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Historical analysis of the gilded age
Historical analysis of the gilded age
Historical analysis of the gilded age
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The Gilded Age was a term coined together by Mark Twain, in which it described the rapid growth of the industrialization era where unemployment, poverty and a society were ripped into different classes. As time progressed, several economic and political scientists believe that the United States has entered a new Gilded Age. This new Gilded Age is considered to be a period of continued inequality dominated by those individuals who are extremely rich. The only difference is that, this time around, those suffering from this new Gilded Age are currently enrolled in a public university.
Imagine a world where adolescents; our future of America, is not getting the appropriate education they need. Or where students can no longer attend school because they can no longer afford to get an education. Society does not need to imagine this because we are currently living this reality. In today’s society minorities are not getting the education they deserve because prisoners are valued more in regards of getting funded. Not only does the state of California have to fund prisons, it needs to fund health care programs, welfare assistance programs, and last but not least, education programs. As the population of those incarcerated increases, funding
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expenses for public universities decrease. During Rev. Jesse Jackson presidential run in 1984, he confronted the nation’s priorities in which more money was spent on incarcerating people than on education them (Clark, 2011). According to Grado (2016), over the past ten years, funds for prisons has had a 45.5% increase, while educational funds for public school has only had a 9.4% increase. According to Prospect.org there has been little progress over the decades, dropout rates of students have increased and chances are those students are more susceptible in ending up in prison (Hawkins, 2010). With billions of dollars spent yearly in prison spending, states are discovering that there is less money available to invest in education funds (CNN). According to CBS News, although crime rates have lowered over the past twenty years by a whopping 40%, it has been estimated that nearly 2.4 million people incarcerated. As a result, the high numbers of incarceration rates are chipping into education funds, therefore, impacting existing students. It is estimated that the average cost to keep one person incarcerated in the state of California is about $47,000 per year. Yet the average cost of one enrolled CSU student is about $10,000 per year. The numbers speak for themselves; the state of California would rather spend four times more on one single inmate than on one enrolled CSU student. Although the lack of education funding is a symptom of the Seconded Gilded Age, it is one of the major problems we are currently facing today.
As a result, more and more students are turning to student loans and graduating already in debt. According to Avery and Turner (2012), the total student loan debt in June 2010 increased over $800 billion, surpassing the total credit card debt for the first time. Given the need for highly educated employees in today’s economy, the ideal funding should primarily go to education funds. More and more junior college students are finding themselves taking out loans, without considering the debt their accumulating before even transferring out into a four-year university (McKinney & Burridge,
2014). The fact that government would rather spend more funds on prisons than schools is worrisome. It is unfair that students who are trying to become successful and educated individuals for the future are being set back simply because they can no longer afford their education. Because of this, the richer are becoming richer, and the poorer are becoming poorer. In other words, rich people who are able get the education they want/need are at an advantage because they have access to better professors and do not have worry about sitting in a downsized classroom. The National Report Card (2016) shows that there has been very little improvement over the past five years in the states that are consistently failing to direct additional funding to districts with high levels of need. Society fails to realize that the higher the amount of education funding has fallen, the more tuition increases. Therefore, students end up in greater loans than anticipated. In some instances, higher education funding cuts have been substantial enough to force college campuses to reduce their total amount of campus staff, student support services, and general courses offered to the enrolled students. The answer is clear for itself, education wise, the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. The government needs to learn how to prioritize its funding’s and move any education funding’s to the top of the list, since the majority of those college students enrolled are the future of America.
The Gilded Age was the spark of technical innovations and advance in America. Railroads, steel, kerosene, light bulbs, ac/dc electrical lighting, etc., were all innovations that lead to technical advances. Inventors or businessmen helped take the Gilded Age to the peek. Men impacted their time by creating theories, efficient innovations, faster transportation. Each idea was a step into the right direction.
The exact period of time in which the Gilded Age occurred is ever-debatable, but most historians can at least agree that it started within the 20 years after the Civil War ended and lasted until the early 1920s. (West) The Gilded Age itself was characterized by the beginnings of corporations and corrupt political machines. Policies such as the General Incorporation Laws allowed business to grow larger more easily, and with less red tape involved. New technology allowed faster and more efficient production, but this explosive growth of industry called for not only more resources, but new business practices and leaders as well. (Moritz 10-12)
The Gilded age and the Progressive Era are time periods that played an important role in the development of the American society. The Gilded Age is a period of American history between 1870 and 1900. This term was coined by Mark Twain in the late 1800s. By this, he meant that this period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath ("Learn About the Gilded Age"). The Gilded Age is well known for its political scandals and extravagant displays of wealth. At the same time, this was an era of major achievements in the industry and economy, which significantly changed life of American people. The Gilded Age was followed by the Progressive Era which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressive Era is well known for its economical, political, social reforms and technological inventions. In my opinion, The Gilded Age had a more significant impact upon the United States than the Progressive Era because it gave rise to new industries, created transportation and communication networks which provided the infrastructure for further development of technology in the Progressive Era.
