It was a complete laissez-faire (hands off) government. There was no regulation. That's why the United States had child labor, terrible working conditions, long work hours, low wages, and no health codes/safety plans.
The government did not really govern the big business and they could basically do what they pleased. But as the journalists and writers and the workers started bringing all the bad things the big businesses were doing to the light of day the government started intervening just a little. A landmark law passed at the time would be the Sherman Act that was against the trusts.
