The major political parties were polarized over monetary policy.
Explanation:
The Gilded Age politics which existed between 1870 and 1900 in America was also called the Third Party System and featured intense rivalry between the Democrats and Republicans of which the Republicans dominated the political sphere.
This period was riddled with corruption as government officials were more concerned with filling their pockets from public coffers and giving their supporters positions in government than actually working for the people.
From the question given, although the Republicans dominated the political process, the major political parties were polarized over monetary policy. The Republicans made monetary policies that would support businesses but was opposed by the Democrats who finally adopted the free silver platform.
