Why Did Edward Pierce Pull Off Such A Crime

Despite the nation’s increase in wealth through urbanization and the façade of a prospering people, the fraudulency of the Gilded Age crippled the masses in their rise to security. The competiveness amongst laborers, a battle for control of

During the ‘Gilded Age’, businesses and industries bloomed in order to create profit and enable people to gain

As the wealthy increased their assets in the cities, at the same time, a large class was “impoverished city dwellers.” A huge contrast between the wealthy and the poor were forming and becoming more apparent from the beginning of the eighteenth century in the colonies. The data that was collected on the people who were submitted into poor houses clearly with little “doubt that the third quarter of the eighteenth century was an era of severe economic and social dislocation in the cities, and that by the end of the colonial period a large number of urban dwellers were without property, without opportunity, and except for public aid, without the means of obtaining the necessities.” This evidence of poverty in the colonies is one that Nash tries to point out to support his argument that there was a sharp contrast in the distribution of wealth, and that the masses were at this time more focused on the economy’s downfall of the period than defending for constitutional rights and liberties. Protest sparked as the result of the enormous poverty in the colonies. Frustrated with their living conditions the middle and lower classes protested violently in the cities. During this time of frustration with the economic conditions, “rank had no privileges, as even the lieutenant-governor was shot” in Massachusetts. The wealthy were attacked

Henry George says poverty is the harbinger of crime and ignorance. After seeing men in

The different view of wealth from the Edward and the narrator ties into the main theme of the story: People are never satisfied with what they have. This was shown throughout the story with the symbol of wealth. Some other themes in this story is “lack of power and desperation leads to violence. This theme is shown when the narrator and the other Black Man decide to nab the first white man that “looks like bucks.” They are powerless, no money, starving—they resorted to violence because of it. Another theme that takes place in this story is money does not buy happiness. Neither the narrator nor Edward are happy. One is rich, the other, is dirt poor. A big theme in this story that applies to a lot of history is that by breaking the law and envying the rich there will still be one left empty handed. Whether it is something small like robbing a rich person or something big by overruling a government there is still going to be someone who is not benefiting. Even if it is for a good cause.

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)

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 first part of Mihm’s book is clearly outlined history of counterfeiting in pre-Civil war America, which is known as the “Golden Age of Counterfeiting”. Mihm did a great deal of research to weave a story spanning from the criminal underworld in New York City, to the gold rush in California and on to the battles within the context of the Civil War. Mihm emphasizes the pervasiveness of the counterfeit problem in the early history of America. The crime of counterfeiting money is one of the oldest crimes in history, and about one-third of all paper money in circulation around the time of the Civil War was counterfeit. Mihm incorporates information from many sources

Watson tells his partner, Henry Thompson, that he escaped prosecution because ''I had a good reputation with the merchants, quiet church-going man who paid his bills, and so the local papers took my side...No decent American is going to believe that a man who pays his bills is a common criminal, no matter what!'' This shows a theme that was common around those times and can still be seen today in modern civilization.

The Gilded Age of America was a time of rich businessmen, and poor immigrants. Cigars rolled in one hundred dollar bills, food picked up off the street. These ideas would only be emphasised as the “big business” would be introduced to America. The CEOS that let their businesses would ultimately be either praised for their contributions to society, or hated for their greed. Men such as Rockefeller, JP Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was the first man to ever mass produce steel. Steel would help to fuel the industrialization of America. Not to mention that his constant philanthropic efforts, in where he would donate over 350 million dollars to libraries and schools to help educate the poor. However, his workers complained of extremely low wages. Based on the information in the mock trial and outside research, Andrew Carnegie should not be guilty of, reckless endangerment and greed; however, he can be charged guilty with the crime of hypocrisy. Carnegie should be considered as one of the most accomplished captains of industry.

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.

For instance, Bancroft earned one thousand pounds a year for working as a British spy, which was a lot of money in the late 1700’s. In addition, Bancroft was hoping the British would grant him a monopoly for making color dyes. To clear his reputation in the Americas, Deane would most likely expose Bancroft, Then, the British Parliament surely would not give him one thousand pounds or grant him anything. However, if Deane somehow did not make it to the Americas, then Bancroft would continue to be successful and further expand his riches. Deane and Bancroft worked closely together throughout the years. While Deane suffered for his actions, Bancroft got away with them. For example. Bancroft fled when he was (rightly) accused of associating with John the Painter, who attempted to burn England’s Navy. Deane’s records mentioned he knew about this affair. So, when Deane went to America, it was highly predicted he would mention the affair. Bancroft obviously did not want this to be exposed. Thus, Bancroft kept himself safe from punishment and silenced Deane by murdering

In “The Lie” written by Penn Warren conveys a fictional, yet wise, presentation of the common man’s exploitation by the powerful. To begin with, Warren’s fictional Meriwether Lewis is oblivious to the exploitation of Thomas Jefferson and the Government. Lewis pursues the Louisa Territory exploration with a zealous spirit and continually draws inspiration from the letter written by Thomas Jefferson on the “Day of Liberty on July 4, 1803”. Lewis is effectively ignored by Thomas Jefferson and the United States Government once he is appointed to the post of Governor of the New Territory, of which he first explored. This promotion would seemingly safeguard him within the elite’s power circle. However, this reasoning is proved to be specious.

Taught only to acknowledge what he is told to, the conforming individual will not realize his surroundings until somebody deliberately makes him. The rich control the poor and the intelligent control the ignorant. Edward Pierce’s heist was in response to the rampant manipulation of society by those in power. Throughout The Great Train Robbery, Pierce realizes that the power of perception is vast. Used to test how far this power could take him into a manipulator’s mind, the robbery was Pierce’s challenge to the societal ladder.

Pierce chose to rob the train because of the difficulty of the task. He wanted to complete a challenge few have even attempted. According to the novel, “The gentleman climbed the hill, pressed binoculars to his eyes, and swept the length of the tracks. Immediately he fixed on the body of the