Gianni Thomas Marasso Mrs. Kilker College US History January 30, 2023 The Gilded Age and its Effects From the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth, American Society was going under a second Industrial Revolution. This rapid increase in technological advancements helped American industrialism flourish, and even replaced Britain as head of industrialization. This Revolution was also known as the “Gilded Age.” This portion of American History is a major reason as to how America rose to power, and was widely helped by several men who made a lasting impression in history during this period; this time period also housed the concept of Social Darwinism, which greatly helped those with money, and destroyed the class of Americans who struggled …show more content…
Although the gilded age did bring beneficial changes to America’s exports with inventions such as the Assembly Line, the most revolutionary advancements were seen in transportation. America’s railroads were remodeled to all have a uniform gauge, making train travel more efficient with less train changes; the first automobile was made, creating the rise of personal transportation; on top of that, airplanes were made, as well as electricity, the telephone, lightbulbs, and much more in the span of just about two decades. Because of these massive advancements, the United States became the most advanced nation in the world at the time, and helped shape modern …show more content…
This concept is based on Darwin’s “survival of the fittest,” but applied to the human constructs of Capitalism. The theory of social darwinism is that “certain people can become powerful in society because they are innately better.” This theory was fueled by the idea that you need to have money to make money, which meant that because some people were already supplied with their own sum of money, it meant that the rich would get richer, and the poor would get poorer. The group that most commonly benefitted from this concept were men, usually white, wealthy men, and would leave lower class white workers, farmers, women, and minorities to be all placed below those up at the top. All of these groups had different experiences as to how the theory affected them; Lower Class workers were working very hard at lower wages, and responded in outrage when they received a ten percent decrease in wages, which created the need for unions and labor parties to help meet their needs. Farmers created alliances because of the overgrowth of power of the governing class, and huge decrease in annual wages from their farming. Women struggled to earn their right to vote and have a say in the decisions of government; without the voting rights of women, the ever growing hoard of immigrants flooding into America would soon outnumber the dwindling proportion of
The 1860-1900 age was lacking transportation, however the sudden spark through technological growth helped solve that issue. Throughout the gilded age there was a lack of technology in the area of transportation. Most goods and resources were taken on horseback and this whole process was tedious and unnecessary. Then the transcontinental Railroad came along, this railroad changed the United States forever it allowed us to transport goods much easier then we were ever able to before. The Transcontinental Railroad was created May 10, 1869 and is 1,912 miles long.
At the end of the 18th century, a new aged had arrived, known as the Gilded Age, it is where the economic, social, and political atmosphere was heavily influenced by industrialization. Before the Gilded Age, United States was still expanding their territories, Southerners were still living in small farms, while England and other European countries were more advanced in industrialization. Then 30 years later, after the Civil War, America was one of the countries in the world to lead in industrial power. The dramatic development, changed everyone’s life, people that used to live in farms moved to the urban cities in search of new opportunities, wave of inventions such as the telephone was made, and industries boomed. Industries affected the economic, social, and political atmosphere, affluent industries was manipulating iron, oil, railroads and even the workers; which increased the gap between the wealthy and the poor.
The Gilded Age and The Progressive Era were affected by the rise of industrialization during the 1870’s through the 1920’s. The Gilded Age is most famous for its “modern industrial economy. The increase of economic growth was specifically seen in the North and the West. Wages increased by 60% during 1860-1890 (Digital History)”, which
American history is one that includes many races, ethnicities, and nationalities, along with peoples of various occupations and statuses in society. Much of history has been written by the wealthy elite, and the 20th century, by the upper middle classes. As such, it has been dominated by elite WASPs who often ignore and/or display hatred for the plight of the poor and immigrants. The Gilded Age, also known as “The Age of Industry” is the second Industrial Revolution that was responsible for the rise of industrialization, industrial labor, immigration and urbanization.
The Gilded Age was a time of great prosperity in the United States. Rapid economic growth led to the rise of large businesses, and a new class of wealthy Americans emerged.
