x The Gilded Age: Only what this Term Suggests?
Mark Twain wrote in his biography, “I like the exact word, and clarity of statement”. Upon examining the parameters of this self-reflection, it bounces back onto his famous characterization of the 1870s to 1890s period, ‘the Gilded Age’. This particular wordplay implied (and referred) to the “glittering, deceptive” appearance of America’s current political and economic expansion (Foner 528). Although naturally certain societal views are held more strongly than others, with how much certainty could this term be used to accurately describe all of this period’s major events? Despite the inevitable negatives produced from the Second Industrial Revolution, the achieved growth and benefits balanced
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the details which led to such a harsh era-defining proclamation. The Gilded Age was encompassed by many factors which led to the significant industrial achievements advancing America. The majority of these factors can be boiled down to one essential requirement: the fundamental “spirit of innovation” (Foner 513). This unified spirit gripping the nation led to many technologically advanced ideas, such as the National Market, the transcontinental railroad lines, and (on a smaller scale) the White City—the Chicago World Fair’s site. As can be expected, the predictable pride achieved from expected accomplishment was reflected full force throughout the American industries. As Larson once described of these powers, “Nowhere was civic pride a more powerful force than in Chicago, where men spoke of the Chicago spirit as if it were a tangible force and prided themselves on the speed with which they had rebuilt the city after the Great Fire of 1871” (16). However, advancement did not always come without bumps along the way, and in this case, labor reform efforts. The issue of labor unions, labor reform, and labor freedom has always been an integral part of the American concept of business. In the case of the Gilded Age, it was the measures towards such integration in the work-force which inspired many of the era’s negative societal opinions. Despite the growth in the upcoming billion-dollar producing companies, this success was often not reflected back upon both the direct employees, as well as those indirectly impacted. Just what does “freedom of labor” entail in this new modern society? As workers sought to discover this in the 1880s, it led to the uprise of developing labor unions, then called “labor organizing” (Foner 538). With groups such as the Knights of Labor trying to find the new niche between employer and employee on concepts like new wages and 8-hour days, the subsequent measures taken impacted negatively on all of those involved. Through group actions such as strikes and political appealing, it led to almost no success and sometimes, death (Foner 538). While the working class’ labor issues can be directly blamed on employer motives, it can more broadly be led back to the rampant politics at the time. In many cases, politics alone were the cause of the perceived negatives in the Gilded Age, influencing opinions such as Twain’s.
The then most important political ideas were Social Darwinism and self-government, which directly led to the problem-causing negative leadership. During the Gilded Age, the government was not “equipped to deal with the problems created by the economy’s rapid growth”, and as such, efforts were placed on more large-scale issues as the elections and international trading (Foner 531). Of course, this wayside-push of more integral problems like the product-producing companies’ governing, subsequent widening of social classes, and ignored labor movements, only led to these smaller problems quickly becoming too large to ignore. As reflected in this case, ignorance can often cause the worse consequences. The previously implied consent of self-government by corrupt politicians and employers was what led to the outrage-inducing protest, concluding in the previously mentioned employee …show more content…
actions. However, the idea of self-government was also supported by the widely popular concept of Social Darwinism, influenced by Charles Darwin’s publishing of On the Origin of Species in 1859. Conclusions drawn from the terms "natural superiority”, “natural selection”, and “survival of the fittest”, led to the belief everyone was essentially responsible for their own fate (Foner 535). The idea of progress, self-empowerment, social classes, and pecking order were all reevaluated and assigned new meanings in accordance with this newly accepted theory of class evolution. While Social Darwinists recognized that the industrial advancement currently taking place was something to be lauded, there should be no move towards the wanted governmental interference of any kind, as it “would impede, not advance progress” (Schmoop). This previously discussed indirection, supported by the idea of accepted inequality without political interference contrarily impacted this time period, despite all of its promises towards the opposite. Despite these negative side-effects of the ‘corrupt’ politics during the Gilded Age, it also led to more positive reactions, such as the idea of societal reformation (Foner 540). The indisputable wrongness of their society felt by many consistently brought surprising and powerful reactions—one being the precursor to the modernistic concept of ‘utopia’ (Foner 540). These reactions to the wrongness felt surfaced through many different books, like Progress and Poverty (1879), Caesar’s Column (1891), and the Cooperative Commonwealth (1884); all of which attempted to describe the problem, follow Kant’s method of following this problem to a ‘logical’ end, and then attempted to suggest some sort of solution—whether positive or negative—to the recognized problem (Foner 540). Disregarding the diversity of these authors, the recognized ‘problems’ with society, debatable ‘logical’ ends, and proposed solutions, the main goal of such influential pre-reform works was to “reclaim an imagined golden age of social harmony and American freedom” (Foner 540). Through this reasoning, it can be concluded that during this time,America was first and foremost a reformation era, serving as “modern America’s formative period, when an agrarian society of smaller producers were transformed into an urban society dominated by industrial corporations” (Mintz). Examining such actions taken place inside, surrounding, and by society during the era known as the Gilded Age, the resulting reactions imply that America was not only aware of its problems, but also sought to correct them.
In any case, while Twain and supporters might conclude the period had a deceptive quality, it would be incorrect to say its core had “little real value” (Foner 528). As such, while America entered the cusp of a new century, filled with both positive and negative results impacting upon the nation’s psyche, the Second Industrial Revolution and Gilded Age served as more than a proclamation of another corrupted era of expansion…in essence, it revolutionarily defined life in all factions destined to become a part of the modern era. In spite of the Gilded Age being filled with the hardships expected to litter American history, in all essences, it continued to serve as something fundamentally
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The gilded age of the United States is an extremely interesting era that generally gets diluted in the teaching of American history. However, this age was very critical in the development of many modern ideas and institutions we utilize today. Change and continuity are both prevalent in this time, but change is the primary element from 1877 to 1900.
