Economic Growth During The Gilded Age

Economic growth during the Gilded Age had a big impact on society from having corrupt politicians to the working class being renamed as the “other half” of the population. There was much growth during the Gilded Age that had re-invented the image of the working class. The politicians were corrupt and took bribes and the working class people were mostly immigrant families working long hours. The businessmen, who were upper class people, preached that success can be achieved through hard work.

The corruption throughout the Gilded Age was not discreet at all. Politicians were not shy about taking bribes to benefit them or their group they were connected too. Treasury department officers demanded bribes from importers if they wanted to have

their good processed through efficiently. Much of the corruption came from the higher power of military such as the Naval Department and the Secretary of War. The Naval Department would award contracts based on their favoritism towards that person or group and the Secretary of War took bribes from merchants trying to trade franchises on Indian Lands. One of the most familiar cases of corruption involved the Credit Mobilier, which was a firm that had a corrupt business relationship with the Union Pacific Railroad that was turned away from investigation with the authority of the Vice President of the United States, Schuyler Colfax.
One out of every three labor workers were immigrants who were promised a better way of living than their previous living situations wherever they were from. However, all those promises became lies and they were working in more harsh and dangerous environments than ever. There were about forty –percent of working-class citizens living below poverty making five hundred dollars or less per year. The working-class were basically treated like they were no one and faced tons of adversity and obstacles such as long hours, wage cuts, low pay, lack of insurance and lack of workers compensation. Their living situations did not compare to the middle class people. They were living in overcrowded rooms and houses while the middle- class people were living like upper-class people with clean and spacious homes.
The Gilded Age was not good era to be have been in with the corruption and middle-class poverty. Corruption and poverty still exist to this day but now people are not scared to have a voice and try to make things right. The affect the economic growth had on the gilded age changed the way that we live our lives now.