Gilded Age

Whether or not the politics of the Gilded Age failed in dealing with social and economic issues has long been debated by historians. Peeling away streaks of gold plastered on the deficiencies of the time, the cause of such problems can be unveiled. In finding a blame for the corruption within the growing economy and its demands on a wavering society, all fingers point to the politics of the Gilded Age.

The Gilded Age was a term used in the 1920s and 1930s derived from Mark Twain’s novel of the same name, which mocked an era of serious social problems. Mark Twain and Charles Darwin saw the corruption in the politics, the ineffectiveness of the politicians, the frenzy in the marketplace and the widespread greed among the people. The society showed a huge difference in regard to who had something and who didn’t. Most of the poor and lower middle-class

* The Great RR Strike of 1877 shut down railroads from WV to CA & resulted in hundreds of deaths

The Gilded Age is a brief time in American history in which the United States experienced a population and rapid economic expansion. Mark Twain named it the “Gilded Age” as this was after the Civil War, lasting from 1870 - 1900. Although, this name was ironic as “gilded” is a term used to describe something that was covered in gold, by this he meant that the Gilded Age was whitewashed but was full of corruption. It shows how the social factors (as seen in documents A,B,C and D), economic factors (as seen in documents G), and political factors (as seen in documents E, H and I)

During the nineteenth century, there was a time of critical social problems we now know

The Gilded Age is defined as the time between the Civil War and World War I, during which the United States population grew quickly and the economy prospered greatly. However, it is also known to be cluttered with political corruption and corporate financial misleadings, in which the rich grew very wealthy and the poor were basically peasants. The economic growth of the nation was highly influenced by the availability of land and technological innovations promised through multiple acts passed throughout the time period, and, as a result, there were many negative changes in the social standing of minorities.

From 1870 to 1900 era was called the Gilded Age, a time of immense growth in the United States in transportation, especially in railroads, American workers were paid higher wages than their peers in Europe. In this thirty year span the United States saw twelve million immigrants pass through her golden doors, 70% of these immigrants were English, Irish, and German. Crop failures (potato famine in Ireland), job shortages, and religious freedom were the motivations behind many immigrating to America. Newly arrived immigrants faced a harsh reality in America, employers took advantage of them, the men were often paid less than other native born men and the women were paid even less. Immigrants suffered verbal and physical abuse from employers and other employees because they were different. While researching my Italian heritage I learned that Italians, especially southern Italians were not treated well because they were hired as strikebreakers or scabs by mining and railroading companies. They were called derogatory names such as "dagoes or guineas". Newspapers of the time said the southern Italians were "intellectually inferior and having criminal tendencies" (Laura Teddy Turner, Demand Media n.d.) http://www.emmigration.info/us-immigration-tv

The Compromise of 1877 was the unwritten and informal deal that settled the1876 presidential election between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden, which is considered as one of the most disputed elections in the American history. The compromise resulted in both sides coming to an agreement and compromising on different aspects, which will be further discussed below.

The late 19th century was known as The Gilded Age. During this time, America saw large economic growth that generated vast wealth and new technology was introduced that improved the quality of life for many. On the other hand many industrial workers and farmers did not share in the new found wealth. Many worked long hours for low pay. The word gilded means covered thinly with gold.

The Gilded Age was characterized by rapid industrialization, reconstruction, ruthless pursuit of profit, government, corruption, and vulgarity (Cashman 1). After the Civil War, America was beginning to regroup as a nation. There were many other changes developing in the country. Industrialization was taking over the formerly agricultural country. The nation’s government was also in great conflict (Foner 20). Many changes occurred during the Gilded Age. These changes affected farmers, labor, business, and politics.

This brings us to the the Compromise of 1877. This let Hayes have the presidency and in return the southern states had control over their governments along with some vague promises including a southern transcontinental

There was a dispute over who won the election in 1876; the electoral votes were exceptionally close, and Samuel B. Tilden won the popular vote. Democrats threatened to filibuster if Tilden was not made president. The Compromise of 1877 allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to become president in exchange for all federal troops being pulled out of the southern states Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. In addition, the appointment of a Southern Democrat to Hayes’ cabinet, the construction of an additional transcontinental railroad to boost the economy in the south. Finally, the right to deal with African Americans without northern interference The Compromise of 1877 adequately ceased the Reconstruction Era.

Soon after the civil war ended a period in time called “The Gilded Age” began which lasted from 1870-1890. This time frame first received its name from Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner due to the greed and speculate frenzy in the marketplace at this time. Our nation was going through a dramatic change with politics, industrialization, railroads and organized labor. Politics during 1877-1897 were intense, there was fighting between Stalwart and Half-Breed fractions in the Republican Party. The candidates that ran during this election was Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison also known as the “forgotten president”.

Throughout the history of the United States, the Gilded Age is regarded as a period that spanned the last three decades of the 19th century. This period starts from the Civil War came to an end in the 1865 up to 1900. The term Gilded Age was formulated by writers Charles Warner and Mark Twain in The Gilded Age: A Tale of Toady in 1873. They did this since they believed it to be an era that would be characterized by a variety of severe social problems that were camouflaged by a minute gold gilding.

The Golden Age of detective fiction refers to both specific sub-genre and (the cozy) and the historical period (the interwar years) (James, 2009). It is loosely defined as a soft-boiled detective fiction released between the two wars (World War 1 and World War 2). The Golden age of detective fiction was arguably caused by the interwar period (James, 2009). This paper seeks to discuss, with references to the fictions of Agatha Christie and other canonical Golden Age texts, why the Detection fiction of the interwar period was described as a “Golden Age." During this period, the detective novels were largely characterized by their intellectual games between the reader and author, and the clue-based mysteries (Scaggs, 2005). In this era, a Detection Club that consisted of renowned detective authors, agreed on rules that a writer of detective fiction was to operate. One of these rules was the “Cluepuzzle." From the clues, both the reader and detective were to ensure they drew rational conclusions. Other rules agreed upon included the crime, the detective, the setting, and the criminal.  These rules made the Golden Age a distinct sub-genre within the context of crime fiction. It was during this period that the spinster detectives became more popular, especially on the fictional stage. Prior to this era, detectives were dominated by men, with women taking the roles of villains or victims. Women rarely played a role of the main protagonists (Scaggs, 2005). To this effect, women