This essay will examine the reasons why historians have called “The Gilded Age” to the era between 1877 and 1900, in which poverty, massive immigration, racism and corruption were the base metal of a nation that was gilded with industrialization and sudden wealth in order to make it look perfect with a shine finish. During the XIX century, United States suffered an important economic growth that took place after the civil war and the reconstruction era. The end of the war had a very decisive influence in the industrial development of the nation, giving a strong boost to it, causing a strong demand for many goods and a vertical rise in prices. The progress of American industry has had its repercussions to this day. As we know, the United States
The 1870s, 1880s, and the 1890s were apart of the Gilded Age because it was a time of major technological innovation and a rise in foreign trade for the U.S. It was also a time when businesses expanded not only in each area of the manufacturing process but in the number of buildings as well. One key economic feature of the Gilded Age was railroad tracks because they played an important role in the transportation of manufactured goods and allowed those products to reach places they have never been before. An important social aspect of the Gilded Age was the corruption and lack of government control of large companies because many politicians supported them, making them essentially untouchable. The definition of “gilded” means that a layer of
New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age, 1865-1905 written by Rebecca Edwards provides readers with many different individual accounts to illustrate the transformative time of America during the Gilded Age. The work shows the cultural, social, political and economical elements of the age that aided in forming the America we have today. Edwards’s purpose in writing New Spirits is to offer readers new insights on the era by eliminating predetermined stereotypes one may have established before reading the work. Edwards wants readers to put aside their prior knowledge to understand just what it was like to live in the Gilded Age by providing readers with the consequences and achievements of people during the time.
“Much of the blame heaped on the captains of industry in the late 19th century is unwarranted.” (Document F). The Gilded Age was a time where the U.S. economy grew very quickly and rapidly, due to the inventive minds and entrepreneurs of that time; but it has different perspectives of opinions in history today. This era led the U.S. to its state and place in the present world, thanks to its important contributors, (who are involved in the main debate of whether they were robber barons, unethical men who yearn for money, or captains of industry, leaders who add positive ideas and methods to benefit their country.) The industrial leaders of the Gilded Age are captains of industry, worthy of some gratitude and credit for how our society’s structure
The Gilded Age was an age of rapid economic growth. Railroads, factories, and mines were slowly popping up across the country, creating a variety of new opportunities for entrepreneurs and laborers alike. These new inventions and opportunities created “...an unprecedented accumulation of wealth” (GML, 601). But the transition of America from a small farming based nation to a powerful industrial one created a huge rift between social classes. Most people were either filthy rich or dirt poor, with workers being the latter.
In the late 19th century, Mark Twain coined the name “Gilded Age”, meaning the period in which this era was taking place was a point in time where greed, cunning intelligence, speculators, scandalous politics, and shady business would arrive in the United States causing an era of corruption. This was the duration where the United States government was referred to as the “Third Party System” where the 19th century saw the advent of economy, mass immigration, and class division all within the seams of the country. A modern American economy arose along with big businesses that were controlled by a small number of giant corporations. Carnegie believed that there should be no restrictions on how a man makes his money or how much he makes,
There were no major party differences in the Gilded age. Democrats were mainly Lutheran and Catholic. They promoted education and opposed prohibition. Republicans were politically more successful. They believed in social issues like having moral standards and no regulation.
Abstract - The Gilded Age led to economic progress for the United States. During this time, manufactures relied heavily on technological innovations in order to make a profit. The goal was to mine, grow, and process large quantities of products and goods in order to sell them quickly and efficiently. While doing so, manufactures also raised the standard of living and people were losing their
Politics in the Gilded Age were no more corrupt than at any other era in American political history, but it is viewed as one of the more corrupt periods in our history. There are several reasons for this and chief among them is that historians have traditionally interpreted the era that way. When studying primary sources of Gilded Age politics, especially newspapers, it becomes apparent that most were harsh toward politicians on both sides of the spectrum. The reason for this is that newspapers were extremely loyal to one party or the other and sought to paint the other side as vile, corrupt, and without morals. Charges were made based on little or no real evidence which made the era appear more corrupt than it really was.
By using the term gilded as opposed to golden, Mark Twain suggested that our country was publicizing itself with success stories while hiding the socio-economic problems that had eventually manifested into corruption (Cayton, 1995). From an outsider’s perspective, the Gilded Age was considered to be a time of growth and prosperity. However, America started to recognize this problem when an increased number of unskilled laborers were hired to run factories. Specifically, children were often born into the labor force as the demand and necessity for labor grew. Companies wanted to hire children in sweatshops at low wages and long hours in order to get maximum profit.
The saying that history repeats itself has been proven to be true time and time again. History seems to be doomed to repeat itself as if lessons were never learned from past mistakes. The Gilded Age is a unique period in American history that is undoubtedly repeating itself in the modern day. Corruption, unprecedented immigration, and the massing of wealth by the top 1% of the population are just a few of the things that characterize this period of American history. The same issues that plagued America over 100 years ago are re-emerging in todays’ society leading scholars to say that America has arrived in “The Second 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.
Wealth, poverty, technology, decadence, the Gilded Age was a time of change and uprooting of past systems, schools of thought, and standards. It was a time of both hope and doubt for the majority of the population and brought many to be empty handed or exceedingly wealthy. The dynamic between rich and poor was shifting to a gap of wealth never before seen in the young country. The gilded age’s built up wealth disparity faded away over time. Yet today it seems that a resurgence of these features is rearing its ugly head again.
Between 1870 and 1900, an estimated 25 million immigrants had made their way to the United States. This era, titled the Gilded Age, played an extremely important role in the shaping of American society. The United States saw great economic growth and social changes; however, as the name suggested, the Gilded Ages hid a profound number of problems. During this period of urbanization, the publicizing of wealth and prosperity hid the high rates of poverty, crime, and corruption. European immigrants who had come to the United States in search of jobs and new opportunities had fallen into poverty as well as poor working and living conditions.
The decade between 1890 and 1900 expressed a crucial time in the United States of America’s history. Many people experienced struggles throughout this time while others prospered. Mark Twain suggested that despite the significant achievements of the United States, Americans experienced poverty. This statement is an accurate description of the lively hood people experienced in their daily lives during the Gilded Age whether it was positive or negative. Many people during this time period focused on the positive outcomes that resulted from the Gilded Age such as new inventions, the gospel of wealth, additions of land to the country, urbanization, and middle-class improvements.
Modern day America is an economic superpower. However, one and a half centuries ago, this was not the case. In the late 1800’s there was a large boom in terms of population and industrialization in the United States. From this stemmed many new technological innovations, innovations which could be applied to the creation of alluring products for the masses. This led to the rise of a prominent American consumer culture, which was a driving force in the great economic growth of the Gilded Age.