Congress in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Between 1875 and 1917, Congress became more complex, institutionally more formalized, and its members more careerist. As lobbying grew more sophisticated, outside influences on it were growing as well. Popular impressions to the contrary, Congress was neither in the plutocrats' pockets nor a cluster of dilatory nincompoops. Members worked hard and, when the same party controlled both the White House and Capitol Hill, worked effectively. In a fiercely partisan age, party discipline was often strict, but cooperation across party lines was common. Where rigid partisan positions did not bar the way, lawmakers worked together readily. Even in the age of "laissez-faire" Congress was reshaping the nation's political economy. Yet, though ever more activist, its relative power dwindled. A burgeoning executive branch and an assertive Supreme Court took over much of the policy-making once left almost exclusively to the people's representatives.