Monopolies In The Gilded Age

By the turn of the nineteenth century, American industry experienced a dramatic upturn in popularity. However, though this industrialization was crucial for America's economic development, it also inevitably led to social turmoil. Corruption was rampant among government figures, and they bribed people with money, jobs, or favors to win their votes. Referred to as the Gilded Age, this era was indeed gilded, masking a plethora of social issues behind a thin veil of economic success. The most notable problems stemmed from the justification of what was called laissez-faire economics, in which the poor were believed to be poor exclusively based on their own shortcomings. The abundance of disposable factory workers faced awful hours and were treated

cruelly, with little to no representation in the company. Large conglomerates joined forces in form of trusts, eliminating all attempted competition. Vast waves of immigrants were turned away at the gates, and those who were accepted were often forced to live in the lowest tiers of society. Although there was an abundance of social issues caused by the industrialization of America, such as monopolizing trusts, abuse of immigrants, and poor worker conditions, a percentage of people did their best to reform these practices, with methods like worker unions such as the Knights of Labor, southern industrialism, and political parties such as the Populist party.
In order to conquer competitions in any given market, large conglomerates devised systems called trusts, in which large companies would absorb smaller companies in return for trust certificates.

Unfortunately, these monopolies allowed companies to raise prices without consequence, as there was no other source of product for consumers to buy for cheaper. The more competition, the more a company is forced to appeal to the consumer, but monopolies allowed corporations to treat consumers awfully and still receive their business. Trusts were bad for both the consumers and the workers, but without proper representation, they could do nothing. However, with petitions, citizens got the first anti-trust law passed by the not entirely corrupt Congress, called the Sherman Act of 1890. It prevented companies from trade cooperation of any kind, whether good or bad. Most corporate lawyers were able to find loopholes in the law, and it was largely ineffective. Over time, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, and the previously passed Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which regulated railroad rates, grew more slightly effective, but it would take more to cripple powerful

corporations.
Meanwhile, the southern economy had mostly devolved into a sharecropping system, where all races worked the land for a wealthy landlord. Industrialists were in favor of developing a "New South," one based off industry like the booming northern states. Such a proponent was Henry Grady, a newspaper editor that fiercely in favor of a more industrial. However, this was exceedingly difficult, as not only southerners were reluctant to change their simple lifestyles, northern companies actively made it harder for the south to industrialize. They wanted the south to remain supplying raw materials to the north, instead of producing their own finished products. Northern railroads lowered southern export rates, while raising import rates, making it harder and more expensive for the south to import materials and develop a self-sufficient economy. The south sought to solve the issue with cotton mills, which worked to some degree. Although it was dull, cheap labor, many workers saw the mills as the south's only chance to catch up with the north.
As a result of poor labor conditions, small pay, and exhausting hours, many factory workers sought some representation to secure a better work life for themselves. The National Labor Union was an manifestation of such a desire. Not only did it try to unify all workers under a common cause, it also petitioned for a uniform eight-hour workday. Though progress was limited, it popularized the union idea and its continued on in other unions. The Knights of Labor was another such union, borrowing the principles of the National Labor Union and emphasizing the universal desire for better working condition. Factory work was often fatiguing work, as well as dangerous, and a fair few workers died or suffered grievous injuries working heavy machinery. The American Federation of Labor continued much of its predecessors' work, but it was exclusively meant to represent skilled laborers. Though the first two union's protests often fell on deaf ears, the American Federation of Labor finally gained some traction among the middle class, and a few successful strikes established the worker union as more commonplace.
With the masses of immigrants from Southern Europe, city population was exploding. Much of the inflow of people, besides for basic criminal checks, was unregulated by the United States government, and the idea of "unwashed plebeians" rubbed Americans the wrong way. This mindset was shared especially among the wealthy citizens, who were already upset about poor people desecrating American soil. Nativists, or anti-immigrant Americans, were afraid the rapidly producing foreigners would soon out-populate and outvote the original breed of Anglo-Saxon settlers, the blood of which would soon be drowned out by inferior Southern European blood. Not only did they fear new immigrants would bring dangerous ideas such as anarchy, communism, and Catholicism into America, they also feared immigrants would put "original American" workers out of jobs, as they would be willing to take even smaller "starving wages" penny-pinching factories would offer them. An organization to protect "original Americans" soon arose, known as the American Protection Association, who would often publish anti-Catholic propaganda, defaming the primary religion of the Southern European immigrants. Congress soon passed the Immigration Act of 1882, banning all convicts and impoverished immigrants, and the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning all Chinese. They soon followed with the Alien Contract Labor Law, which prevented immigrants from being imported to work low-paid contract jobs. Though these laws technically solved the immigration "problem," they were a result of a childish paranoia of strangers, and thus were not well thought out.
The settlement of Western land began to go south in the 1890s. Initially drawn to the west by the Homestead Act, which provided those moving west with free land, farmers soon discovered not only were they not given nearly enough land, the hardened soil and lack of water made it difficult to successfully grow much of anything. Though they soon learned to manage, and even profited greatly during the growing industrialization, they soon found themselves dependent on the one-crop (wheat or corn) economy, similar to the south. Increasing debt and wildly unpredictable prices and demand took a tole on farmers, and they too soon sought unification. The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry was an organization contracted with the purpose of advancing the economic and political agenda of the farmers. Grangers also formed a Farmer's Alliance, which wanted to take control of the nearby railroads and factories with the purpose of improving the economic state of the common farmer. However, it soon fell out favor, as it ignored a significant population of tenant farmers and sharecroppers. From the ashes, the People's Party was founded, better know as the Populist Party. They wanted the nationalization of interstate communication, including railroads, telephones, and telegraphs, and promoted the manufacturing of silver coins. It experienced varying degrees of success throughout America, as while Northerners managed fine, racism in the southern sect prevented much progress there.
In conclusion, the Gilded Age was an era of economic expansion, but many social issues unearthed in the corporate mine for money were plentiful.

Try as it might, America as a whole had difficulty dealing with trust monopolizations, southern attempts at industrialization, bad factory working conditions, immigration, and unsatisfied farmers. Though some conflicts were fixed to the best of reformers' ability, the dearth of strong leadership prevented the checking of corporations, and as a result, people suffered economically. However, as industry and agriculture boomed, factory owners and farmers began to look passed the boundaries of America for resources, promoting foreign affairs, and eventually, bringing in the Age of

Imperialism.