Gilded Age DBQ

The Gilded Age was an era reflecting the combination of outward wealth and dazzle with inner corruption and poverty. This time lacked leadership of a president, which led this to be a period defined completely by negatives. John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and J. Pierpont Morgan were some of the most momentous and dynamic captains of this era in American history. Their tactics in the world of industrialization were not always fair, but in order to crush the competition they allowed very little get in their way. With the booming business of the Standard Oil Company (John D. Rockefeller), the brilliant railroad monopolizer (J. Pierpont Morgan) and one source of his steel success (Andrew Carnegie) the United States was able to continue on their way to a powerhouse of an economy.

Business owners made lots of money from the railroads because they were able to transport goods farther and faster with ease. Although the railroads tremendously impacted businesses and therefore the economy, the native americans were negatively impacted because the railroads were being laid on “their” land. This caused distrust between the settlers and the natives because of the “disrespect” for the land. Because of the new ways of transportation, the industrial revolution took place causing skilled artisans to be replaced by unskilled workers that used large complex machines. The

The model is supposed to bring renewed prosperity to the United States but it brought more inequality and stripped safety net programs that actually helped most Americans. This lack of assistance means that struggling people are struggling even more and they have less money to spend and to put back into the economy. Since the creation of the Better Business Climate model, government spending on food stamps, unemployment insurance, and other social programs has been cut as

The business world wasn’t the only thing corrupt but the railroads were too. With the railroad industry growing the companies knew they could charge huge rate and gain a large profit. Congressmen were paid off to be quite about the scandal and kept it to themselves. The railroads raised the stocks and were given to well-liked companies. The wealthy men in the railroad were suspected to careless for the people who worked for them.

The effects of immigration’s role in the rise of Big Business are not just limited to the new technology and ideas from Europe, but also the increased belief in the middle class and urbanization. They entered America legally through Ellis Island in New York or Angel Island in San Francisco, yet others entered illegally and found a way to remain hidden from the law. Before the elevation of Big Business in America, Europe had been industrializing throughout the entirety of the 1800s; therefore, after this rapid urbanization the immigrants supplied new technology, ideas, and more support for better factory conditions. Clearly, the growth of the number of immigrants in America created a demand for similar advancements in

The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous. With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system.

However, even the government was picky in what they helped with. During this time three different president- Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson-each played a part in fixing the monopolies and corporate greed. Breaking up one company into many, securing that not one person made all the profit. Which is good for the economy, being able to share the wealth. Yet, the government didn 't bother in touching other important

Vanderbilt made millions using the railroad system and built an empire with them. The impact it had on the gilded age was the number of jobs it provided to the fresh-in immigrants. Vanderbilt knew that he could hire immigrants and they would work for not that much money and with these new railroads america will be shrunk for easier expansion of the immigrants.

Right after the Civil war, America was rebuilding itself. Arising along the rebuilding was unemployment. Thousands of people were jobless and had families to feed. Once big, industrialist-led companies starting employing, people scrambled to get a job at these companies. Although many people were being employed and paid, working conditions were very hazardous and payment was unfair.

Trusts, or large monopolies, were corporations that combined and lowered their prices to drive competitors out of the business. This infuriated many americans at that time because it allowed such a small number of people to become wealthy, or even successful at all. When Theodore Roosevelt became president, he sympathized with workers unlike most of the presidents in the past who usually tried to help the corporations. As illustrated in Document A, Roosevelt wanted to hunt down the bad trusts ad put a leash on the good ones in order to regulate them. However, it only had a limited effect because the government was unable to control the activity of banks and railroads which were two of the most powerful industries in the world.

As industry exponentially grew after the Civil War, the need for labor and materials to power newly-created manufacturing giants caused new social classes to form: the rich corporation owners and the poor laborers. Unfathomably rich Robber Barons, or plutocratic American Capitalists, dominated the economy and industry and profited from the slave-like work of millions of poor laborers during this time period. Moreover, the poor working class and the rich further divided by distribution of wealth. Therefore, exploitation of capitalism widened the gap between the rich and poor classes of America, and both newly-formed classes developed reasons for the change. During the period of industrialization, between 1865 and the early 1900’s, corporate

The growing of large businesses in size, number, and influenced changed the United States severely. The economy was greatly relieved but the politicians were corrupted and the people very unhappy. The businesses were smart in using the reduction and increasing of prices to link all the businesses but taking advantage of the people by silencing them and increasing their labor hours really hurt them. It also did not help that the politicians that were corrupted made bad decisions for money and no the

There were overbuilt railroads and companies had outgrown their markets, farms and businesses borrowed heavily for the expansion (P. 467). The panic also spread to Wall Street, where the prices of stocks fell rapidly. Investments were declined, and all consumer purchases, wages, and prices fell. The Panic of 1893 deepened into depression (P. 468). The depression led people to reconsider the roles of the government, the economy, and as well with society.

Due to his low prices, the high demand for his products, and the way he sought to eliminate any possible competition, John D. Rockefeller is clearly the better role-model for today’s entrepreneurs. By keeping his prices low, Rockefeller strategically lured in customers. “Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroads. He used all these methods to reduce the price of oil to his consumers.” (Source 1 “the New Tycoons- John D. Rockefeller”) Rockefeller did whatever it took to make

Transportation- A big portion of railroads and industrial supplies were destroyed over the course of the war. The south had begun rebuilding transportation by the nineteenth century. West: Political- Because of the trouble between white settlers and immigrants at that time there were numerous outbreaks of violence and laws aimed towards discrimination. Social- Chinese immigrants who migrated to the west would work for wages considerably less than normal and them doing so caused tension between white settlers. Economic or type of economy- The west relied more on agriculture than any other place because it was the most efficient.