Q1 - Explain at least five reasons for the rapid industrialization of the United States in the late nineteenth century. How did the culture of the time support wealth and big business? How was America transformed during the Gilded Age? What was the legacy of this era of American history? The competitive nature and lust for wealth of Americans led to the Gilded Age. During this time, America expanded its empire in the West with steel railroads, opening the floodgates to an industrial age. A few reasons for the rapid industrialization of the United States are the (1) “dispossession” of Native Americans which led to the demand of railroad systems; (2) Reconstruction Era left the South in shambles, but it allowed the South to urbanize quickly as …show more content…
Also, with new discoveries and inventions being made frequently during the late nineteenth century, the inventors got rich off of their ideas and learnings. For one instance, the railroads “bestowed enormous riches on a handful of tycoons,” (Roark). But it was not just the innovators that benefited from the new booming businesses. All of the new businesses provided jobs for many Americans at the time which “left a legacy of lavish spending,” (Roark). The inventions and discoveries made during the Gilded Age changed the daily lives of Americans. With all of its glory, the Gilded Age led America into an urbanized era, but, left with notable calls for social reform. The Gilded Age was a time of industrialization, urbanization, and big businesses. The inventions of the late nineteenth century led to further advances in technology and allowed America to flourish. The Gilded Age is known mostly for its expansion of railroads, steel factories, the discovery of oil, and electric and telephone industries. For those at the time, it was an opportunity to get rich quick, and even, stay …show more content…
How did people cope with the economic crisis? How did the Great Depression transform America? In an effort to improve American business, the United States established taxes which restricted foreign countries from importing and selling their products to Americans. By doing so, foreign nations were not receiving income to buy American products, hindering America’s export trade. With the banks also lending loans, debt began to grow, and the American economy began to spiral out of control. Between 1924 and 1929, the values of stocks skyrocketed. Many Americans were still hopeful in their “get rich quick” mindset and were actively buying stocks on margin. October 29, 1929 marked the beginning of a six-month period which the stock market lost six-sevenths of its total value (Roark). In November of 1929, President Hoover implemented a “voluntary plan for recovery: Businesses would maintain production and keep their workers on the job; labor would accept existing wages, hours, and conditions,” (Roark). But, the bargain was of no avail. Without consumer-demand, production came to a slow stop, wages were cut, and employees were laid off. With many people out of jobs, spending of consumers decreased, once again leading to a cease in production, more wage cuts, and further loss of jobs. By 1933, nearly 13 million people were jobless. Due to the lack of jobs, many became homeless, scavenging for food in garbage cans. The textbook
The Gilded Age, created a big impact with the use of technology, it affect the people and the environment of that time period. Many things helped contribute to this affect, like the Bessemer Process, railroads, oil, and light. The Bessemer process help make steel at much faster rate; therefore it helped make railroads and skyscrapers for the future. Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men at the time, helped with the steel industry and production. He was the man who made the steel industry grow and make it built things that we thought weren't even imaginable during that period.
The stock market crash was a huge catastrophe that affected millions of Americans, even those not involved in the stock market, “[The crash] came suddenly, and violently, after holders of stocks had been lulled into a sense of security” (Document 1). After a huge drop in stock prices, many stock owners sold their stock in fear of losing money. The stock market was down $14 million, which even today is a very substantial number. FDR saw the issue in this, and immediately worked to eliminate the issue as well as prevent it for future generations. The Federal Securities Act of 1933, mandating that all companies selling stock provide proof of their company’s worth, and the Securities Exchange Commission of 1934, monitoring the stock market to ensure no one corrupts the stock market, allowed stock to be sold and bought safely once
The stock market had an important role in the booming 1920’s. Everyone was buying and selling stocks at a high rate for a few years. Then, on October 24th, 1929, the stock prices were dropping lower and lower forcing people to sell them quickly. In the article “Firing, Not Hiring”, the author states, “Stocks were selling a fraction of the price” (Hayes). Sooner or later people who did not sell their stocks before lost a large sum of money.
