What Are The Similarities Between The Gilded Age And The Philippines

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,

As in the Philippines, insurgents who perceived the invasion as threatening their own independence and freedom began to fight back against American forces. At the same time, American unfamiliarity with the countries and their people, as in the Philippines over a century before, led to racism, torture, and the death of innocent civilians. As shown in Why We Fight, two of the airmen sent to bomb Iraq in the opening stages of the US invasion expressed not knowing or understanding why they were attacking Iraq. This account mirrors the same ethical dilemmas that plagued soldiers sent to fight in the Philippines. As with the Philippine-American War, the War on Terror (in particular the fighting against insurgents) was an example of asymmetric conflict, where numerically and technologically superior American forces fought back against insurgents who had home field advantage. Both conflicts became wars of attrition, where both sides attempted to wear the other side down by reducing their numbers and material support. In any case, both the Philippine-American War and the War on Terror were brutal conflicts borne out of imperialistic ambition, and which bred resentment of America amongst the peoples the Americans were supposedly

Republicans, recalling the Progressive Party, issued their own Contract with America, which, in a similarly populist manner to the Progressive Party’s Contract, promised to resolve many popular political sticking points of the time. These included increasing the majority required to increase tax rates, auditing Congress for “waste, fraud or abuse”, and to generally rebuild trust in the government. The political debates during the time of both the Progressive Party in 1912 and in 1994 with the Republican Party were quite contentious and vitriolic, as the new realities of life after the economic revolutions of both times caused strong opinions on what to do