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The time after the civil war, 1970-1900, shows many great social and economic changes. This period was called the Gilded Age, a time in which there was rapid growth in industrialization and the rise of big businesses. These changes will lead to the change in government during a time labeled the Progressive Era, due to the progression of political movements that looked to stop the government from favoring big businesses and instead focus more on the welfare of the individual.

The presidents of the Gilded Age were deemed relativly unremarkable. People today would have a hard time recognizing their names, much less remembering what these presidents did for the country. This shows the un-involvement of the national government at this time, national government was more for maintaining peace then it was for improving individuals’ lives.

During this time the US received a large growth in industrialization, with millions of immigrants coming in and ready to work. Because of these large amount of available workers companies were now mass producing items. The businesses that were successful at this obtained an enormous amount of wealth, while the ones that could not keep up as quickly with mass production, were eaten up by the big businesses. Big businesses became the priority in the eyes of the government, not individual rights. A prime example of one of these big businesses was Standard Oil, which was owned by John Rockefeller, who is believed to be the wealthiest man in history. Many say that he made his fortune off the backs of the working class who through him worked long hours and got minimal pay, along with no protection in the workforce. This anger leads into the Progressive Era.

Once the 1900’s come around a new Era is seen, th...

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...ecords. National government is now going beyond keeping the peace, but instead making changes for the better in terms of workers lives.

In conclusion government during the Gilded Age differed greatly from government in the progressive age. During the Gilded age the role of government was to keep the peace and not take part in individuals’ lives, including worker conditions and controlling businesses. Due to this we see big businesses taking advantage of the new immigrants in the country and not caring about the individual but the business as a whole. With the Progressive Age this all changed completely, with presidents prepared for a fight and no longer afraid to pass policies that interfered with individuals lives. We see Roosevelt create the New Deal and the Square deal, which helped to better workers lives and reduced the power of big businesses.

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