Political Corruption

Having come from an agrarian origin, Julie Josephson's early life follows the transition of America into the Industrial Age and the struggles of men and women against their subjugation and exploitation by capitalists and corrupt politicians in the chaos of an emerging middle-class society.
 
From an historical perspective, the recurrence of political corruption, the lack of ethics, morality, racial prejudice, and of an appreciation for human value in modern times is an example of history repeating itself.
 
Through the eyes of Julie and other characters, the chapters titled Opium, Graft, Rising Up, Scabs, and Strike take the reader deep into the heart of what happened during that period.
 
Excerpt
 
     An angry crowd had gathered at the front of the courthouse city hall bronze stone and colonnade edifice at the corner of La Salle and Clark Streets.  The Hansom cab in which O’Riley and Luther were riding could not get any closer than a half block from the steps.  Luther noticed that many of the mob shouted demands and epithets that echoed the terse hand-painted signs thrust high and waved over their heads like square antennae of a churning pulsating sea beast. 
 
     No Corruption              No More Graft           No More Boodling
     Stop Gray Wolves        End To Gray Wolves        Death To Gray Wolves

     The citizens of Chicago called corrupt politicians “gray wolves.”
The Municipal Voters League published the qualifications of candidates who demonstrated ethics and moral values in contrast to the voting records of aldermen holding current offices in the thirty-four wards. The League promoted candidates who pledged to support the merit system of civil service and end the bribes and kickbacks that diverted funds meant for the city into personal bank accounts.  The purpose of the League was to remove the Gray Wolves and end their strangle hold on the city government.