The Role Of African Americans In The Gilded Age

358 Words1 Page

Following the era of reconstruction came the Gilded Age, where African Americans were still treated as slaves, and minority immigrants struggled to achieve the American dream. Decades after the British Industrial Revolution, America had its own, with new industries such as railroad and oil companies sweeping over the economy. Many men, with no business experience, became millionaires, redefining the American dream. However, the wealthy businessmen of the Gilded Age were Robber Barons, opting to use corrupt and unethical business practices, such as bribery and “debt slavery”, to gain riches.
Although the industrialists used unethical and immoral practices to become wealthy, many shared their prosperity within their community. Andrew Carnegie,

Show More
Related

  • America’s Antebellum Capitalists: Captains of Industry or Robber Barrons?

    496 Words  | 1 Pages

    More often than not, America’s antebellum capitalists are accused of being the “robber barons” of industrial America. The misconception is that these men took advantage of a naïve and growing economy and reaped its benefits without giving anything in return. True, the majority of America was poor in comparison to the few elites, but the philanthropist efforts and contributions of these men can not be denied. If not for these men and their efforts, there would have been no one to pave the road to America’s industrial domination.

    Read More

  • The Capitalists Who Shaped Post-Civil War America

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Accurately established by many historians, the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War industrial America were regarded as corrupt “robber barons”. In a society in which there was a severe imbalance in the dynamics of the economy, these selfish individuals viewed this as an opportunity to advance in their financial status. Thus, they acquired fortunes for themselves while purposely overseeing the struggles of the people around them. Presented in Document A, “as liveried carriage appear; so do barefooted children”, proved to be a true description of life during the 19th century. In hopes of rebuilding America, the capitalists’ hunger for wealth only widened the gap between the rich and poor.

    Read More

  • Robber Barons Pros And Cons

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    Based on the Gilded Age, literally meaning a layer of gold is displayed on the outside and once you look deeper past through the top layer of gold, you can identify that the robber barons are the culprit of the corruption in the government who monopolized the corporate America. Although, there is a great transition from the agricultural economy towards the rapid growth of the urban and industrial society, the robber barons created a lot of problems to much of the working class poor in America.

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Turning Point

    246 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Corruption and Greed in the Gilded Age

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    The post-Civil War years between 1865 and 1900 were a time of immense social change and economic growth in the United States. This time period, commonly referred to as “The Gilded Age,” saw an end to Reconstruction, rapid industrialization, and new wealth. Despite these achievements, however, the era between Reconstruction and the beginning of the twentieth century was plagued by political stalemate, a decline of human values, increased materialism, and widespread corruption.

    Read More

  • The Importance of The Gilded Age and The Progressive Era To the Development of American Society

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Gilded Age Analysis

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Expansive growth was the moniker which expressly defined the Gilded Age. Industry in all sectors, witnessed massive growth leading to the creation of an American economy. Due to the rapidly changing nature of industrialization important men of both the public and private sectors attempted to institute their own controls over it. However this transforming landscape integrated both economic and political changes, but also cultural and social interactions. In turn, those who controlled the flow of business would also steadily impact the American social scene by extension. Alan Trachtenberg, professor of American studies at Yale and author of The Incorporation of America, argues that the system of incorporation unhinged the idea of national identity that all American’s had previously shared. As a result incorporation became the catalyst for the great debate about what it meant to actually be American, and who was capable of labeling themselves as such. Throughout his work Trachtenberg consistently tackles the ideas of cultural identity and how those ideas struggled against one another to be the supreme definition of Americanism. This work not only brings to life the issue of identity but it attempts to synthesize various scholarly works into a cohesive work on the Gilded Age and demonstrates that concepts developed during the incorporation of the time period have formed the basis for the American cultural, economic, and political superstructure. 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.

    Read More

  • Immigration During The Gilded Age

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”, three common goals immigrants came to America seeking with hopes of the promise to prosper and gain success. However, during the Gilded Age it seemed as though these were attainable only for the select few, while others left the land they knew to spend their lives toiling away in pursuit of the American dream, many never understanding how unattainable it really was. While the Gilded Age was a time of an industrial boom and a growing economy, those working by the sweat of their brow to make the success of this time possible, were not actually ever grasping this wealth, but rather putting right back into the pockets of the wealthy. The Gilded Age compromised the American Dream by limiting the chances of the immigrant working class, and thus creating a cycle of missed opportunities keeping the immigrants from progressing much further then when they came to America to begin with.

    Read More

  • Politics In The Gilded Age

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Discuss Politics in the Gilded Age. Include major political events and issues, and the roles of the “bloody shirt,” corruption, patronage, and reform movements.

    Read More

  • Robber Barons Or Captain Of Industry

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the gilded age (c. 1870-1900), "robber barons" were men who acquired fortune by ruthless means Half of the main business leaders were robber barons, which were Vanderbilt, Donald Trump, and Andrew Carnegie. There are also leaders called "captains of industry", who consisted of leaders like Rockefeller, J. Morgan, and also Bill Gates. Captains of industry worked hard and actually helped the economy instead of robber barons who insisted on achieving wealth by being ruthless businessman.

    Read More

  • Why The Gilded Age

    173 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Gilded Age was a time of transition for the citizens of the United States. They experienced great changes not only in economic status but also social change. This age witnessed the growth of many industries, unions, technology and the rise of many big businesses. However, there were some factors caused a great divide amongst Americans. Some of these factors include: the upper class reaping all the benefits that would not be possible without lower class workers, lower class workers demanding better conditions as they were usually underpaid and worked long hours, another factor was also the image of what the Gilded Age was to immigrants versus what the reality of it was. This is shown by John Mitchell in “The Workingman’s Conception of Industrial

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Dbq Analysis

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Gilded age was considered one of the most prosperous eras of American history. Many public spaces, such as universities and libraries, were built. This, however came at the expense of the American population, many of them living in poverty and despair. Due to the economic policies the big businesses followed, the political control these big businesses had, and the harsh response by the people, big businesses were detrimental to the American society as a whole.

    Read More

  • Industrial Leaders In The Gilded Age

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Gilded Age of the Industrial Revolution was an era of creation and expansion. Strong businessmen took this period of opportunity to capitalize on the nation’s desire to grow; Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan were three such men. The three of them were fabulously wealthy and successful, but their reputation with the masses varied. In the Gilded Age, the title “Captain of Industry” was given to one who used their own wealth and influence to positively impact their society. Their opposites, “robber barons”, were industrialists who amassed their wealth through unethical methods. Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan are three men that prove that industrial leaders could not be perfectly classified under only one of these titles.

    Read More

  • The Gilded Age Essay

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender inequity was also a vital reform issue. Women were fighting for suffrage and equal civil rights. Politically, the U.S. was suffering from a corrupted government and a weakened presidency. Economically, the U.S. was experiencing an economic boom with the growth of industrialization. However, this growth of wealth only benefited a lucky few. While rich businessmen were rapidly increasing their wealth, the poor were getting poorer. The wealth gap was drastically increasing. While these issues were not entirely new, the Gilded Age marks the first significant/radical attempt to address and fix these problems. People like: Jacob Riis, Andrew Carnegie, Ida B. Wells, and Susan B. Anthony were some the major advocates of reform during this time.

    Read More

  • The Progressive Era Reshaped Society During The Gilded Age

    366 Words  | 1 Pages

    Americans were trying to fix the wrong doings of industrialist and urbanization created during the Gilded Age. Industrialist rose high with political power, creating monopolies or trusts. This method of ruthless business by maximizing profits by lowering wages and

    Read More

More about The Role Of African Americans In The Gilded Age

Open Document