The Price Of The Golden Age

An American writer, Susan Sontag, stated that capitalism is, “the ideology [which] makes us all into connoisseurs of liberty—of the indefinite expansion of possibility”. From 1850 to 1907, there was a mass immigration to America and the rise of ‘Gilded Age’ which the United States population and economy grew quickly. Capitalism is a social and economic system where both the means of production and any associate trades are privately owned. During 1850 to 1907, there were a number of factors which contributed to the rise of Capitalism such as: significant entrepreneurial figures such as Henry Ford; mass immigration and cheap labour; and Railway and telegraph lines expansion to transport goods to be sold.

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.

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 Gilded Age is defined as the time between the Civil War and World War I, during which the United States population grew quickly and the economy prospered greatly. However, it is also known to be cluttered with political corruption and corporate financial misleadings, in which the rich grew very wealthy and the poor were basically peasants. The economic growth of the nation was highly influenced by the availability of land and technological innovations promised through multiple acts passed throughout the time period, and, as a result, there were many negative changes in the social standing of minorities.

The American Society could currently be in what is considered a Golden Age with all of the advancements that are being made daily. America is the number one leader in advancements in the modern day. America has been making useful advancements since around the 40s, but in the past decade, americans have been creating so many different things that help out our society, many other countries have been struggling to keep up. America has made many educational, artistic, economic, political, medical, social, humanitarian, and technological advancements in the past decade.

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.

Throughout history, America was faced with many problems socially, economically, politically, and technologically. But America has also experienced many great successes in these areas as well. Some opportunities were seized, while others were wasted. We can learn from our past failures and successes and take what we have learned from them forward with us into the future, to help build and maintain a better America. The Gilded Age, during the late 1800’s, was a time in America where we experienced explosive economic growth, serious social problems, new innovative technology, and the rise of corporations and corruption in politics. We have learned from some of these things that we went through in the Gilded Age and fixed them, but we are still facing some of the problems we faced back then, today.

Mark Twain named the 1870’s to 1900 the Gilded Age. He called this time that because gilded means covered in gold, this describes America, because if your looking at America from the outside in it looked good and business was booming. But if you lived in and worked in America you would have seen the problems and saw that everything was not good as it seemed. He called this time that because gilded means covered in gold, this describes America, because if your looking at America from the outside in it looked good and business was booming. But if you lived in and worked in America you would have seen the problems and saw that everything was not good as it seemed. The wealthy industrialists were robber barons because they paid low wages, poor working conditions, and there was manipulation of laws.

Preceding the Progressive Era, the Gilded Age showcased a vast number of changes in the industrial, economic, political, and social aspects of developing America. These changes, such as the rise of competitive industries, the continuous diverge of social and economic classes, and government authority, were issues carried into the early 20th century. Resulting from these issues were those that emerged, causing a reform movement, the Progressive Era. These leaders included Woodrow Wilson, incumbent President William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eugene V. Debs. These candidates in the Presidential Election of 1912 campaigns were dominated by the reform efforts. While the candidates had the similar desire to reform the nation, their plans contrasted in the aspects of the limitations of the government, control over businesses in accordance with the economy, and civil rights and service for the people.

Mark Twain, an American writer, named the late 19th century, the ‘Gilded Age.’ This time frame is “gilded” because the time was a glittering surface of gold with a rotten core beneath. This was a time period full of greed and guile, filled with robber barons, speculators, and Buccaneers. Not only that, but there were many sneaky business schemes to get more income, improper politics, and many impolite displays. Although, it’s better to think of this time as modern America’s formative period where small companies were transformed into an urban society dominated by industrial corporations.

Outlined in previous sections, in terms of GDP, Germany outperformed the United Kingdom in the Golden Age by a vast amount. Consequently the important question to ask is, what were the causes of such a great difference in GDP between the two countries mentioned, during that period of time.

The Gilded Age is an appropriate name for this period. On the surface, everything seemed to be wonderful. It was wonderful for certain groups of people like J.P Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. They had huge fortunes which they achieved through corruption and government paybacks. They exploited the poorest of the people and the immigrants who were seeking a better life in America. These people did the back breaking work so these rich men could amass their fortunes. In the meantime, these poor people were living squalor and filth and barely surviving. As these rich men flaunted their wealth in so many ways.

The Gilded Age, was a brief period in American history, from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, where there was a rapid economic growth as the industry expanded, generating groundbreaking opportunities for individuals. At its triumph peak, society was perceived from the outside that the new era of Americans was prosperous, however, conspicuous consumption and luxury masked corruption and the fact that a majority of people were suffering. Like gilded gold, the outside looks exemplary, but much like the Gilded Age, the inside contrasted dramatically. Besides the wide amount of success in this era, society was unbalanced with hierarchy, with a competition of the common people and successful business, as laborers fought for recognition and

Expansion has been a core idea in the United States for centuries. Looking to better and grow the country has driven it to take charge. The country decided many what direction it would go in, and how it would do so, but in doing so, there would be many consequences. As the country grew, so did its power and control. Names were written into history books as people helped define and build the nation. Some of the names lead the nation to conflict and turmoil. Due to people’s lust for progress, power and money, the Gilded Age led to many great advancements in the United States, but at the cost of great turmoil for many minority groups.

The Gilded age was named in a book by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that was The Gilded Age:A Tale of Today. It was published in 1873 and was about politics. I think Theodore Roosevelt set the whole country on an unsustainable path to ruin. He did not save the lower class, he put them in bad conditions to work in. The meat factories that the lower-class people worked in work not sanitary, they were not safe and very dangerous. The people also got very low pay for this job . I don’t think it is right to treat people differently based on if they are low, middle, or high class. I don’t think it was right for him to make richer people pay higher taxes. Because they are working harder than other people to make more money for their family