...The Gilded Age was to describe America in the late nineteenth century. The outside of the US seemed glamorous and splendid alongside industrial development and massive economic growth. However, the dark sides were hidden beneath it. Some may argue that we are currently living in another Gilded Age, while others advocate that we have already reached a new era. In my perspective, I side with the former point of view. I strongly believe that we are living in the 2nd Gilded age. Here are four reasons why. Initially, wealth concentration and inequality were severe problems and are still now. Back then in 1870-1900, it was a period of wealth concentrated by many “Captains of Industry”. Social Darwinism was used to justify the extremes of wealth,...
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...From the aftermath of the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century, America saw the Gilded Age, which was characterized by unprecedented industrial and urban expansion. Yet underneath the surface of this growth and development, there were widespread corrupt practices, political unrest, and social injustices in society. The Gilded Age in America is a particular subject of analysis that Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History (Seventh Edition), Chapter 16, delves into. The word "gilded," which was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, accurately describes the contradictory character of the time, in which wealth concealed more serious social divides. Through primary sources like Andrew Carnegie's 1889 “Gospel of Wealth” and William...
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...Government. In the days following the attacks, many questioned why the intelligence community wasn’t aware of such an impending act of terror on U.S. soil. In what some historians may refer to as a knee-jerk reaction, the intelligence community was granted additional jurisdiction through the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001” or commonly referred to as the “PATRIOT Act.” This expansion of the government’s...
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...The Gilded Age The purpose of this essay is to show how the Industrial Revolution of the Gilded Age contributed to increased problems in gender, race and class in the latter half of 19th century America. Mark Twain coined the term "The Gilded Age" between the years 1870 and 1900 America in reference to the gold gilding that became popular in the era, but also masked very serious social conflicts that arose across the country (Twain, 1996). Ultimately, with economic growth came wider income gaps and brutal social issues with gender, race and class that divided the country. Throughout the Gilded Age, swift financial growth simultaneously increased the size of the labor force, which in turn increased wages (Roediger, 1991). Given that these wages were higher than in Europe, people immigrated to America en masse, which then increased the overall poverty rates (Roediger, 1991). The Gilded Age also transferred industry from independent craftsman toward railroads, factory manufacturing and mining, which created less skilled and more regimented labor forces. This meant that people were forced to work under poor conditions, which stripped workers of their independence, which was the American way prior to the Industrial Revolution (Twain, 1996). These mass-production methods were created as offshoots of the steam engine with technical advancements expanding the size of workforces, making them larger and set up to accommodate more production, which created new jobs with a higher...
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...Provide historical context/background for each document, connecting the individual accounts to the larger historical themes of the era. Compare the experiences and attitudes of each author. Based on the textbook and the videos, explain how all these documents relate to the social and economic developments that occurred in the United States during the Gilded Age (1865-1900). Ida B Wells described her bad experiences during the Gilded Age. She described how blacks were killed and lynched by the KKK. She states that whites would lynch blacks for any reason and see them as inferior. She was a journalist and a civil rights activist. The two documents relate to the social and economic developments during the gilded age. During the gilded age, there...
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...During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Industrialization Era took place and changed the way America and Europe produced merchandise forever. America and Europe continually grew more urban and factories transformed the entire way the typical working man spent his work day. The Gilded Age followed the Industrialization Era and represented the large economic growth in America. After the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era occurred. The Progressive Era began in the late 18th century and political reform and social activism became the active goal during this time. During the Progressive Era, environmental protection was needed in order to save the Earth from the rapidly increasing urbanization. It was people like Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford...
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...Historians still debate whether the Gilded and Progressive eras should be classified as either a “Long Progressive Era” or remaining it as two separate time periods. However in this essay, I will argue that both eras should be divided into two eras due to the rise of third parties, regulations in big businesses and improvements in public health. The historical trends discuss why the Gilded Age should be separated from the years, 1865 to 1879 and the Progressive Era from 1880-1920s. The Gilded Age should be renamed the era of unsolved problems as a result of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution caused strikes, poverty and the mistreatment of workers. The Progressive era should be rename the era of action, as government increased...
