What made politics in the gilded age so extremely popular—with over 80 percent voter participation—yet so often corrupt and unconcerned with important national issues?

Such an astounding turnout was mostly due to the corrupt government and practices of the time. The Gilded Age was named after a novel by Mark Twain and it shows how everything is shiny and good on the outside but corrupt on the inside. During the Gilded Age there were many power swings in the US politics mainly due to corrupt kickback system as the parties would offer individuals jobs if a large enough number of people would vote for him.

Earthquake fault lines. map above represent