism. But it also seesthe intense outburst of social problems——political corruptions, the widening gapbetween rich and poor, the deterioration of slums and the inefficiency of municipaladministration——in American society. In the face of these problems, every sectorof American society voiced their dissatisfaction and desire for reform. However, theruling Republican party was unable to present any solutions, which resulted in theinternal fluctuations and split of Republican Party, and eventually, the formation ofMugwump in1884. They reached an agreement with Democrats in reform andworked together to push through reforms.This paper consists of three parts: the exordium, the body and conclusions.The exordium includes the reason for selecting the subject and the academicreview. Moreover, it introduces the academic values, practical significance, thecontent, the research objective, and the critical problems this paper deal with.The body part falls into three parts. In Chapter one focus on the historicalbackground of Mugwump reform which happened in the late19thcentury. With therapid urbanization and industrialization, many American cities caught the citydiseases at the end of19thcentury. Every sector of society voiced their concerns aboutthe city diseases, which formed the “uproar of people” in the late19thcenturyAmerica. Finally,“uproar of people” converged into a powerful bottom-up reformforce and promoted the great reform movement of the early20thcentury.Chapter two explores the definition and class attributes of the Mugwump, and theseparation of the Mugwump from the Republican in1884; then it interprets theMugwump’s reform claims in civil service municipal administration, tariffs and currency.Chapter three mainly introduces the origins and traditional thoughts of theMugwump reform theory, and the pressure of the social reality of the late19thcentury.It also analyzes the significance of the Mugwump, and the relations between theMugwump and the Progressive Movement. Finally, it summarizes the historical roleand teachings of the Mugwump.The conclusion generalizes the Mugwump reform and suggests that China’srapid urbanization could use the Mugwump reform claims for reference.