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...Chapter Review Questions 1. The American economy thrived because of federal involvement, not the lack of it. How did the federal government actively promote industrial and agricultural development in this period? High tariffs which prevented competition, granted land to Railroad companies, removed Indians for farmers and mining company 2. Why were railroads so important to America’s second industrial revolution? What events demonstrate their influence on society and politics as well as the economy? Spurred by private investment and massive grants of land and money by federal, state, and local governments, the number of miles of railroad track in the US tripled between 1860 and 1880 and tripled again by 1920, opening vast new areas to commercial farming and creating truly national market for manufactured goods, essential elements of a modern industrial economy. The railroads created five transcontinental lines and four time zones throughout the nation. 3. Why did organized efforts of farmers, workers, and local reformers largely fail to achieve substantive change in the Gilded Age? In order to achieve substantive change in the Gilded Age, farmers, workers, and local reformers sought to bring up protests and strikes; however, the government would respond with force in attempt to prevent further labor difficulties and keep the focus on local corporations. Unions were crushed by big industrialists with force rather than to seek compromise, which effected the efforts of farmers...
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...Running Head: The Rise of a Mass Society Summary The Rise of a Mass Society Summary Team C Due Week 2 Erik Escobar Kimberly Foster Brianna Gomez Cristina Gonzalez Isabel Ortega Ricardo Ruiz The Rise of a Mass Society Summary The word Gilded is best described in the words of writer Mark Twain from his novel written in 1873; The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. When asked today what we thought Gilded means people think of this novel and describe Gilded as a form a greedy political corruption. The first gilded age was in 1874 to 1900. Twains book and definition of Gilded definitely summarized the corruption in public lives during the late 1800s. The term “Free Market” is a voluntary agreement of the exchange between two or more people in society. The type of exchange do vary and in any combination of two economic goods either tangible commodities or the services from another person. (Rothbard, Murray, N. 2008) Like many new things there are benefits as well as disadvantages to any system. The Free Market has its high points one of which helped society out of the first gilded age in the 1890s. However even though the free market was successful certain social classes still struggled and did not get the opportunity to enjoy what the market had to offer. The department store was introduced to society back in the nineteenth century. The very first real department store was owned by a man named Aristide Boucicault in Paris, France. Before the free market Aristide sold...
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...Inequality was extremely prevalent from the 1870’s to the and 1920’s, leaving any race, but whites unprivileged socially and economically. This created a major problem for every other race of people living in the United States at that time. All people of color were treated unfairly receiving what they did not deserve and not receiving what they did deserve. This varied from minuscule things to enormous ones like murder. This problem effected contemporaries of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era immensely by leaving the African Americans still restricted from doing many things a white man could do and being treated unlawfully in court, forcing the Indians out of their place of comfort and throwing them to assimilate to American’s civilization, and trying...
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...Gabriel Lima AP United States History Mr. Reinhardt June 10th, 2024. Immigration during the Gilded Age and Its Impact on America’s Development. The period between 1870 and 1920, often referred to as the Gilded Age, was a transformative era in American history, marked by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and economic expansion. Central to this dynamic period was the massive influx of immigrants who arrived on American shores in search of better opportunities. These immigrants played a pivotal role in shaping the economic landscape of the United States, contributing significantly to its growth and development. They provided the labor force essential for the burgeoning industries, fueled innovation and entrepreneurship, and enriched the...
