Gilded Age Research Paper

After the soaring ideals and tremendous sacrifices of the Civil War, the post-War era of the United States was generally one of political disillusionment. Even as the continent expanded and industrialized, political life in the Gilded Age was marked by ineptitude and stalemate as passive, rather than active, presidents merely served as figureheads to be manipulated rather than enduring strongholds. As politicians from both the White House to the courthouse were deeply entangled in corruption and scandal during the Gilded Age, the actual economic and social issues afflicting urbanizing America festered beneath the surface without being seriously addressed.

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a major American industrialist in the late 19th century and after obtaining substantial wealth from his steel industry, became an advocate for giving back to the less fortunate. Carnegie’s desire to donate to those less fortunate came from past experiences, growing up as an immigrant and working in a cotton factory young. He knew and understood the hardships that people faced when not able to acquire the type of wealth he rose to earn. Through his long life this atypical businessman advocated for many and dedicated the later years of his life to promoting the general welfare of the world.

Anywhere in the world, someone acquires something, whether it be money, a car, or even an idea. We can “own” many intangible and tangible items in life, but how does ownership relate to a sense and development of self? This question has been constantly answered for centuries through intelligent people like Plato, Aristotle, and Jean-Paul Sartre. However, the question has received no agreeable answer. In the end, people will agree that there is a strong and positive relationship between ownership and a sense of self because the things you own will define and develop who you are positively by exhibiting what you like, what you can and cannot do, and in the end, characterizes you, as long as you use the things you own properly.

A successful economy is perhaps the most key ingredient leading to a successful nation. An economy is a delicate balance of many different conflicting and coexisting elements. Naturally, an economy’s success can often be measured by the amount of wealth it contains, not to mention the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of its distribution of the wealth. Effective distribution of wealth is no easy feat. Wealthy and poor people will always need to coexist- this is an inescapable truth. The government’s job in many cases becomes that of a referee. Naturally, perfect peace and harmony between two totally different classes would be a utopia, and probably will never be completely achieved. A government must, therefore,

When you are young and even well into your adult years people will tell you there will always be somebody who is smarter, faster, happier, or better at something than you are. This is true for all periods of time but in the Gilded Age those who were better gained more and more crushing the people below them with unprecedented greed, corruption, and power. The few exploited the many by way of opportunity. Something our nation was built on, yet the avaricious elite used it for evil methods.

Mark Twain collaborated with Charles Dudley Warner on The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. Published in 1973, as Twain’s earliest work of extended fiction, The Gilded Age gives a name to the period of opulence and corruption at the end of the 19th century. Portraying the superficial luxury of Washington and high society, the authors describe “The general laxity of the time, and the absence of a sense of duty toward any part of the community but the individual himself” (Twain 203). Twain’s The Gilded Age, like Wharton’s The Age of Innocence focuses on high society. Yet, the imperfections in the gilding betray the dramatic change of the period. Forces of corporatization, unionization, immigration, urbanization, populism,

The seven Presidents of the Gilded Age from 1876-1900, mainly focused on domestic affairs. Only a little interest was given to foreign affairs. The Presidents of the Gilded Age efforts included closing out Reconstruction, strengthened the federal government’s authority within the United States and help to keep America out of a depression. Some of the foreign affairs of the later years of the Gilded Age included participation in The Pan American Congress.

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 period in America from 1865 to 1900 was known as the Gilded Age. This was a time for big business, industry, new inventions, and urban growth. With these new ideas and concepts came many problems. A few of these issues were political scandals, overpopulation in cities, monopolies, and bad working conditions. In summary, there were good and bad parts of the Gilded Age that helped shape America into what it is now.

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

In his article “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie argues for the wealth to give back their wealth to the community by providing “public institutions of various kinds … [to] improve the general condition of the people” (Foner 30). Carnegie uses this article to promote his Gospel of Wealth idea and provide his interpretation of the changing America. Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth stated that “those who accumulated money had an obligation to use it to promote the advancement of society” (Foner 28). Carnegie’s articles focuses on the themes of Capitalism and Inequality, which continue to shape society.

In February of 1870 Twain married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Twain and Olivia had been writing letters to each other for a while. With help from Olivia’s father, Twain bought a one-third interest in the Express of Buffalo, N.Y., and started writing for the Galaxy a magazine out of N.Y. Twain’s first child Landon, was born in November of 1870. Tragically his son died of diphtheria before he had turned two. During this time Twain was working on his book Roughing It, in February of 1872, the book was published and sold well. In March of the same year Olivia Susan Clemens was born in Elmira. Twain went to England the same year and when he came home he started writing a book with the help of Charles Dudley Warner (a friend) about the political corruption in the United states. The book was titled The Gilded Age was published in 1873, people enjoyed the book so well that a play was made based on the funniest character in the novel. This book was Twain’s first novel that he had tried to write.

When it comes to the topic of ownership, most of us will readily agree that everyone obtains a certain item or in general, something. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of does ownership jeopardize an individual's ego or personality. Whereas some are convinced that they can cause pretentious people, others maintain that they are a personality developers. Although some believe that materialistic items and success make a person, it’s not a necessity to fully live a satisfying life.

In society today, people are judged based on what physical objects they own and what skills they possess. People possess different skills, such as being prominent in music, art, etc. People also own different physical objects, some own more than others. Plato states that owning objects is detrimental to one's character, where Aristotle states it builds moral character. Finally, Sartre says that ownership extends past the tangible objects. I agree with all of these philosophers in a sense. I believe that people can own objects, as well as skills or knowledge, and those objects that one possesses can change a character for better or worse, depending on how they show what they own.

What does true meaning of owning something? To answer this question a little better, it is crucial to understand which kind of owning that is being asked about. Some think that owning tangible things will help with important character development. Others would differ on the true meaning of ownership, that it can and should be thought of in the intangible area of life and the world. In simpler words a plane that no human can touch with their physical bodies. Really ownership of physical objects, tangible parts of the world, and the untouchable objects are very helpful to any certain person learning to understand them-self.