P. J. O’Rourke said, “Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.” When Mark Twain and Charles Dudley coined the phrase ‘gilded age’ to describe what they saw in the late 19th century I’m sure they would agree wholeheartedly with Mr. O’Rourke. What does it mean ‘gilded age’? Gilded means to coat with a thin layer of gold, which I’m sure almost always is covering an inferior product. When one thinks of America one of the first thoughts that pop into mind is the American Dream. Achieving the impossible and pulling oneself up out of the mire and reaching a level of success and stature one wouldn’t have elsewhere. But how does one determine success? Many believe it is through how much one has financially and what they can obtain. I think that Mark Twain, Charles Dudley and P.J. O’Rourke are saying that having money does nothing if those who have it do not use it to further a better way of life for those that surround them. If America represents a chance to come from nothing and gain everything then why try to cover it up with gold?
The late 19th century of America was a time with huge growth for the country. During this period, the United States economy grew at an astonishing rate, producing enormous levels of wealth. Railroads and telephone lines expanded across the country, which allowed for new opportunities for cheaper goods to be bought by the majority and for entrepreneurs to seek wealth. This all grew rapidly for a nation of small farmers and craftsman, who now had to deal with a society where the chasm of haves and the have-nots was gro...
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...r doesn’t need to be covered with gold or adorned with jewels. The idea can stand on its own.
Works Cited
Trachtenberg, Alan. 1982. The incorporation of America: culture and society in the gilded age. New York: Hill and Wang.
Goldberg, Jacob C. 2003. A Blow to Labor: The Homestead Strike of 1892. The Concord Review, Inc.
Rogers, Donald W. 2011. “New Looks at Workers’ Response to Industrialism.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 10:4 507 – 514
Barreyre, Nicolas. 2011. “The Politics of Economic Crises: The Panic of 1873, the end of Reconstruction, and the Realignment of American Politics.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 10:4 403 – 423
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Gilded Age & the Progressive Era (1877–1917).” SparkNotes LLC. 2005. http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/gildedage/ (accessed October 18, 2011).
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.
... were left unprotected and abandoned by the unions. How is it that the unions can demand labors lose months of wages, be subject to labor blacklisting and ultimately sacrifice their lives without any protections for the strikers and still claim success? They can’t. If anything, the Pinkertons who dispersed the crowd did more to help the worker, by reopening the Homestead, than the union had done. Thus, the unions were an utter failure in furthering the position of the laborer, as the laborer was better off before hand. Before unions the laborer had their life, as many died in failed strikes, and their dignity, as society at least held an intrinsic value in their lives. However, unions succeeded in decimating any chance of advancement by tarnishing the reputations of all laborers, leading to a direct decline in the socio-economic position of the blue-collar worker.
The Industrial Revolution that took place after the Civil War made for a more economically sound country. American workers, however, were becoming more and more dependent upon their wages; a fear of unemployment also stemmed from this. Workers didn’t share in the benefits that their employers reaped. In a chart representing the hours and wages of industrial workers, from 1875 to 1891, it shows that even though their wages were subtly increasing, their 10-hour work day remained the same (Doc. A). Factories were headed by large corporations; this, in turn, meant that new machines lessened the amount of workers in certain fields. As a result of these unsuitable conditions, labor unions were formed. The challenges that these unions faced weren’t easy. If the workers involved in organized labor got too far out of line, these corporations could get federal authorities involved. Moreover, these companies could enforce “ironclad oaths” upon their employees. In a Western Union Telegraph Company employee contract, in 1883, it states that the employee will not be affiliated with any societies or organizations (Doc. E). Despite such setbacks, by 1872 there were over 32 national unions.
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.
The exact period of time in which the Gilded Age occurred is ever-debatable, but most historians can at least agree that it started within the 20 years after the Civil War ended and lasted until the early 1920s. (West) The Gilded Age itself was characterized by the beginnings of corporations and corrupt political machines. Policies such as the General Incorporation Laws allowed business to grow larger more easily, and with less red tape involved. New technology allowed faster and more efficient production, but this explosive growth of industry called for not only more resources, but new business practices and leaders as well. (Moritz 10-12)
The Gilded Age was a time period of rampant development in the American Economy with a policy that minimized the intervention of the government in economic matters. In the late 1800’s starting with railroads, small businesses evolved to the point where the nation’s economy was monopolized by wealthy industrialists and financiers.1 With all this control in the hands of few wealthy individuals critics began to point out several inequalities among Americans.
