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The Gilded Age By Mark Twain

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Coined the term the “Gilded Age," this time period of 1870-1900 was first referred to as this title by a book written by Mark Twain. In respect to the United States during this time, it refers to the overall appearance of the US to appear as if saturated in gold and opulence, otherwise known as a land of dreams. However, this was not the case because underneath this initial viewpoint, there was poverty and injustice that lined the streets of every urban city. Throughout this time period, many factors in business and social life of America contributed to the flourishing economy in the US. Things like transportation and technologic advancements, along with immigrants working to gain social standing all contributed to the economy during this time. Although viewed as a philanthropic time period solely for the purpose of economic growth, the Gilded Age produced a great deal of wealth acquired through excessive work of lower, laboring class citizens and promotion of social supremacy. Throughout this period of the Gilded Age, much of what is owed to the economic growth can be credited to the substantial impact of monopolizers on certain resources used in the US. John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P Morgan, to name a few, were some of the wealthiest people in the world at that time that attributed to the gain in US economy. Rockefeller with oil, Carnegie with steel, and Morgan with banking in the US all contribute to the economic growth during the Gilded Age. Throughout

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