Research Essay - Katalin Belausteguigoitia
The Gilded Age was a period in the history of the United States which occurred from the 1870s until the early twentieth century. The term "the Gilded Age" was named after a book by Mark Twain "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" which talks about the corruption and greed in this influential era. The Gilded Age consisted of economic growth, but also of a great social divide between the rich and the poor, exploitation of workers, and political corruption. After winning the Civil War, the north had been given many economical benefits, while the South's economy was destroyed. These benefits allowed companies to emerge and expand in terms of size and production. These newly found industrial companies, such as Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil Company negatively impacted the economy by lowering product prices, worker's wages, and worsening the working conditions. These large companies also affected politics because the monopolists corrupted and controlled the Senate ultimately leading to the public's response in labor unions and strikes.
Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil were two major industrial companies that were founded by Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. Andrew Carnegie made his fortune by a strategy called vertical integration, in which Carnegie owned every step in the process of making steel from the acquisition of raw materials to the final product. Carnegie Steel was formed in 1892 and by 1901, it was consolidated with the United States Steel Corporation for $492 million dollars, which would be about 14.1 billion dollars today. Andrew Carnegie used his wealth to ascend in the political hierarchy, with the help of Thomas A. Scott and influencing many presidents such as Theodore Roosev...
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...to set up public works to provide jobs for the unemployed. Labor unions and strikes did not seem to have a large impact because many were unsuccessful, but did influence the future greatly because laws and rights were established for better work in the future.
Although the Gilded Age may be thought of as a period of great economical growth and positive outcomes, the negative effects ultimately outweighed the positive outcomes. The large monopolies such as Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil controlled the Senate and the economy with their power. This led to the uprising of workers against their employers, resulting in Labor Unions and strikes.These events influenced work and businesses today because they paved the path for new laws and rights. Today, Labor Rights protect workers by giving them the ability to negotiate workers’ pay, benefits, and safer working conditions.
Andrew Carnegie, the monopolist of the steel industry, was one of the worst of the Robber Barons. Like the others, he was full of contradictions and tried to bring peace to the world, but only caused conflicts and took away the jobs of many factory workers. Carnegie Steel, his company, was a main supplier of steel to the railroad industry.
Without the aid of organized labor, workers would not have been able to persuade others to help them in their fight for better working conditions. Labor unions also influenced people within society to recognize the problems that workers were facing during the late 19th century. All in all, the feelings that many once had about strikes were what changed the most; this allowed for ideas that would later cause corporations to rethink their business methods.
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.
He went to London in 1872, saw the new Bessemer method of producing steel, and returned to the United States to build a million-dollar steel plant. Foreign competition was kept out by a high tariff conveniently set by Congress, and by 1880 Carnegie was producing 10,000 tons of steel a month, making $1 1/2 million a year in profit. By 1900 he was making $40 million a year, and that year, at a dinner party, he agreed to sell his steel company to J. P. Morgan. He scribbled the price on a note: $492,000,000.”
During the turn of the 19th century, the American economy rapidly switched from an agriculture base to one of the largest manufacturers in the world through Industrialization. This movement could be tied to the Gilded Age, or the time between the Civil War and WWI, where the rich were extremely poor and vice versa. The wealthier Americans during the Gilded Age were the poster children of the nation, the picture of American opportunity, and a large contributor to the spike in immigration to the United States during the turn of the 19th century. With developments in manufacturing, these wealthy citizens capitalized on the opportunity and became leaders during Industrialization, earning themselves the title of Industrialists. Industrialists during
The Gilded Age was the last three decades of the nineteenth century, when America’s industrial economy exploded generating opportunities for individuals but also left many workers struggling for survival. With the many immigrants, skilled and unskilled, coming to America the labor system is becoming flooded with new employees. During this period, the immigrants, including the Italians, were unskilled and the skilled workers were usually American-born. There was also a divide in the workers and the robber barons. Robber barons were American capitalist who acquired great fortunes in the last nineteenth century, usually ruthlessly. There was much turmoil throughout the business and labor community. Two major organizations, the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, helped represent the workers in this time of chaos. The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, were representing both skilled and unskilled workers. They were quite popular with a large boost in membership becoming the biggest union in 1885. They sought for equal pay and equal work. All were welcomed to the Knights of Labor; there was no discrimination on race, gender, or sex. They called for an eight-hour day in order to reduce fatigue and for safety issues. The Knights of Labor Declaration of Principles states their purpose is to “make industrial and moral worth, not wealth” (Reading 9, p. 1). This means the moral worth is to what they could contribute to society rather than monetary gains. They were working towards this improvement of the common mans life to advance in civilization and create new ideas for society. They also called upon the employer to treat the employee with respect and fairness so they can contribute to not only their company but to Amer...
