Wealth During The Gilded Age

During the Gilded Age, the United States was experiencing growth among businesses, and the wealth of people in business grew rapidly. It was also a time period that created a division amongst society between the wealthy and the poor. A portion of society never benefited from the Gilded Age, nor were they able to live the lavish life of a businessman. The conflicting social and economic standards between the two groups cause them to have different experiences such as the types of housing they lived in, and the different parts of towns they lived in.

To begin with, the Gilded age caused for the extreme growth of the wealth of some people, but others did not benefit at all. The wealthy were able to live a lavish life and even own their own homes in the suburbs, “Many of the moderately well-to-do dwellers took advantage of the less expensive land on the edges of the cities and settled in new suburbs, linked to the downtowns by trains or streetcars.” The poor could barely afford homes, “Most urban residents, however, could not afford either to own a house in the city or to move to the suburbs.” Both groups face different obstacles, the rich were able to live in safer neighborhoods, while the poor were at risk of health issues, “An even greater hazard than fire was disease, especially in poor neighborhoods with inadequate

sanitation facilities.” The divide in society between the opportunities the wealthy obtained and the poor obtained was major.
Although both the wealthy and the poor lived very different lives, they also shared similar qualities.

In “The Gospel of Wealth,” Andrew Carnegie explains how the poor will not have to stay poor forever and vice versa for the rich. Carnegie believes that both social classes are hard working people and with the help of each other they will prosper, “The best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladders upon which the aspiring can rise.” While both classes of society are equally hard workers, Carnegie believes that it is the job of the rich to help the poor because they do not have the same opportunities as the

rich.
While many people believe that the other half no long exists, it does. Not everyone acknowledges the poorer side of society, “We don’t see all the people being told there are no applications for food stamps available at that location; all the people postponing medical treatment for their children because they don’t have health insurance; all the people trying to find a job with their phone service shut off because they couldn’t pay the bill; or all the deliverymen for drugstores and supermarkets paid only $3 an hour, which is illegal.” There is still a portion of society getting paid under the table and making under the minimum wage, they’re doing everything they can to get by. Many people do receive government aid today but not everyone does.
Overall, both the social groups faced very different obstacles during the Gilded Age. Not all changes were beneficial to both people groups but they could have done things to change that for themself.