...Primary Secondary Source #1 In the late 1800s the United States entered a period of time known as the gilded age. This time period was marked by a rise of industrialization that resulted in the emergence of big cities such as Chicago and New York. The many technological advances that came up caused our nations population to move out of rural areas and in to cities because of the many jobs that were now available. What use to be a family living in a small house on a farm, was now turning into many families crammed into large apartment complexes. Poverty was not uncommon in these cities, in fact it was the norm, along with disease, crime, and famine. Upper and middle class Americans did not witness this type of life, most assumed that is was caused by people being lazy or just making poor choices in their lives. This is what was considered the traditional views on poverty, however, Jacob Riis`s interpretation made the latter views an understatement from what was really going on. According to Jacob Riis, behind the scenes we had an oppressive tenement system that would over charge its already under paid residents, to pay for housing that was unhealthy. This oppression caused these poor residents to slip even further down the poverty slopes, so that they became victims by force rather than the traditional views that painted these folks as choosing to live this way. Jacob Riis made Americans realize the irony of the situation which was that without proper and fair control of...
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...The Gilded Age ‘ The Gilded Age was a time of huge social change and economic growth in the United States. This time period brought a rapid development in urbanization, industrialization, the building of the railroads, innovations in science, and the rise of big business. New products and technologies improved middle-class quality of life for Americans. The rise of the Gilded Age in American History helped the American economy long-term to this present day. Economic development in the United Sates was made through the impact of transportation innovations. The Gilded Age brought upon positive changes in America there was a demand of manufactured goods that increased, therefore, needing an efficient way to keep up with high demand. This brought upon the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic lines, which would be used for centuries to come. The Pacific Railway Act passed on July 1, 1862 provided what was needed for the construction for this production. In the act it states: The question of "internal improvements" was constantly before Congress in the 19th century: Should Congress assist in improving the country’s transportation system? One such improvement was the dream of constructing a railroad that would cross the entire country. Railroading became a highly profitable business venture during this time period. The expansion of the railroads meant that goods and products could be more easily exported around the country...
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...In the novel published by Mark Twain, titled The Gilded Age, the report of “glittering” and “greed and guile” is depicted by the unstoppable and questioned corruption – the “vulgar display” of hypocrisy to be divulged. An era of regression; enforced by the coat of avarice to obedience, by the means of economic gluttony, political inequality, and social iniquity. In the late 19th Century, the commodity and monopoly forced to mislead the minorities through the higher power of the bitter and richer businesses, companies, and corporations. The American’s degradation, exploitation, and oppression exposed the citizen’s and immigrant’s illusion for a democracy. The generation burned, while factories and machines championed and dictated to manipulate...
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...In the late 19th century, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, penned a novel about the momentous expansion of the American economy and the unjust corruption of politics and corporations. The publication was entitled The Gilded Age. The reference to the word “gilded” means an object is covered in a thin layer of gold paint or gold leaf. The object Twain and Warner are referring to that was gilded was the state of the economy and the corporate corruption. This period was an era of greed, oppression, and umbrageous business practices. The inception of a modern age industrial society boomed in the late 19th century. Prior weak or small businessmen were able to establish and grow large corporations and accumulate immense wealth by the use...
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...this time period went through grim employment, and horrible living conditions for the poor and working classes. At the same time this time, an age known as the Gilded Age, was an era of rapid growth, especially in the North and West America. In addition to Gilded Age, came a movement named the Progressive Movement. The Progressive movement's main goal was to wipe out corruption in government. At this very key time in history, there were many...
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...The Gilded Age was first called so by writer and humorist Mark Twain because of the impression that it appeared as gold while beneath the surface was corruption and venality. Although was an age of extreme economic advancement and prosperity for the United States, it is more popularly remembered for its political corruption and and shady business transactions. As it was americas formative age, this was a crucial time to its becoming a world power as many small producers were transformed into an urban which was dominated by industrial corporations. The time period between the Civil War and World War I was a major step towards the making of modern america. During these unstable years, the Gilded Age saw enmity between farmers, unfair job employment,...
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...The Gilded Age was inspired by the ending of the Reconstruction Period. Mark Twain named this age in one of his books because it meant it brought in wealth and business to powerful white men and left the lower classes in poverty. Though on the surface it seemed like the gilded age would bring in good business and wealth, and it did, behind the wealth was corruption. During 1870 to 1900, big business were controlled by political bosses and they were able to have the economy and political system in the palm of their hand. As a result, they were allowed to regulate labor conditions and influenced the political system, and in return the people of America created labor unions and fought to improve the working conditions of the growing lower class. During the overtake of big businesses in America, the government took a laissez-faire approach and didn’t take action to stop the growing monopolies. It would take a couple years for the government to finally take action with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which would limit the monopolies power. But this proved to have little impact because of its ambiguous writing of the law the Supreme Court was able twist the law as it...
