Golden Age Society

“The politics of the Gilded Age failed to deal with the critical social and economic issues of the times.” Assess the validity of this statement. Use both the documents and your knowledge of the United States from 1865 to 1900.

The Gilded Age was a time where new prosperities and opportunities were forming after the end of the bloody American Civil War. The United States was able to rebuild itself after philanthropists started to help change the country into something superior and steered it away from the dreariness of the last few years. The ultra wealthy entrepreneurs of the time primarily were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J. Pierpont Morgan. These men were given the name “captain of industries” coined by Thomas Carlyle in his book, Past and Present, to describe compassionate and important men who made significant impacts on the nation and people of America. The wealthy industrialists of the late 19th century were “captain of industries” because they created new enterprises, they provided jobs for countless citizens, and donated to charitable causes.

Michelle Obama is pushing her way for a healthier nation, taking down any obstacles she might encounter. The big question is; Is her plan going to backfire? This anti-obesity campaign has caused many student across the country to just stop eating school lunches. First Lady Michelle has cut and restricted so many things in the food requirements making it next to impossible for the schools to keep up. The requirements have been so strict that schools have to buy cheaper food to compensate for the nutritional value. She has been leading this for several years now and has planned on implementing even more restrictions in the future.

I don’t believe we are living in a second Gilded Age. So much has change. But there's still so many similarities. Even though everything is much more advanced. We are upgrading as we go.

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

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

From the ashes of the American Civil War period, the Gilded Age movement emerged into rapid economic growth. From the end of reconstruction in 1877 to the panic of 1893, the American economy nearly doubled in size. The expansion of Industrialization led to growing wages and the urge to work. As new machinery developed, so did the urgency for rapid production of manufactured goods. In this period, new ideas of time being money emerged. Big business men controlled the Gildan age instead of political leaders. Out of the rapid need to gain money and work harder, negative effects such as child labor, women labor, and unfair working conditions appear. In response, the progressivism era emerged. The Progressive movement arose as a response to negative effects of industrialization such as child labor and unemployment. Reformers longed to regulate private and large industries to strengthen working conditions for both employers and consumers Progressivism was an important political and social reformation from 1890-1920 that aimed to make major political and social reforms in effort to progress society after the negative outcomes of industrialization.

The Gilded Age was a time in American history, from the 1870s to the 1890s, which ostensibly characterized the country based on its economic and technological advancements. However this era’s development served as a mere facade for the corruption and classism which occurred during the time. From economic manipulation to immorality in politics, the Gilded Age is best characterized by the unscrupulous nature of individuals who sought to attain superficial success.

The Gilded Age (1869-1896), cynically named so by Mark Twain, was a time of industrial growth and underwhelming political movement. After Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, the Union’s top general, was elected President of the United States during the 1868 election. Grant himself really wasn’t cut out to be a politician, however, with the support of the Republicans and the campaign slogan “let us have peace” that resonated with the still war scarred nation he won. Other one liners such as “vote as you shot” and waving the bloody shirt, or reminding the public the gruesome war they just finished, were commonly used to rally citizens behind the Republican candidate.

Mark Twain named the period between 1865-1900 the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age is known as a period that showed America as a country that was golden on the outside but was corrupt in reality. During the Gilded Age, America was seen as a country many people wanted to come to in order to have a better life because people had a chance to become wealthy. Once people arrived in America, they realized America was not portrayed as the country they heard great things about. The Gilded Age was also marked as an era which new business techniques, better communication, and new technology emerged. Industrialization changed America business and labor practices due to the national banking system, limited involvement of the government, wealthy owners using

“Poor and restricted are our opportunities in this life, narrow our horizon, our best work for the most imperfect…”. That was how life was for the majority of the population during the Gilded Age. They worked an extensive amount of hours and lived in undesirable living conditions. The wealthy led a lifestyle completely different than that of the working class. They lived in luxurious homes and purchased only top quality items. These were known as the Haves and the Have Nots. This is still something that is seen today. All in all, the Gilded Age was a time where there was a noticeable difference between both socioeconomic groups.

Technology are being increased all over the world, the threats posed against it also tend to increase.

Before the Enlightenment, every law and every decision was made and accepted, only by the King. There was a traditional social structure consisting of the monarchy on the top, followed by the nobles and clergy, and then all of the lower class on the bottom, which included peasants, merchants, and craftsman. When the people of the Western a Society began to receive ideas from Enlightenment scholars and thinkers, the began to realize how wrong the ways of the King were. They began to revolt against and disagree with these ways of the King. These people, motivated by the ideas of the Enlightenment, challenged the traditional social and political structures of the Western society to eventually lead to human rights for everyone.

Furthermore, Ginanne Mitic wants people to know social media can be used for business purposes, not just for social needs, as she explains in the article “Technology Expands the World for African Artists.” Mitic argues that technology such as social media has helped African artist Dawit Abebe to be recognized by many collectors around the world, one of which is Ms. Hjellegjerde. Mitic states, “The two met over Facebook a few years ago, after Ms. Hjellegjerde read an article about Mr. Abebe, who had just set up his account after a friend recommended that it might help broaden his career outside of Ethiopia”(Mitic). She wants to let her readers know that social media such as Facebook is what got Abebe’s art works noticed and recognized by