No party dominated politics through most of the Gilded Age; did this situation have a positive or negative effect on American government? Why? Explain how politics functioned during that time period.

"The Gilded Age" is a term that generally refers to the period between 1877 and 1897 in American history. This was a period of rapid growth for American industry and the population, as many immigrants entered the country from Europe.
Politics in this period were characterized by strong competition between the two main parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, just like today. However, unlike in the modern United States, voters turned out for general elections at a rate of over 80%, reflecting the extreme loyalty of most citizens to their parties of choice. Arguably, the extremely close elections were reflective of the fact that party loyalties across the country were divided approximately equally, and the high voter turnout meant that the ideas of almost everyone who could vote were represented. The economic effects of the Civil War in the South contributed to the fact that many Southern states, very impoverished at this time, tended to vote Democrat where now we would see Republican leanings. New waves of immigrants also supported both parties in roughly equal measure (Catholics would vote Democrat, and Protestants often voted Republican).
This type of evenly-matched politics had generally negative effects upon the government. The major downside was that because both parties were very aware that the election would be extremely close, corruption was encouraged: potential opponents in the form of minor parties—who might take a needed share of the vote—were often paid off by the main parties. Bribes were also offered to important and wealthy voters, particularly large business owners, who were then able to dictate what politicians could and could not do in terms of controlling big business. Additionally, because Congress was so evenly matched, it was extremely difficult to pass any laws, as a majority was very hard to come by in the House.