During the years 1865 to 1900, the gilded age transformed the world with a new wave of industrialization. Both farmers and industrial workers were affected by this industrialization, and had both positive and negative outcomes because of it. These new changes resulted in various conflicts as farmers and workers both wanted improvement in society. Although the gilded age brought new advancements with it, it was still a period of hardship for many people who lived during this time. While the government and those with money and power thrived during the gilded age, many others suffered.
Farmers, industrial workers, and those who were not involved in government or were not rich had to deal with many hardships throughout the gilded age. Therefore, many conflicts resulted between the two sides of society, as those of the lower class wanted more equality
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Many were worried of the power of the anarchists, who hated the government and wanted change. These anarchists caused havoc in the society as they fought for the destruction of the capitalist system. Other people were not as extreme as anarchists, but still advocated change through unions. Henry George created a movement for change from one of his best selling books, Progress and Poverty. This book called for a single-tax, which many Americans agreed with and wanted, yet it was initially declined by the government. These movements frightened many upper class citizens, as they saw the anger of the middle and lower classes. Therefore, some businesses began to meet with their disgruntled employees through the collective bargaining system. This system saw the negotiation between the owners of corporations and workers for various issues regarding hours and pay. Although the workers did not always get want they wanted, it was a good start as they were finally being heard and treated
The Gilded Age was a period that transformed a mainly agrarian society into an urban industrial society. It made several positive contributions to society and greatly advanced the economy. However, the Gilded Age also produced negative outcomes that came along with industrialization and the rise of large cooperations. Industry, labor unions, and immigration together created the Gilded Age which was characterized by economic growth coupled with political and social inequality.
During the Gilded Age both labors and farmers had very strong reasons to have these complaints. Labors were treated as minorities, controlled by their bosses and weren’t getting paid what they deserved so this led to the unionizations, strikes and vandalisms. Farmers were in declined because bigger farms were taking over and they were getting less money. They didn’t understand why this was happening if they had new machines, so this led to the Green Revolution and several political activities. However, these complaints that both labors and farmers have, have their similarities and differences.
During the Gilded Age of late 1800’s and early 1900’s, a time period that essential government intervention was provided in big business and banking to protect workers, promote sound banking practices, clean up the cities and make them healthier and to improve rights for underrepresented Americans. The Gilded Age, growing production and industrialization was rising at an enormous rate. In the North, factories were booming and inventing new and more efficient ways to produce goods. This created more employment opportunities, and for some a way into the middle-class of society. Men, women and children were entering the workforce. Mass production in factories and industry made it possible to lower the prices of goods and made them more readily available for the public consumer. Railroads expanded across the U.S. making it more economical to ship and receive goods. The steel industry was making leaps and bounds in new processes of making a stronger and better product. Electricity was becoming more available to areas that were without power and the perfection of the lightbulb by Thomas Edison brought light into homes and factories, changing the way society shopped, worked and the way they took part leisure activities.
The end of the Civil War marked a new integration of industry into American society. Following the war, high tariffs were put in place to compensate for the national debt that were created. The increase in tariffs also promoted domestic industries which became more critical in America. A major shift can be seen during this time, known as the Gilded Age, toward a more industrialized society rather than an agricultural one. One major influence toward this industrialized society was the building of the transcontinental railroad which ran from East to West coast. Finished in 1869, the Railroad allowed for more transport which also benefited the rising of big businesses. Regional companies could become national companies and thus changed the way people looked at industrialization. This industrialization affected the working class the most which consisted of the industrial workers and farmers. One would think that the “Gilded Age” would mean prosperity would be felt throughout the economy but the elite 1% of the population had more money than the rest of the population combined. This did not sit well with the working class, especially the industrial workers, who were the ones making the profit for the elites. However, each the farmers and industrial workers had their own way in which they responded to the industrialization of the Gilded Age.
Throughout history, America was faced with many problems socially, economically, politically, and technologically. But America has also experienced many great successes in these areas as well. Some opportunities were seized, while others were wasted. We can learn from our past failures and successes and take what we have learned from them forward with us into the future, to help build and maintain a better America. The Gilded Age, during the late 1800’s, was a time in America where we experienced explosive economic growth, serious social problems, new innovative technology, and the rise of corporations and corruption in politics. We have learned from some of these things that we went through in the Gilded Age and fixed them, but we are still facing some of the problems we faced back then, today.