All nations pride themselves in the richness of their history and the United States of America is of no exception. One of the most remarkable and meaningful moments of American History is found in the Gilded Age. The phrase ‘Gilded Age’ was relatively coined by two American icons, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. However, they phrased this period in negative light in regards to the just ended Civil War. Nevertheless, true to the adage the darkest hour comes before dawn, the Gilded Age was a period of time that saw the mesmeric rise of a nation from the ashes of war.
The Gilded Age was was an era that saw rapid immigration. This along with an explosion of Americans moving from farms to the cities, causing more people migrating to urban areas than ever before. The growth of cities gave rise to powerful political machines, that stimulated the economy, and gave birth to an American middle class. It was a time of highs and lows.
From the period between the 1870’s through the 1890’s, it became an era known as the Gilded Age. The term was characterized by a famous American Literature author named Mark Twain. The writer tried to point out that the term means that while on the outside society may seem perfect and in order, underneath there is poverty, crime, corruption, and many other issues between American society’s rich and poor. This era’s gild is thicker than the cheaper material it’s covering. This can be shown through the countless numbers of achievements and advances America has made during the period of reconstruction and expansion, industrialization, and foreign affairs.
The Gilded Age was characterized by rapid industrialization, reconstruction, ruthless pursuit of profit, government, corruption, and vulgarity (Cashman 1). After the Civil War, America was beginning to regroup as a nation. There were many other changes developing in the country. Industrialization was taking over the formerly agricultural country. The nation’s government was also in great conflict (Foner 20). Many changes occurred during the Gilded Age. These changes affected farmers, labor, business, and politics.
The Gilded Age gets its name from a book by Mark Twain called The Gilded Age: a Tale of Today. It was written in 1873, and unfortunately was not that successful. While the Gilded Age conjures up visions of ostentatious displays of wealth and decorative parties, the over all topic was politics. The book gives an extremely negative assessment of the state of American democracy at that time. Which does not come as a huge surprise coming from Twain, who famously said "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” So when faced with sweeping changes in the American economy after the Civil War, the American political system both nationally and locally dealt with these problems in the best way possible, by inevitably and incredibly becoming corrupt.
An education is one of the most important tools a person can acquire. It gives them the skills and abilities to obtain a job, earn a wage, and then use that wage to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. However, due to the seemingly exponential increase in the costs of obtaining a college degree, students are either being driven away entirely from earning a degree or taking out student loans which cripple their financial prospects well after graduation. Without question, the increasing national student loan debt is one of the most pressing economic issues the United States is dealing with, as students who are debt ridden are not able to consume and invest in the economy. Therefore, many politicians and students are calling on the government to forgive their student loan debts so that through their spending the slowly recovering economy can finally return to its pre-2008 strength.
It is a norm and expectation in society today for students to pursue higher education after graduating from high school. College tuition is on the rise, and a lot of students have difficulty paying for their tuitions. To pay for their tuitions, most students have to take out loans and at the end of four years, those students end up in debt. Student loan debts are at an all time high with so many people graduating from college, and having difficulties finding jobs in their career fields, so they have difficulties paying off their student loans and, they also don’t have a full understanding of the term of the loans and their options if they are unable to repay.
The Gilded Age changed everyday life for Americans. There were a lot of new inventions. They changed how people worked on farms to how they communicated with family and friends. People came from China and Europe to find a new life here. They left poverty to come here to find wealth. It wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be.
The Gilded Age within the United States represents an era that was marked by extensive economic growth as well as massive social engagements. The labor force conditions within the country were very attractive when compared to the rest of Europe and this served to attract a large number of immigrants. Furthermore, coupled with the explosive industrial growth, the Gilded Age turned out to be a prosperous as well as a treacherous era particularly for the jobless immigrants. At a social level, the Gilded Age was responsible for questioning some of the long-standing social ideals that had been in place for centuries. The following sections address the economic and social trends that acted to shape the United States into what it is today . Furthermore, it also addresses the different implications of these changes on the population, government, and foreign partners. The main argument revolves around the idea as to whether the Gilded Age was beneficial or detrimental in shaping America.
With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.
In that year, the number of college graduates was only 432,058 (Sourmaidis) and ever since the demand continually increased as did price. This trend allowed for the student loan crisis to occur, which is a problem we face today. As of 2016, American students have accrued a massive 1.3 trillion in student loan debt. Just 10 years ago, the nation’s balance was only $447 billion (Clements). This ever-present cumulative burden has caused many post graduate Americans to delay important life events such as marriage, homeownership and children because of this substantial encumbrance (Clements).
College debt is a big deal nowadays as college tuition rapidly increases. “About two-thirds of bachelor’s degree recipients borrow money to attend college” (p 4). College students must borrow money in order to attend college because of the cost of tuition, books, transportation, etc. Students go to college so they could earn a better paying career and a degree. Student are borrowing money to