The Gilded And Progressive Eras

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.

The late nineteenth century was an era of growth in the USA. It introduced railroads, telephone lines, opportunities for entrepreneurs, and cheap goods for consumers. Mark Twain dubbed this time period the Gilded Age; the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. Between 1870 and 1900, corporations grew significantly across the board in number, size, and influence. The newfound efficiency of resources and mass production resulted in an increase in the production of American goods and the amount of unskilled laborers but also created a wide divide between classes and a maldistribution of power. The American people responded to these impacts through both an increased participation in consumerism and the formation of both

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.

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

Throughout the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, the United States saw a huge growth both socially and economically. The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era was a time when we saw great industrialization as well the construction of new railroads across the country. However, during the years of 1870-1900, known as the Gilded Era, this period was seen as a time filled with great corruption and uncontrolled politics and capitalism. Well-known author Mark Twain referred to these years of as the “Gilded Age” to reference how on the surface everything looked as though it was perfect or glittering, however beneath it all was corruption. (Mintz, S) Even though this era was known to have a great deal of corruption and scandals, it can also be seen that it was a time for development. A lot was changing and people were transforming from small town producers to urbanized workers. It is also to be considered as a time of economic and political reform. The last few decades of the 19th century will prove to be rough and challenging as people struggle to adapt to the new changes. As the turn of the century came, America entered into a new time known as the Progressive Era. During the early years of the 20th century Americans began to see political, social and economic reforms. There would be stricter laws on child labor, factory regulations were being improved, schools and playgrounds were being built and the corrupted politics were being replaced with more efficient

The Progressives were a group of reformers such as writers, politicians, and Social welfare advocate, etc. living mainly in cities during the early 20th century and working to change legislative issues, financial aspects, and good society. They accepted that change could originate from inside of man, and along these lines, dismisses the believe of Social Darwinism and regular determination. They were in charge of the section of many laws, including restriction, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the Interstate Commerce Act. During this era, “People work to make themselves and the society a safer and a better place to live. The Progressive worked to make big business regulate more responsible and clean up corrupted businesses, city, improving a better working conditions etc.”(Discussion 9). New comers to the movement strived to adjust to new conditions at one hand while attempting to keep up their particular society and dialect framework with the other making a perplexing circumstance.

The Gilded Age was one of the most dynamic and controversial periods in American history. With the growth of factories in the north, America’s economy increased at an unbelievable rate. This growth created a series of new opportunities for some but also left many workers and farmers to struggle in poverty and harsh conditions. As one groups continued to grow more and more wealthy, the other continued to grow poorer and poorer. This created a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. As this phenomenon continued it created many problems such as monopolies, racist and sexist laws, filthy city conditions, and child labor. To try to remedy these problems, the Progressive Movement was started. By initiating reforms in many aspects of American

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

Before dealing with the sports portion of this time it is important to know what is happening in the United States of America during this time. So what exactly is the Gilded Age and Progressive Era? From the end of the nineteenth century and into the first twenty or so years into the twentieth century there was a big change in the United States of America. It was a time of enormous social change, a change that increased the value of life and the way Americans lived. Not only was it a social change, bit it also brought great economic growth to the United States.

From the Gilded Age to the Progressive era industrialization modernized in every aspect. For example, constructing the transcontinental Railroads not only changed the economy, but also shifted the physical landscape. They required some towns to shift and some to move entirely to a different area. The railroads also helped America’s economy immensely. It helped with the industrial economy by requiring metal and steel to keep the railroads efficient and working. With the railroads there people also found jobs which helped with the increasing people’s social networks. According to Richard White just “the Pennsylvania railroad employed 110,000 men.”

The Progressive Party pushed for the federal government to solve human problems created by the injustices of the Gilded Age. Although, the Gilded Age turned the country into an industrial nation, however it only advanced the power for the wealthy factory owners. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller stayed atop of the economy by bankrupting competitors and entering profits back in the industry. The power of monopolies rose, as workers faced overexploitation in their hours, unsafe conditions and unfair wages. Factory workers put in ten-to twelve hour days and faced constant danger with no legal protection (Alexander, pg.9).

America in the 19th century was a country undergoing change and quite rapidly accumulating wealth. That is, the upper 99% of the population were accumulating wealth, while the lower 1% (Give Me Liberty, Pg. 601-602) suffered unfair work conditions, discrimination, and low wages. America was dubbed The Gilded Age due to its apparent overall prosperity and wealth. However, this was not really the case because the lower classes/immigrants of the time had many disadvantages and the government did not do much to help them. Of course, this arose various complaints from the lower classes who called the government to action regarding the inequalities that they were facing. However, their needs and wants were often ignored by the government as it was

George W. Plunkett justifies Tammany Hall as being legitimate, non-corruption or as a “distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft (3).” He argues that politics should be for personal acquirement. He states, “I seen my opportunities and I took ‘em (3).” This influenced Plunkett’s position of power. He like many other district leaders used a “sort of monopoly (4)” and honest graft such as to “fix up a big park (4)” to solidify their positions of power by securing voter support through “direct contact with the people (91)”. This included maintaining “his popularity (97)” and keeping “watch (98)” of everyone in their district. Leaders focused on providing assistance to people in need in exchange for votes because “his subsistence depends

In “The Man with the Muck-Rake,” Theodore Roosevelt used diction, symbolism, and ethos to convey his convictions on the social and political evils in progressive era America in order to shed light on the necessity of a proper and honest society.

The Gilded Age will be remembered for the accomplishments of thousands of American thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers, and promoters of social justice. The Gilded Age and the first years of the twentieth century were a time of great social change and economic growth in the United States. Roughly spanning the years between Reconstruction and the dawn of the new century, the Gilded Age saw rapid industrialization, urbanization, the construction of great transcontinental railroads, innovations in science and technology, and the rise of big business. Afterward, the first years of the new century that followed were dominated by progressivism, a forward-looking political movement that attempted to redress some of the ills that had