How Is It Used To Describe The United States During The Gilded Age

Gilded means to be covered with gold and it is exactly why it is used to describe the United States from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The Gilded age shaped The United States into a new world. With the growth of industries, growth of cities, and new technology, the United States way of life completely shifted. However, under all the amazing shining gold was a thick layer of dirt and harsh reality from the Gilded Age. Although this age was filled with many improvements, it was also filled with massive poverty, unequal wealth and political corruption.

The Gilded Age was defined by many things, such as unequal wealth, political corruption, and most importantly industrialization. During this age laissez- faire capitalism, hands of government,

Major example of monopolies were the oil industry controlled solely by John D. Rockefeller and the steel industry completely controlled by Andrew Carnegie. As a result of only a select few controlling major businesses, there was an equal distribution of wealth throughout the country and the low wages they provided for their employees only added to the poverty crisis in the United States. Although political corruption, unequal distribution of wealth, and poverty partly defines the Gilded Age, industrialization is what shapes the era. Industrialization, the shift from agriculture to manufacturing. With the help of the government loaning money and land for national rail networks, railroads boomed. It was railroad construction that pushed economic development and as a result new technology, such as the generator that allowed factories to operate at anytime, and machinery increased. Although most of these new machines and technologies made everyday lives and jobs easier, they caused tension between employers and employees. New machines could now do the same jobs people specialized in faster and cheaper. As machines became bigger in presence fewer and fewer people could compete with them. Employers started to view employees as

During this time era the number of unions increased. Each union may have had their own agenda and only allowed certain groups of people in, they were all created from one major factor, working conditions. Harsh working conditions pushed people to fight for better rights through unions. People were expected to work in dangerous conditions and work ridiculous long hours for a small amount of pay sometimes they did not even receive money for pay, they received scrip. One major role unions helped create in today's society is an eight hour work day. Many different unions came together on “May Day” to fight for an eight hour shift at work. On May 1st in 1886 thousands of workers, being lead by Albert Parsons, marched the streets for better working conditions. Although long hours affected the lives of people negatively, the horrendous conditions they worked in caused more pain and suffering. Most of these conditions were so bad they often ended in deaths, loss of body parts and sickness. In particular, an incident that brought major awareness to dangerous working conditions is the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City that happened in 1911. Young girls working in a factory got trapped when a fire broke out. The doors were locked because they did not want the girl to steal any supplies. The building also lacked a proper fire escape, which forced the