Financial and economic crises are not unfamiliar to the U.S economy, as they almost appeared in a cyclical way at various times throughout the centuries, shaking many times the foundations of the country. Concerning the Great Depression 1929-1933, let us remember that on 29 October 1929, billions of dollars turned into dust. Before the crisis’ years, the market "The Dow" was turning endless of people into millionaires. This kind of market turned into the hobby of many ignorant people who knew nothing about the stock market. When the government entered the “game” trying to calm things down by increasing the interest rate, panic rose.
The Gilded Age was a “term coined in the 1873 to critique an era of political corruption and economic inequality that stretched to 1900” as the book says, but what was the Gilded Age really? The Gilded Age was a time of era where we will always remember of the accomplishments of thousands of Americans, but it was also a gap between the rich and the poor. The Gilded Age had many important growth for the economy, which is industrialization, railroads, inventions, monopolies, Laissez-faire policies, labor unions, urbanization, settlement of the West, and the rise of the Populist. The Gilded Age was a time of social change and economic growth. “During the Gilded Age, 1876-1900, Congress was known for being rowdy and inefficient” said from sageamericanhistory.net.
The Second Industrial Revolution brought many great things to America such as advances in technology, new businesses, job opportunities, and "new" immigrants. America was truly the "City Upon a Hill." America, although booming after the Second Industrial Revolution, was problematic. The period after the Second Industrial Revolution is called the "Gilded Age" by Mark Twain because America at that time was glittering on the outside but corrupt on the inside.1 Alongside all the advances in the economy, technology, and society there are negative factors coinciding with the progress. The negative factors prove to be detrimental to America's society, politics, and economy.
It’s hard to truly say whether growth in the late 19th century was good. It gave rise to a new era of industrialization, and ushered in a new, globalised society. It also toppled the old notion of the American Dream, and drew to question what words like freedom and equality truly meant. It put power in the hands of the wealthy and took freedom from the disadvantaged. A new system of power was borne unto the world, one where money is power, and power is freedom.
The Gilded Age was defined by many things, such as unequal wealth, political corruption, and most importantly industrialization. During this age laissez- faire capitalism, hands of government,
The Gilded Age took place in the U.S in the late 19th century, from about 1870 to 1900. It was a time of invention, and the development of many modern technologies that are still in use today. But behind the appearance of the courtly mankind wide strides toward the future of technology, and all the new amazing advancements, The Gilded Age was terrible time for all thoses that were not rich, white, men, for this time period was defined by them, for them, and it was a hellhole for everyone else in the country. Horrifyingly enough, very many similarities connect the time of The Gilded Age with today. The Gilded Age was a seemingly highly progressive period, however, underneath its shiny exterior is a much more ugly truth.
The Gilded Age started as the reconstruction era in the United States, which meant the rebuilding of a broken nation. This was a time when a white supremacist view was the only right way to see the economic, political and social standpoints in the country. It later was labeled as the Gilded Age because there were so many issues that had to be covered up and could not be fixed. The term gilded means to cover with thin gold leaf, which is pretty much what they tried to do. During this time there was a rapid expansion of industrial growth, railroads began to become of high interest, and the wages in the north started rising.
The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.
The Gilded Age was to describe America in the late nineteenth century. The outside of the US seemed glamorous and splendid alongside industrial development and massive economic growth. However, the dark sides were hidden beneath it. In my perspective, I believe we are living in the 2nd Gilded age.
The decade between 1890 and 1900 expressed a crucial time in the United States of America’s history. Many people experienced struggles throughout this time while others prospered. Mark Twain suggested that despite the significant achievements of the United States, Americans experienced poverty. This statement is an accurate description of the lively hood people experienced in their daily lives during the Gilded Age whether it was positive or negative. Many people during this time period focused on the positive outcomes that resulted from the Gilded Age such as new inventions, the gospel of wealth, additions of land to the country, urbanization, and middle-class improvements.
The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
The Great DepressionTopic: the great depressionQuestion: How did the great depression affect americans?Thesis statement:The great depression affected americans because it destroyed their economy. Millions of families lost theirs savings as many banks collapsed in the 1930’s. The Great Depression was the worst economic drop of all times in the industrial world1. The Great Depression began because of a stock market crash in 1929 and came to end ten years later in 1939, around 15 million americans were unemployed and about half of the American banks failed. It was one of the darkest era in the United States.