Urban Growth During the Gilded Age: Social, Cultural, Political, and Economic Changes

The Gilded Age is a time period in American history between 1870-1900. During this time period there was a boom in the United States economy and population. Unfortunately, during this time period there was a lot of financial corruption and inequality which caused the rich to become very wealthy. Interestingly enough there were a variety of distinguished authors, from William Graham Sumner, Henry Demarest Lloyd, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry George knew economic inequality was a major problem and something needed to be done.

The Gilded Age was a term used in the 1920s and 1930s derived from Mark Twain’s novel of the same name, which mocked an era of serious social problems. Mark Twain and Charles Darwin saw the corruption in the politics, the ineffectiveness of the politicians, the frenzy in the marketplace and the widespread greed among the people. The society showed a huge difference in regard to who had something and who didn’t. Most of the poor and lower middle-class

At the turn of the 19th century also known as the Gilded Age, many immigrants came to the United States looking for opportunities to live a new life that they were not able to live back home. Many of them may have had hopes of finding a miraculous career that would bring them fame and fortune just like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan did. But in reality it was not as glamorous and prosperous as it may have seemed to be. Instead it was filled with greed and corruption. Although the United States experienced an economic boom, it created an extremely wealthy upper class. Thus only widening the wealth gap between the rich and poor during this era.

The Gilded Age is a brief time in American history in which the United States experienced a population and rapid economic expansion. Mark Twain named it the “Gilded Age” as this was after the Civil War, lasting from 1870 - 1900. Although, this name was ironic as “gilded” is a term used to describe something that was covered in gold, by this he meant that the Gilded Age was whitewashed but was full of corruption. It shows how the social factors (as seen in documents A,B,C and D), economic factors (as seen in documents G), and political factors (as seen in documents E, H and I)

In the United States, there were many problems and solutions that the city dwellers and immigrants faced during the Gilded Age. During this time, most immigrants that came from Asia, Mexico, Europe, Ireland and others country were uneducated and unskilled. This led them to many problems that need to be solved for them to survive in America. One of the problems that immigrants faced was finding a job because most immigrants had a language barrier of not speaking English. The solution to their problem was ethnic neighborhood because a person who understands both languages can translate the information to find them a job. However, the job was difficult to find because there were too many immigrants looking for a job; therefore, there was less job available for them. In this oppose solution, there is some immigrant that will have to face poverty until they can keep seeking for the job available for them.

The late-nineteenth century was a turning point for American society, economics and politics. This era was an era of seeming prosperity and diversity. Nonetheless, there were many perspectives that were omitted from this prosperous and wealthy view shared among the few. As a result, the late 1800s was known as the Gilded Age, named by Mark Twain as an allusion to the concept of something that is seemingly pleasantly plated with gold on the outside, but rotten to the core. This Gilded Age, in essence, was a period of rapid growth of industry in the American North and West. This industrialization brought many benefits, however, along with the benefits for the select few, it also saw heavier persecution and exploitation against those who were

The Gilded Age, also known as American urbanization, led to many employment opportunities, advances in transportation and sanitation, which improved overall standard of living. All advancements that took place in The Gilded Age still effect American life today. The rapid development of the cities in the 19th century served as both a separation and togetherness factor in American political, economic and social life. Cities in the area created a wealthy cross-section of the world’s population, making the cities a diverse, metropolitan area, drawing a lot of attention to the social classes of the people surrounding. At the same time, cities drove people from completely different backgrounds to live and work together, creating unity. The never-ending inundation of immigrants from different countries including, Britain, Germany, and Mexico, created a diverse population united by sharing their determination for financial wealth, social oppression and the American Dream. As the 19th century came to an end, how did the explosion of civilization contradictorily make Americans more similar and more diverse simultaneously?

The Gilded Age was characterized by rapid industrialization, reconstruction, ruthless pursuit of profit, government, corruption, and vulgarity (Cashman 1). After the Civil War, America was beginning to regroup as a nation. There were many other changes developing in the country. Industrialization was taking over the formerly agricultural country. The nation’s government was also in great conflict (Foner 20). Many changes occurred during the Gilded Age. These changes affected farmers, labor, business, and politics.

The Gilded Age was a very special time for our nation that took place from the 1870s to around 1900. During this time, economic growth was at a rapid increase, politics were corrupted yet had high turnouts, and urbanization flourished. Every aspect of the life of an American changed drastically throughout this time of the Gilded Age. The entire era was focused on the enormous changes that each aspect of America was going through. As this is brought to attention, if we are to look into the way that America is in our time of today, we can find that there are many similarities to that of the original Gilded Age. The United States of America have currently found themselves to be experiencing the second era of the Gilded Age throughout the areas of economic, politic and social transformation.

New York City during the Gilded Age experienced a transformation on society that would leave a lasting effect on all aspects of the city. During this era in New York City, the idea of politics and its characters developed into some of the modern definitions that citizens still see in government today. The political corruption that consumed politics during this time period became a staple in New York City society. The word corruption gives the tactics of politicians in the Gilded Age a reputation that is filled with destructive and harmful methods that were unbeneficial to society. In reality, not all of the strategies of these politicians resulted in poor outcomes. Through questionable political tactics, officials used their power to negatively and positively push New York City into the 1900s, which would lead to political activism by the city’s people looking for change. Tammany Hall was one of the most influential political machines that directly impacted the people and society of New York City at this time, and exemplified what it meant to be a corrupt institution that helped positive change happen.

During the rise of industrialization, the United States had just ended the Civil War and was starting to move on. People had an aspiration at this time to make a more than decent living for themselves, and the economy was at the right spot for this to be possible. This time period in American History is referred to as the Gilded Age, termed by the famous author Mark Twain, which simply means covered in gold; however, Twain did not necessarily mean this in a good way. He believed right under the surface of this gold plating was still problems with the American society that didn’t look so appealing. This essay will discuss how practices during the rise of industrialization during the Gilded Age shaped the American work and labor force.

In the late nineteenth century, America was a country in its prime of industrialization and immigration influx. Known as the Gilded Age, this period defined the United States as the bustling powerhouse it is today, but at the cost of many social and political injustices that lay underneath the guise of the “American dream”. Among the urbanization and booming industry, there was national and racial discrimination, gender inequality, child exploitation and labor,

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

Between natural disasters such as extreme winter storms, earthquakes, and mega-fires, people are beginning to pay more attention to how they interact and impact their surrounding environment. Global warming, a substantial factor in causing the aforementioned, is making all human contact with the earth much more influential. In addition, as cities become more populated there is an increasing expansion from urban centers as well as a large migration away from them all together a new term has been created: wildland-urban interference, or WUI. These areas are defined as places where humans come into contact or invade natural areas and consequently pose a threat to either themselves or the ecosystem. And while WUI may not seem like an urban issue

Industrialization changed the social, political, and economic face of America’s cities. A model of the reforms that society was experiencing can be found in the nation’s school system. Progressive changes took place in schools in the forms of “change in political control of education; change in educational thought; innovations in school curriculum and other practices; justification of schooling in terms of professionalism; and the importing of scientific management into school administration” (p. 179). Each of these areas deserves reflection and analytical thought. However, as I was reading Urban and Wagoner’s American Education: A History, Chapter Seven: Organizing the Modern School System: Educational Reform in the Progressive Era, 1890-1915 (2014), the part that had me asking the most questions and contemplating differences of opinion, was on the subject of progressive reforms in curriculum development. More specifically, considering my reactions to the Committee of Ten findings.