The Gilded Age was a time in American history that came to be known as a major turning point for the country, as it marked the decline of an economy based on agriculture, and brought forth the rise of an economy based on business and industry. Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, it was a great time for change, especially for the economy. The economy improved, and at the same time, it granted more opportunities for inventors and businessmen to come out and share their talent with the the world. As America began to industrialize and make new advancements in technology, it also began to encourage the growth of the middle class and promoted the importance of social mobility and competition between businesses. The Gilded Age was a time when
Ultimately, the last part of the book, “The End of the Second Gilded Age,” gives the ...
In the late nineteenth century known as the Gilded Age (or the Reconstruction period) and the early twentieth century known as the Progressive era, the nation went through great economic growth and social change. Beginning from the 1870s, there was rapid growth in innovations and big businesses. This could be because there was population growth and when there is population growth, there is a high demand of products and other necessities in order to strive in society. Many immigrants from Europe, mostly from the eastern and southern Europe, and Asia moved to American cities. Additionally, farmers from rural America desired to increase economically in society and since corporations ruled and political problems occurred, they decided to move into the cities. Afterwards, the 1900s started with the dominance of progressivism which many Americans tried to improve and solve the problems that were caused or had arisen because of the industrialization of the Gilded Age. It was basically the time when progressives fought for legislations like regulation of big businesses, end of the political corruption, and protection of the rights of the people: the poor, immigrants, workers, and consumers. Thus, between the periods 1870 to 1920, big businesses had arisen and taken control of the political and economic systems through corruption and innovations. In response, American citizens reacted negatively and formed labor unions and political systems to diminish the power that large corporations had in America.
The late 19th century and early 20th century, dubbed the Gilded Age by writer Mark Twain, was a time of great growth and change in every aspect of the United States, and even more so for big business. It was this age that gave birth to many of the important modern business practices we take for granted today, and those in charge of business at the time were considered revolutionaries, whether it was for the good of the people or the good of themselves.
5. Perry, Elisabeth Israels, and Karen Manners Smith. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era: a student companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
Social Darwinism and The Gospel of Wealth were two late 19th century ideas that helped shape America’s views on social, economic, and political issues. The former applied the theory of natural selection to sociology and politics while the latter outlined a way for the country’s newly minted rich to redistribute their surplus wealth to the needy. Both concepts offer insight into the 1877-1900 period in American history known as the Gilded Age.
The Incorporation of America sets a high standard for itself, one in which it doesn’t necessarily meet; however, the work is still expansive and masterful at describing the arguments of the Gilded Age.... ... middle of paper ... ... “Machines employed in production under the present system are “absolutely injurious,” rendering the workman more dependent; depriving him of his skill and of opportunities to acquire it; lessening his control over his own condition and the hope of improving it; cramping his mind, and in many cases distorting and enervating his body.”
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.
To most it will be seen as the Gilded Age but also to most it is just seen as a period of great
The main problem encountered by the Gilded Age era was the administration of wealth, at least according to Andrew Carnegie. In his piece, “The Gospel of Wealth,” he proposed a solution for the abuse of wealth, and assigned duties to the rich in regards to how they should handle the responsibilities brought on by excessive wealth. However, he also addressed the concerns of the working class. He stressed the welfares of individualism and argued that it was: contemporary and innovative, enabled the affordability of luxuries to all classes, and thus ensured that money controlled by a few people would be more effective for the prosperity of the economy than it would to equally distribute national wealth amongst citizens. Carnegie intended to clarify the reasons why the newly industrialized economy and the new administration of wealth were ultimately for the benefit and harmony of both rich and poor.
During the Gilded Age activists tried improving the conditions of workers and the poor in many ways. In a few ways they were moderately successful but mostly philanthropists didn’t succeed. Between 1875 and 1900 the organized labor, overall, didn’t improve the position of the workers, making them unsuccessful.
It is often said that history repeats itself. Whether this is true or not is a subject for a doctoral dissertation, but it can be shown that there are many similarities between the original Gilded Age and the recent past. The Gilded Age, which was the time from the end of the Civil War to the end of the 19th century, was a remarkable time of unprecedented economic growth and industrialization, coupled with numerous social problems. The façade of economic prosperity covering the corrupt, unequal society underneath led to that period being termed the “Gilded Age”, referring to a thin layer of gold gilt covering a cheaper material. This pattern of economic upheaval coupled with social ills and new political debates is also present in recent history,
After reading, multiple documents on topic such as “Populism” “Strikes” and “Chinese Exclusion Act“ it is lucid that the Gilded Age was an era where it could be said “ All that glitters is not gold.” The Gilded Age was an era in the late 19th century, also a time in which America’s farming society transitioned to an urban society, which then industrialized industries took over. “Autobiography of a Chinese Immigrant” by L. Chew and “Emma Goldman Autobiography” by Goldman all explain the idea and development behind the Gilded Age.Basically, during the Gilded Age, is when America began make changes economically and transitioned America into an “economic powerhouse.” The quote, “all that glitters is not gold” could easily be used to describe the
During the second half of the nineteenth century, frontier was secure and the United States was on the edge of becoming a world superpower. The quick rate of industrialization and expansion westward certainly helped produce this situation. As Mark Twain called the late 19th century the “Gilded age”, which satirizes the greed and political corruption after the Civil War in America. This was the Industrial revolution, the modern America formative period when an agrarian society of minor producers were transformed into an urban society dominated by industrial corporations. Industrializtion