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 life of an immigrant in the United States during the Gilded Age was a rough life. During this time period the U.S. went through a dramatic change in dealing with changing infrastructure and masses of people coming over from different countries for a chance at a better life. This time period was characterized by small wage jobs, poor working conditions and the struggle to survive. The Jungle embodies the themes of the Gilded Age with first hand experiences of an immigrant's hardships of life.
The Gilded Age was the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War. During this time period, the recently separated North and South were piecing back together as one united nation. After being enemies for so long reuniting as a whole seemed easier than perceived to be, and required strong leadership to aide in the process. Unfortunately, many historians believe that this Reconstruction period did not experience the luxury of having these elite rulers. Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison deserve their historic reputation as they failed to maintain control of the country, and lacked authority when making decisions. However Rutherford B. Hayes and James Garfield do not deserve the historic reputation of a weak president as they succeeded in financially improving the country and continually making the right decision for the people and the nation.
The Gilded Age took place during the last thirty years of the nineteenth century where unionization of workers would become more frequent. The reasoning behind the name of this era is due to the fact that everything seemed nice on the outside in America but in actuality corruption and inequality could be found underneath the surface. As the economy was changing during the industrial revolution workers began leaving rural areas and flooding to urban areas for the opportunities, such as working for the oil or steel industry. The development of steam engine railroads for transportation and increased development of factory manufacturing techniques, caused more
The Gilded Age was a tough time for me and other families to have a life and prosper in. Long hours and low wages were common as owners could find low-cost workers. Without unions, I and the rest of the workers were exposed to extended hours during a time where paying someone overtime did not occur. With limited opportunities workers like me and families had jobs that we struggled with and no hope of getting far in life. During the Gilded Age, there were two social classes, the wealthy and the poor and, unfortunately I was in the poor social class. The Gilded Age had a meaning behind it and I had an idea of what it meant, “Gilded means covered with a layer of gold, but it also suggests that the glittering surface covers a core of little real value and is therefore deceptive” (Foner, 609). We laborers did what we had to do to make our city look good but inside we were miserable and struggling just so we can have something to eat and survive to live another day. Today is another day of hours of labored work, struggling, depressed and nothing to look forward to. Times were getting worse for me and my family. I am just an eight year old American girl struggling to make a living. I never imagined that at such a young age I would have to work so hard to make a living. My family and I were living in a crowded home, no space for us to even breathe. I had to do what I was told and obey orders from the wealthier people which were our owners. They were in control of me and I had no choice but to do as I was told. I had come to realize that the wealthier had more supplies, benefits, and better living conditions. The people, who were poor like me, had no supplies, no benefits or good living conditions. My life consist...
During the Gilded age, the governments were very small as well as small work force. Everything was becoming controlled by “bosses” who used their “political machines” to run things and was controlled by the government. Nothing every got done because there was a n...
From the period between the 1870’s through the 1890’s, it became an era known as the Gilded Age. The term was characterized by a famous American Literature author named Mark Twain. The writer tried to point out that the term means that while on the outside society may seem perfect and in order, underneath there is poverty, crime, corruption, and many other issues between American society’s rich and poor. This era’s gild is thicker than the cheaper material it’s covering. This can be shown through the countless numbers of achievements and advances America has made during the period of reconstruction and expansion, industrialization, and foreign affairs.
Commonly referred to as the Gilded Age, the end of the nineteenth century was a period of social issues and political unrest. Following a period of Reconstruction after the Civil War, the Gilded Age was ridden with problems surrounding the countries recovery. Presidents such as Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes were viewed fraudulent and incompetent leaders for the nation. Meanwhile, Congress was mostly ruled by large enterprises, allowing for little political representation of the masses. Additionally, the nation was plagued by an overwhelming amount of social issues including child labor, immigration, women and minorities, and rapid urbanization. Overpopulation was particularly troublesome for the state of democracy as most voters were