The 1860s to 1920s was known as the gilded age in the United States of America. Immigrants moved to the U.S. to have a better life but when they arrived, they an unexpected situation. In the gilded age, Robber barons or business owners made a tremendous amount of money. Most of them accomplished this by using monopolies and trusts which led them to gain power and money. While money was flowing in the United States, the lower class population lived in tenements, where diseases would spread fast and comfort was not available. Workers had to work more than twelve hours a day and they could lose parts of their bodies in the machines and therefore get fired. Children worked as much as their parents did. They were in a position of
The Gilded age believed to be the turning point in American reform, by students in Mr. Bruno’s AP United States History Class, was not an influential part of American History. With mass immigration, widespread strikes, and child labor reform, compared to other eras of American History the Gilded age was greatly ineffective. The Gilded age was an era of suffering and pain for many children living in the United States. This can be seen in the percent of child workers between 1880 and 1900, approximately 20 percent of laborers in the United States were between the ages of 10 and 14.
Two of the major issues that the American Society faced during the Gilded Age were monopolies, and civil service reform. Monopolies were horrible for proletariat and the majority of the bourgeoisie. The people that had it the worst were farmers located near or within small towns west of the Mississippi
The Gilded Age was from 1870 through 1890. The main picture of this era is the vast rapid economy that helped jump start the modernization of the United States. The country became more modernized due to expansion, improvements and manufacturing. When it comes to expanding, that means expanding the ways of how people live. During the time, more people had to upgrade their ways of living by moving from small towns to more urban cities. People didn’t really have a choice to move as well as getting use to change. The reason for people moving to urban areas was to take on the job opportunities such as working in factories (Foner, 605). With more business around came more competition and more power to people in charge such as, Andrew Carnegie with his Steel company and John D. Rockefeller with his oil industry. By just looking at job opportunities and the big businesses you can see who would benefit and who would loss because of the development of the United States. In conclusion, the big business owner would benefit from this new development due the need of their product and the power they hold above everyone in their business
Eastern cities were booming in industrial growth and for many in the upper class, this time was the highest of highs. But for many others, the Gilded Age was the lowest of lows. Moving westward, farmers were in debt; losing work and money, Native Americans were fighting for their lands and traditions, and newcomers were trying to strike it rich. Every region was fighting for something and their values were dependent on what they were fighting
The Gilded age was one of the darkest times in the U.S. for many of the working class. The working conditions in the factories, mills, and mines were unsafe, unhealthy, and unorganized due to industry being left alone by the government, similar to the separation of church and state. Big business owners and corporation heads like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan could and would do almost anything to acquire unimaginable levels of wealth. These men had children working for them starting at the age of six years old, and paid their workers the minimum wage that they accepted to work for. Not only did these corporate
This time period of the Gilded Age was between the Civil War and World War I. The Gilded Age was an age of vast transformations for the United States. With the U.S. population and economy growing quickly, there were a lot of political corruption, corporate financial misdealings, and many wealthy people who lived very fancy lives. The Gilded Age also brought over a vast number of immigrants to our shores. This era showed the true meaning of the “American dream” and also the suffering it brought with it. Between 1865-1900 the Gilded Age was a time period when rapid growth occurred, especially in the North and West; however, the industrial workers focused on bettering the system while farmers were trying to be as successful as the industry. Therefore, their improvement to better themselves had similar industrialization.
Poverty was a central issue during the Gilded Age. Many of the people that lived in America during this time lived in terrible conditions. During the Gilded Age many people migrated to the city in search of a better quality of life. However, many were disappointed. Unemployment was high during this period, and those who did have a job worked in atrocious conditions.
The gilded age was really a time about the streets being paved in gold, but the problems that were happening were dreadful. The Laissez-Faire policy affected social, political and economic issues during the time of the gilded age. Problems such as Child Labor, Women's right and Monopolies were affected. Lewis Hine, Susan B Anthony and Theodore Roosevelt are all reformers who helped fix these problems.
The Gilded Age brought hardship to many families especially to the lower class. The rapid growth in the urban areas and lack of employment resulted in many stricken communities and families. They could not affords homes and food because of the high rent and taxation, it made families to put their children into labor so that there will be food on the table. Child labor was the main issue of the Gilded Age, since technology was becoming more advance, factories were demanding for more workers. Families at the time were poor and needed money. Plus schools during that time were not that important to children and they tend to miss school often because of illnesses. Factories were desperate for more workers, they even started hiring children in the minimum age of 10. The children worked in dangerous jobs such as mining, and fast-paced factories. They worked in poor conditions and had many diseases and injuries.The people to blame for this situation were the robber barons and people like John D.Rockefeller because they did not cared about how poorly the people were, the only thing they care about was ways to get more profits. As the poor were getting poorer and riches were getting