The Gilded Age gets its name from a book by Mark Twain called The Gilded Age: a Tale of Today. It was written in 1873, and unfortunately was not that successful. While the Gilded Age conjures up visions of ostentatious displays of wealth and decorative parties, the over all topic was politics. The book gives an extremely negative assessment of the state of American democracy at that time. Which does not come as a huge surprise coming from Twain, who famously said "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” So when faced with sweeping changes in the American economy after the Civil War, the American political system both nationally and locally dealt with these problems in the best way possible, by inevitably and incredibly becoming corrupt.
The decade following the Reconstruction Era in American history is brilliantly and descriptively named; the Gilded Age was coated with superficial prosperity which buried its hardships that laid within its core. The rise of big business grabbed American’s attention---whether it was in a positive or negative notion--- and the United State’s focus on minorities declined. Women in the Gilded Age were continuous victims to inequality in contrast to their male counterparts, and the opportunity to pursue their own economic quickly turned into another element of inequality between the genders. On the other hand, the general working class quickly were slaves to big business and the new factory system. Working conditions and wages were unbearable,
Traxel, David. 1898: The Birth of the American Century. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1998. Print.
Beginning in the late 1700’s and growing rapidly even today, labor unions form the backbone for the American workforce and continue to fight for the common interests of workers around the country. As we look at the history of these unions, we see powerful individuals such as Terrence Powderly, Samuel Gompers, and Eugene Debs rise up as leaders in a newfound movement that protected the rights of the common worker and ensured better wages, more reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for those people (History). The rise of these labor unions also warranted new legislation that would protect against child labor in factories and give health benefits to workers who were either retired or injured, but everyone was not on board with the idea of foundations working to protect the interests of the common worker. Conflict with their industries lead to many strikes across the country in the coal, steel, and railroad industries, and several of these would ultimately end up leading to bloodshed. However, the existence of labor unions in the United States and their influence on their respective industries still resonates today, and many of our modern ideals that we have today carry over from what these labor unions fought for during through the Industrial Revolution.
The document I chose was Document 19-1 titled ‘A Textile Worker Explains the Labor Market’. This document is the testimony of Thomas O’Donnell given before the U.S. Senate Committee on Relations between Labor and Capital in the year 1885. O’Donnell speaks about what it’s like to be a labor worker in the 1880s to a committee so they could better understand the relationship between labor and capital. The Gilded Age saw the rise of industrialism and great economic growth in the United States. But true to its title, the Gilded Age was only plated with gold but inward filled with corruption and poverty. What meant great success for some, meant lack of job security and financial hardship for the working class Americans. This document really depicts what it’s like being on the working end of these companies seeking to industrialize.
The Gilded Age showed that the idea of liberty and equality through living wages and fair treatment was out of date. The liberal reformers of the time believed that freedom of contract was a freedom that was more important than living wages. They did not think that the lower classes should have the same freedoms as the upper class. They argued against giving anyone who was a non-white male the right to vote. And even then they believed it only landowning white men should vote. They saw an enfranc...
American history between 1865 and 1900 is characterized as the Gilded Age. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined this term; it means that this era, from the outside, appeared prosperous, but with a closer look, one could discover the corruption that lay beneath the thin layer of gold. This era was filled with urbanization, industrialization, and immigration; these three things gave the Gilded Age the appearance of being a prosperous time filled with progress. However, the American industrial worker, the bulwark of the age, did not prosper as much as one may have thought. American industrial workers faced extremely difficult lives, working very hard to receive little reward, and it did not take very long before they wanted reform. The industrial workers banded together, forming labor unions, in order to try to negotiate with their employers to have some of their demands met. Labor unions are generally thought of as having positive effects on workers, which certainly was true, but only to an extent. Labor unions also had some very negative effects on workers, specifically when their demands were not met, or when they were seen negatively by the government and the public. Immigration rates during the Gilded Age were extremely high, because the United States had great opportunities, especially in available jobs, which were greatly desirable to foreign people. Immigration generally had negative effects on American industrial workers. With large numbers of immigrants coming from foreign countries, there was a surplus of labor which caused unemployment and wages to remain low. Also, immigration had great effects on labor unions, generally negative as well, which would then in turn negatively affect the workers in that union. Last...
5. Perry, Elisabeth Israels, and Karen Manners Smith. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era: a student companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
The significance of the Gilded Age was expanded to include the period from the end of Reconstruction to the early twentieth century. During the Gilded Age the United States became the leading industrial nation in the world, defeated a world power, built a powerful navy, and acquired a large overseas empire. The Gilded Age came alone with some tremendous urban growth with all its accompanying problems, the changes in communications and transportation through the telephone and the transcontinental railroads. The significance of the Gilded Age Era is a time of exciting and important scientific and technological inventions and improvements, such as the electric light, the telephone, and the typewriter, which have had and continue to have an impact upon American life.