Government officials bribed people to vote for them with the promise of money or jobs

The Spoils System: giving jobs to your friends or allies instead of who is most qualified for the job

Monopolies: one corporation owned an entire industry (such as steel or railroads) and eliminated competition so nobody else could join the industry. At this time a big monopoly was the Carnegie Steel Company.

President Ruther B. Hays: ordered investigators to see if officials were working for lots of money

James Garfield: believed jobs should be given to the most qualified

Chester A. Arther: worked to remove the spoils system

Pendleton Act: forced the Civil Service Commission to conduct tests to see who was the most qualified for the job

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887: forbid pools and rebates

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890: made it illegal to destroy competition completely to remove mass-corporations

Elon Musk gave 100s of thousands of dollars (over the limit) for Donald Trump to use for his campaign

In 2023 the Supreme Court made it known it was okay to accept bribes as long as it is after the event

Poor people are getting poorer and rich people are getting richer

Representative Hal Slager made a bill stating it would be illegal to offer bribes to "public servants"

President Biden made a strategy to fight corruption in the US

Senators Todd Young and Ben Cardin: re-introduced the Combating Global Corruption Act to help the U.S. from corruption

The United States Strategy on Countering Corruption by Harris and Biden: helps the U.S. financial system from money-laundering

Corporate Transparency Act: helps banks file better and keep track of money-laundering

U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: makes it illegal for people in power to bribe others