What methods did reformers deal with concerning economic problems in the US in the last two decades of the nineteenth century?

Answer 1

Reformers had their hands full dealing with problems that affected the general public and the economic and political health of the United States in the last two decades of the 19 Th Century. Each solution, it seemed either became outdated, or new developments called for new solutions. For example the:

A. Shrinking gold bullion supply was first addressed with the proposal of adopting a bimetallic currency to relieve the gold bullion shortage. This idea fell by the wayside when new supplies of gold were discovered in the Alaskan Klondike. And, new methods for recovering gold. This made "Seward's Folly" into a "Seward Masterpiece".

B. Industrial monopolist problems presented by people such as John D. Rockefeller. The enactment of certain anti-trust laws were undermined by the discovery of vast new deposits of oil in Texas. Oil magnates were seemingly one step ahead of regulators.

C. Finding the right way to control the railroad industry, which was created in part by the generosity of the Federal government after the US Civil War. The evolution of trucking moving over a network of national highways ended the natural monopoly of transportation by the railroads before Congress ceased its long quest for a legislative solution.

The above attempts to summarize what was first looked upon as serious faults in the USA, and later the eventual solutions.