Progressive Eras In The Gilded Age

Following the Civil War, America was in shambles. There were many groups with strong, conflicting ideas of how things should be. However, most groups had one idea in common: reducing the rights of African Americans as much as possible. Freed slaves had very little freedom under the law, were treated like a lesser species by those around them, and faced dangerous environments everywhere they went. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation may have legally freed slaves, but African Americans were barely more than paid slaves.

The first American slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Their job was to aid in the production of crops such as tobacco as the Virginians “were desperate for labor, to grow enough to stay alive… needed labor, to grow corn for subsistence, to grow tobacco for export” (Zinn 24,25). The slaves that were being brought to the Americas were seen as builders of the economic foundations of the new nation and as time passed the ownership of slaves dwindled but inequality and segregation grew to be more prevalent in the U.S (“Slavery in America”). On January 1st, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order which freed slaves in the United States not within the Confederacy, under Union Control. Two years later the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which abolished slavery but many Southern States managed to create unattainable prerequisites for blacks to live, work or participate in society. With nearly one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans were still treated just as unequally. Oppression, race-inspired violence, segregation and an unequal world of disenfranchisement lingered across Southern States for African-Americans. The Jim Crow Laws

The Gilded Age and Progressive Era were two very different time periods in American History. During these two time periods the government played two different roles in America. During the Gilded age the government took a laissez faire approach in governing America, but during the Progressive era the government began to take action in governing America. The Gilded Age was a time of corruption, scandals, urbanization, and immigration. (Lecture Notes) The Progressive Era was a time where the government stepped in and began to end corruption, and regulate big businesses. During this time period the government tried to solve the problems of society. While the Gilded Age government used a hands off approach towards American affairs, the Progressive Era government began to take action and form the bureaucracy we have come to know today.

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 progressive era was a period of time of widespread social activism and political reform across the united states. It started in 1890’s and ended in the 1920’s really not that long ago. The purpose of this to eliminate problems that were caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and corruption in the government.The gilded age was the time between the civil war and world war 1. The population had grown in the U.S as well as the economy as that started to happen political corruption and corporate financial. Gilded age and Progressive Era may seem similar in some way based off their definition but they are basically opposites. Keep on reading and you’ll see how they differ from.

Since the beginning of the slave trade, African Americasn had to face many adversities which deemed impossible for them to overcome at the time. In the year 1865, President Lincoln enforced the Declaration of Independence stating all was equal under the law abaoloshing slavery.

The great Chinese philosopher Confucius stated, “ Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” When observing the transformation the United States has undergone over centuries, great reforms have been made. Pinpointing a specific time is from 1890 to 1916. This period marks the transformation from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era arrived as a result of the social, political, and economic turbulence brought by the industrialization that occurred during the Gilded Age. The imperative topics addressed during the transformation were the relenting labor question, political corruption, and gender roles within American society. These matters jointly brought many reformers, social groups,

Even a couple of decades after its Civil War, the United States was still trying to find its place in the world. While the Reconstruction Era was a great start to rebuilding, the Gilded Age at the end of the 1800s and the Progressive era to start the 20th century both were more important in how the nation became the financial power it is today. The Gilded Age, as coined by American writer Mark Twain’s novel of the same name, was a time of fast financial and population growth. However, that time was full of problems politically, constitutionally and socially, but due to an assassin’s bullet, the corrupted Gilded Age ended just like that and the Progressive Era, under President Teddy Roosevelt, began to correct those problems

1865 marked the beginning of the Gilded Age a time period known for its innovations, corruption, progress and violence. At the same time as the phonogram and automobiles were being produced the major corporations employed child labor and offered deplorable working conditions. Laborers soon rose together to form labor unions that would have a fair advantage when dealing with large corporations. One of the pros of being a Unionist was the great numbers of unionists in several states this facilitated international strikes and placed pressure on the corporations. Depending on social class and economic background the antagonist and protagonist of the era were either large corporations or their wage workers. Members of the middle class were unsympathetic toward the Unionist at strike and prominent members of society. For example, Henry Ward Beecher and Henry Clew both members of the middle class clearly expressed their discontent towards the strikers. Unionist, and their family members, defended their actions and the Pullman strikers and Samuel Gompers were their advocates.

From 1865 to 1900, the American industry paved the way for an era like none that has been seen before. The country built and invented more supplies and materials than anyone had thought possible. Even though, this time in history seemed progressive on many fronts, it was known as the “Gilded Age”. The Gilded Age was a three decade time in America that involved an expanding economy and a useless government. The thought of going to an American city, getting a job, and getting paid was ideal to most outsiders. The problem was, once they arrived and found a job, it was not as wonderful as it seemed . It was called the Gilded Age because, from the outside, everything looked wonderful, but on the inside it was spoiled. During America’s

The Gilded Age was an interesting time in American history, it was a period in which businesses grew, cities grew, and American GDP immensely increased. But while that happened most of the American population lived in poverty while the 1 percent lived in luxury. Though I believe it is possible to say that America currently does not live in a second gilded age. To start yes poverty in America is still a problem but according to Courtney Blair, someone at the poverty line in the United States is in the top 14% of the global income distribution(Mic). Also,

“The world has never had a good definition of the word Liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.” Abraham Lincoln was born on February 14th, 1809 in a small town called Hodgenville, KY with a mission of equality. Abraham Lincoln changed Americans view on the decision toward slavery. Additionally, male slaves were captured in Africa, and forced from their native land leaving their wife and children behind. Likewise, if families were captured during this time, women and children were treated the same way. Slaves were then chained together by their legs, wrists, and around their throats, and forced to walk sometimes as much as six hundred miles to the coast. Slaves where then placed on a ship for as long as eight weeks headed to America. Slaves were piled into cramped spaces below the ship, and the heat and smell was over whelming. Once the ship landed slaves were sold to a slave owner. Slaves would have to make some hard decisions during their stay if they wanted freedom. For example poisoning their owner, suicide, or the slave would set the plantation on fire and then run away. Slaves just wanted to be free, given the right to vote, and a better life for their children. By 1960 there was an estimated 4

In addition, I believe that the black communities were declared free of slavery by Lincoln in 1864, but they didn’t have the conditions to practice their freedom. Unfortunately, after centuries

Abraham Lincoln was the United States 16th President in 1861. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln, which freed slaves. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, “The proclamation declared, "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free” (Archives.gov). Despite the fact that the Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves, it paved the way for African-American to fight for freedom. It also changed the focus of war and freedom for slaves became a new focus of war.

To begin, class influenced the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in the changing working conditions as a response to industrialization. Class was also apparent in Gilded Age politics and in the changing political culture that foreshadowed the bureaucratic government of the Progressives. Middle-Class Progressives played a vital role in America by seeking reform and influence among the upper and working class. Thus, class assumed a prominent role in influencing the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.