Immigrant Economic Opportunities in the Gilded Age

At the dawn of the Gilded Age, America had been a land divided by the depredation and bloodshed of the Civil War. In its aftermath a promising new light edged over the horizon and America found new economic hope in the expanded development of the railroad. The railroad system began to developed and expand across the land, linking every state. It altered our great nations landscape, as well as its economy. America feverishly developed the most elaborate, extensive and advanced railroad system in the world. And as the railroad workers tirelessly laid tracks so that locomotive engines could roar, the industrial economy exploded. Americans found ourselves producing goods by machine and losing the art of crafting our goods by human hands, as the rails made way for goods and materials to be produced and transported farther and in quantities never before conceivable. This lead to an unprecedented growth of capitalism and gave way to the Gilded Ages capitalist entrepreneurs such as Rockefeller, Carnegie and Vanderbilt. These advancements in transportation and industrialization meant a surplus of immigrants venturing to the U.S in search of gainful employment, in a time of plentiful labor.

In the booming American economy immigrants could find positions as skilled workmen, including blacksmiths, carpenters, cigar makers masons and mechanics. Or other miscellaneous jobs including farmers, laborers, merchants and servants . So many avenues available, such as the opportunities the railroad expansion created in heavy industry with steel. Not only was it now transportable, but the railroad developers themselves were the largest purchasers. The development of bridges and skyscrapers as well as the increasing demand on machines also increased the demand for steel. The abundance of natural resources played a vital role. Lumber could now be harvested and shipped all over the states for construction. Miners were in as high demand as the coal, iron and minerals (like silver, copper and petroleum) they harvested. Petroleum was in especially high demand as the automobile gained popularity as the latest innovation in transportation in the early 20th century. Trains also transported food to the ever growing labor force away from the farm lands where they were grown, to the urbanized areas, as people from all walks of life flocked in droves to the cities. These huge cities grew to enormity to support the growing number of industries as well the vast number of industrial workers. But this rapid urbanization did not come without consequence. While urbanization gave way to new jobs and opportunities, housing was scarce and sub-standard. It was also the cause of widespread poverty, crime and corruption. Not to mention the devastating impact on the environment. This leads me to concluded, that while the opportunities for immigrants to find employment were plentiful, in came at the cost of living in poor housing, in crime ridden areas, where pollution levels were next to lethal.