Rose Hernandez Professor Flowers History 106 25 September 2016 The Economy of the Gilded Age Mark Twain named the time period of social corruption disguised in gold in the United States as the “Gilded Age.” During this time period, immigration was high in the North and West, increasing the numbers of those who lived in the United States. Many of those who immigrated started businesses of their own and some of their companies came out on top.
They believed that the government shouldn't interfere in the “survival of the fittest” by helping the poor and promoting the idea of races are biologically superior to others. The ideas of social darwinism pervaded many aspects of american society in the Gilded Age, including policies that affected immigration, public health,
The United States experienced significant social transformation and economic expansion throughout the Gilded Age and the early years of the 20th century. The Gilded Age, which roughly corresponds to the period from Reconstruction to the start of the twentieth century, was characterized by rapid industrialization, urbanization, the building of massive transcontinental railroads, advances in science and technology, and the emergence of large businesses. Then after, progressivism, a progressive political movement that sought to address some of the faults that had developed during the Gilded Age, dominated the first years of the new century that followed. However, this new era of economic prosperity would not last as the United States stock value
In American history, post Gilded Age was a time of significant shifts and turmoil. The Spanish American War to World War I saw the United States involved in domestic and international challenges that impacted the country politically, socially, and economically. The increasing development and industrialization that took place was the cause of many social and political issues that the progressive era sought to confront. Through the various obstacles and possibilities, such series of events influenced this crucial time.
The Gilded Age was a period in American history characterized by immense wealth and prosperity for a few but also marked by corruption, inequality, and political dysfunction. The Progressive Era emerged in response to the problems of the Gilded Age, providing a solution to the corruption, inequality, and other issues that plagued American society during that time. This essay will describe the issues of the Gilded Age and explain why the Progressive Era was a solution to these problems. One of the key issues of the Gilded Age was the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists. The captains of industry, such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, amassed immense fortunes, often at the expense of the working-class people who toiled in their factories.
The Gilded Age is generally understood to have begun between the Civil War until the beginning of the 20th century. America's economy grew significantly during this time as a result of the emergence of industrialization and the expansion of the railroad network. The nation also witnessed the rise of a new class of affluent elites who amassed enormous riches through sectors like banking, steel, and oil. These aristocracy were well renowned for their extravagant parties, luxurious palaces, and excessive shows of riches. But, besides the display of wealth, there was also significant social unrest and inequality during the Gilded Age.
Jessica HillisMr. GillardAP US History5 January 2007Essay 16: Gilded AgeThroughout history, certain periods of time have been given certain names based on thehappenings that occurred. Many have called the period of 1865 to 1901 the “Gilded Age”, be-cause it was “shiny and pretty” on the outside but it was “rough and ugly” underneath. The term“Gilded Age” was actually coined by Mark Twain who satired the Gilded Age with a GoldenAge.
The American economy was greatly influenced by advancement in the 1800’s, which caused many changes in society and regional identities. Some of these advancements were in the areas of technology, agriculture and commerce. In this period we saw inventions such as the sewing machine, the waltham-lowell factory system, and railroads sweep the nation, and drastically alter the United States economy. The first advancement that impacted the nation was the sewing machine.
What was the Gilded Age and why did Mark Twain refer to it as such? To help understand this question, one must know the meaning of the word gild. Per Merriam Webster, the term gild means to “to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to” (Gild, n.d.). After the Civil War the American people had become tired of all the corruption and simply wanted to see an end to it and to have a stable economy. The Gilded Age was fashioned to be prosperous times for all Americans, promising wealth, and an end to past political corruption.
The Guilded age was a period of wealth and improvement which was used to cover up poverty and corruption inside the united states. Eventhough there were lots of improvements, not only in technology but also in society, there were lots of problems. Problems such as corruption and poverty. As time went on people started to realise this problems and some got improved, but others didn’t. This gilded age was a problem.