Late 19th century, the United States became the leading industrial nation in the world which transformed the national economy of the nation during the period called Gilded Age. The most influential development of this era were the new inventions of the inventors, who invented new ideas and new products which led to a rise of big business. The inventors mostly controlled the nationwide industries, factories and had much control over the government and people who owned small business. Because of these new inventions the American life was changed and there was a drastic growth in the urban areas, there were significant changes in the transportation, agriculture, communication, and there was a demand in the labor union because of the newly built factories and industries. The life of this era was seemed to be constantly in motion as big businesses were rising and the life of every American got busier and busier because of the newly invented products. The Gilded Age has its importance in American history because it sets up the foundation for the modern …show more content…
Without them it would be impossible for Americans to be a new America with newly intervened products. Many new products transformed the simple life of an American. Their daily routine life was changed by the newly invented products. They could now travel via train in a short amount of time, they now had oil which made it easier for factories to make new machinery which alleviated some burden off from the man and the machine did the work for them. There are many other factors which changed the life of a normal person because of the business moguls. Also, the robber barons also opened up many job positions for people and left usable resources for us like railroads, telecommunication service, libraries and etc. They changed the way we live
Gilded age 1878-1889 was the age of fast growth of industry and immigrants in America history. The production of steel and iron rose radically than other time. In contrast, the Western resources increased such as silver,lumber, and gold. As well as the transportation also improved. Railroad develop and move goods from resources rich west to east.
The similarities between modern day America and the Gilded Age are astounding. To understand why this is occurring
Businesses could not afford to slow downproduction during the Panic, so they continued to keep their prices high, but the people didn’thave access to the scarce money. Not only were businesses charging high prices, but also thePhiladelphia and Reading Railroad went bankrupt, causing less modes of transportation for work-ers and farmers. In total, over 15,000 companies went bankrupt during the Panic and the unem-ployment was the highest in history. Labor Unions were also created during the Gilded Age, which added to the idea of theGilded Age being truly “gilded”. The American Federation of Labor was one of the first laborunions created in the United States.
The 19th century was a big turning point for US history. Throughout the United States problems arose and politics still seemed to be an issue. The years 1873 through 1898 were extraordinary. Many organizations were formed to protect workers, inventions were created to make everyday lives easier and the nation went through two great depressions, in a way all years in history are important but during the Gilded Age three specific years stood out. Those three years being 1873, the first panic of the nation, 1893, the second great depression where it was the greatest depression in the nation's history, and 1896 when the 28th president of the United states was elected.
In both the early and late 19th century there were a lot of things that contributed to the growth of America. Economically, during this point in time there was extreme growth. Up to the end of the Civil war, the way people went about life was about to change even more than what has already changed in the last fifty years. Post-Civil war, over 4 million slaves were freed. They migrated and assimilated towards the pacific coast and towards northern states.
Even the negative side effects of their actions led to long term benefits for many. The creation of monopolies led to government intervention in business on behalf of fair competition. The exploitation of workers led to regulations guaranteeing safety codes, minimum wage, abolition of child labor, and the rise of unions. While they did not intend for these things to occur, they are still byproducts of their efforts to build American industry. They set up the country to become, financially speaking, the largest beneficiary of World War I as the U.S. supplied much of the material used to fight the conflict.
This caused America to flourish with new inventions, for example the automobile, household machinery, television, etc. Even old inventions and ideas were improving, like the radio, movies, and the use of advertising. The radio, movies, driving, and buying the various new products became a part of the daily lives. These inventions created a sense of ease for daily lives in America in the 1920s. It made life, jobs, and experiences easier.
Americans took advantage of the new changes in communication, transportation, manufacturing, and technology. They used the advances to produce profitable manufacture goods that could be sold which boosted the economy. The new development of the Market Revolution changed the lives of Americans. Watson states that the Market Revolution “intensify the impact of capitalism on the lives n ordinary Americans” (28). The effects of the Market Revolution led to economic inequalities and a threat to America liberty.
This essay will examine the reasons why historians have called “The Gilded Age” to the era between 1877 and 1900, in which poverty, massive immigration, racism and corruption were the base metal of a nation that was gilded with industrialization and sudden wealth in order to make it look perfect with a shine finish. During the XIX century, United States suffered an important economic growth that took place after the civil war and the reconstruction era. The end of the war had a very decisive influence in the industrial development of the nation, giving a strong boost to it, causing a strong demand for many goods and a vertical rise in prices. The progress of American industry has had its repercussions to this day.
The invention of the cotton gin decreased labor and increased the production of usable cotton and the demand for items being made from it. Advancements being made in both water and land transportation led to explosive growth in cities and factories; thus improving the national economy little by little. All in all, the revolution taking place in the Americas after the war of 1812 turned the nation into the successful, worldwide marketplace we know of
Inventions like the automobile made a faster form of transportation open to the public; this would allow people to be able to go from places in a timeless matter compared to their other forms of transportation such as boats, and railroads. Also, the light bulb allowed people to save money and power their houses at the same time. Once the light bulb was put in, and electricity was wired through the house, they didn't have to pay for more light bulbs for a long period of time; compared to how much money families would spend on buying standard oil to light their homes, electricity and light bulbs were a giant money saver for many families during the Gilded Age. These inventions were not limited to the United States, though, over time technology diffused into other countries due to trade. In short due to new technology being created and new ways of doing things industrialized the lives of millions of people across the globe were made
The impact it had on the gilded age was the number of jobs it provided to the fresh-in immigrants. Vanderbilt knew that he could hire immigrants and they would work for not that much money and with these new railroads america will be shrunk for easier expansion of the immigrants.
Transportation meant more interactions of people and information, but often had devastating effects due to the human folly of wanting to decrease time. Women in the work force increased the production rate, as well as a boom in the economy, but were often treated in inhumane conditions and regarded lowly. Banks allowed vast opportunities for the wealthy investors, but also ended up disabling the poor working force, especially in the depression. As such, while there were evident benefits to the market revolution that heavily boosted the economy and development of the country, the drawbacks still outweighed the positives. Death and people taking advantages of others led to the market revolution being a dark time in American history.
The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”.
Although society today may often times recognize this time as a prosperous time that allowed growth and improvements in techniques of everyday life. Many forget to examine what everyday life, then really consisted of. Studying this time and the struggles faced can allow people to perceive events during the Gilded Age with a different