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...Captains of Industry? Or Robber Barons? [pic] Overview: The thirty years plus, following the end of the Civil War, is often referred to as the “Gilded Age”. This was a term coined by Mark Twain, the most renowned American writer of the period. It refers to a superficial period of intense economic growth. During this time, businessmen created large business organizations known as trusts. The ingenuity of these entrepreneurs earned the titles of “Captains of Industry”. Yet, their ruthlessness in building wealth at the expense of their competitors, workers and consumers often earned them the title “Robber Baron”. This DBQ (Document Based Questions) asks you to decide whether these businessmen were “Captains of Industry” or “Robber Barons”. Background Essay During the post-Civil War period, an era commonly referred to as the Gilded Age, the economy of the United States grew at a fantastic rate. With the exception of a recession during the mid-1870s, and another during the mid-1890s, the economic growth was in unprecedented in United States history. Manufacturing output increased by 180 percent. Railroads, an important catalyst of growth, increased in miles by 113 percent. Steel production grew to over 10,000,000 tons per year by 1900. Every aspect of the American economy expanded from traditional activities to new enterprises brought about by the huge influx of cutting-edge technological inventions. The gross national product almost doubled during the period and the per...
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...America’s Gilded Age: 1870-1890 1. The American economy thrived because of federal involvement, not the lack of it. How did the federal government actively promote industrial and agricultural development in this period? BE SPECIFIC. The federal government actively promoted industrial and agricultural development. It enacted high tariffs that protected American industry from foreign competition, granted land to railroad companies to encourage construction, and used the army to remove Indians form western land desired by farmers and mining companies. 2. Why were railroads so important to America’s second industrial revolution? What events demonstrate their influence on society, politics, and the economy? Spurred by private investment and massive grants of land and money by federal, state, and local governments, the number of miles of railroad track in the US tripped between 1860 and 1880 and tripled again by 1920, opening vast new areas to commercial farming and creating truly national market for manufactured goods. The growing population formed an ever-expanding market for the mass production, mass distribution, and mass marketing of goods, essential elements of a modern industrial economy. The railroads created 5 transcontinental lines and 4 times zones throughout the nation. 3. Why did organized efforts of farmers, workers, and local reformers largely fail to achieve substantive change in the Gilded Age? In order to achieve substantive change in the Gilded Age,...
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...The Rise of Professional Sports 5 November 2015 Abstract Sports became a professional phenomenon during the Gilded Age of America, which consisted of a period of unprecedented success for Americans in regard to wealth and long-term business enterprises. During the Gilded Age period, the country was consumed by the belief that every man had an opportunity to become wealthy, and those who were wealthy actually were able to spend their leisure time consumed with spending this wealth on lavish pursuits. ("Why Sports History Is American History | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History," n.d.) It was during this era that the rise of professional sports began to emerge as a way for the wealthy to entertain themselves during their leisure time. It was also during this time that immigrants were coming into the country in the millions, and the use of sports was an opportunity for these recent newcomers to become “Americanized” wherein the use of sports was an avenue to identify with their new country. This became an important way for these immigrants to mark their progress within the American society. Coupled with the political machines of that time, sports became a way to elicit support from large groups of people that were in support of specific geographic areas wherein the politicians who used sports for leisure also saw the importance of using them to garner support from immigrants. These were seen as community building institutions, and they are still used as...
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...SOCIETY Society in the Gilded Age was a time of civil rights, poverty, political strain, modernization, urbanism and agriculture. New technology such as the telephone, the light bulb, the trolley, repeating rifles and especially the railroad became new to Americans. Americans saw the United States shift from an agricultural to an urban, industrial society, as millions of Americans flocked to cities in the post Civil War era. Nearly half of the population lived in urban areas by 1900, in comparison to twenty percent in 1860. Many young people left the countryside in search of new wonders and forms of work. Included in this major shift from rural to urban areas, a new wave of immigration increased America’s population significantly. Immigrants came from post-war regions of southern and eastern Europe, such as Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia, Croatia, and Czechoslovakia. This new group was poorer and less educated than the Irish and German immigrants who had made the journey to the United States earlier in the century. THE GILDED AGE 1870-1900 “Today, as in the Gilded Age, we live in a world where a morality of personal responsibility rubs shoulders with a culture of greed and of flagrant social irresponsibility. Now as then, business has shed its collective responsibility for employees...
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