itnessed the birth of modern america it saw the closing of the western frontier. Politics in the gilded age the term gilded age comes from a novel written jointly by mark twain and charles dudley warner about a character who was always scheming. Start studying apush the gilded age, politics learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This term was coined by mark twain and charles dudley warner in their book the gilded age: a tale of today, published in 1873 gilded age politics. Overview: the gilded age faced a lot of political corruption big businesses rose to power and became monarchs in the government while the presidents proved to be.