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...Still in the Gilded Age There are many things in life that appear attractive on the outside, but turn out to be quite the opposite on the inside. The forgotten fruit that was left to rot on the kitchen counter, the empty promises of a government body, the two-faced colleague at work… there are many of examples of beauty being only skin deep. Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” explores this theme of the gilded side of humanity. Roethke opens “My Papa’s Waltz” through the eyes of a small boy, lending an initial tone of naivety and innocence. This mood is reinforced through his use of rhyme scheme, which adds to the childish effect. However, this feeling is quickly subverted, as a more sinister interpretation can be seen midway through the poem. The boy describes, “The hand that held my wrist/Was battered on one knuckle;/At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a buckle.” (9-13), leading the reader to question what the actual meaning behind this “waltz” is. The minor mentioning of the unhappy mother, as well as the phrase, “But I hung on like death:” (3) is suddenly relevant; it suggests that the father may be an abusive alcoholic, deviating from the prior assumption that he was simply a happy drunk spending time with his son. This shift in reader interpretation can also be attributed to Roethke’s unique word choice. Take for example the word “waltz,” which is used exclusively in the beginning and ending stanzas...
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...In greed, there were some political, social, and economic conditions driving industrial growth from 1870 to 1890 in the United States. There were some positive and negative aspects of industrialization in the Gilded Age. Greed is good. There were more inventions produced towards the end of the chart and were getting more complex. The majority of railroads were in the east coast. They were expanded in the middle and some towards the west coast. The railroads changed from 1860 to 1890 by the total mileage of the region west of the Mississippi River increased from 2,175 to 72,389 and the population of that area increased fourfold. During the late 1800s, immigration increases rapidly. The Senate ran during the late 1800s by the business owners are running the Senate....
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...The Gilded Age sparked several changes in America, one being industrialization, which hit its peak during the Progressive Era. This boom in industrialization was demonstrated by tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt. These individuals introduced large companies that essentially changed life as it once was. The Progressive Movement, which took place during the same time period, consisted of key reformers who strived to repair American society which became corrupt following the recent flare of industrialization. Political corruption was a consequential issue during the Gilded Age that was addressed by two key reformers, Lincoln Steffen and Robert La Follette. Political corruption was a critical issue that greatly hindered...
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...Mark Twain’s novel “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today” would serve as the name for an era of greed and manipulation. What followed after would be called the Progressive era, an era of reform movements to progress human rights. Government power meant a lot in the Gilded era. Instead of being qualified for a job, government positions could be received by friends or through bribes. Favors could be given if votes landed a politician’s way, and this practice leads to a shady government that doesn’t favor the people. This type of corruption is illegal today, but could be seen with Trump and Carson today. Racial segregation was prominent and African Americans were given little rights by the Government. The Jim Crow laws were passed that made it legally...
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...Denise Pena The Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, was a period of massive growth for American industry. All though society in America seemed prosperous and wealthy in the surface, the core of society was actually ugly and corrupted. Some of the problems that rose upon the gilded age were social, political, and economic problems. Reforms to help solve these problems began during the progressive era. The United States experienced rapid industrialization following the civil war. The American economy had grown immensely with great financial and industrial titans such as Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Morgan. With the booming of the industrialization, many people started to move into cities to work in factory jobs, including many...
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...Gilded Age Research Paper The Gilded Age is characterized as brilliant from the outside and corrupt from the inside- it is from that specific description that it obtained it’s name. This age took place in the late 19th century, from the 1870’s to the 1900’s. Rather than considering the Gilded Age as the most corrupt of the eras, it is important to view the importance of the events and people that are significant to this period of time. During this time, major advancements to the civilization were made. One of the biggest and most impactful innovations was the rail road. After the civil war, most of the nation still lived in a rural area- such as farms and small towns. The streets, if any, were nothing greater than simple paths created...
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...In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, American history marks the time periods of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Additionally, it is during this time that both the American society and labor force face an “industrial” change in which allows for the development of coal mining, working the railroads, in addition with a variety of other jobs. Correspondingly, when these new jobs come to the American hand, union groups begin to come along with them such as the Knights of Labor and later the American Federation of Labor. However, it is also during this time that America undergoes a great migration wave in which brings a significant amount of Italians, Germans, and Irish to the eastern coast which created great competition on the job market. Moreover,...
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...“The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth, that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship”. Andrew wanted to find a way for the rich and poor to help each other, but that did not happen throughout the Gilded Age. There were two ways to live during the gilded age either poor or wealthy, shown through their living and health conditions. The differences on how the poor and wealthy life during the Gilded Age can be seen through how they both lived. For instance, the wealthy lived comfortably in exclusive mansions,“Some of the richest urban residents lived in palatial mansions located in exclusive neighborhoods in the heart of the city-Fifth Avenue in New York…”. The wealthy...
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