How Did The Gilded Age Affect The Economy

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.

When Mark Twain first spoke about the early 19th century era, he gave it the name the “Gilded Age.” Twain’s explanation for this name was; that the period was “glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath.” In explanation, the economy was increased by over 400% by new business practices, but below the surface there was corruption and fraud, between business owners and government officials. Big businesses impacted the economy by, creating new business practices, but the government was affected by bribery, fraud, and political machines, America responded by having labor strikes.

The gilded age was a hot mess, but what age of reform wasn't? Gilded means ‘not as it seems’. We had progressives uncovering horrific truths left and right. The progressives were fighting hard for solutions to the problems than were caused by rapid industry growth, Political corruption and urban growth. More specifically crime, poverty, and discrimination in the workplace.

The Gilded Age was an age of rapid economic growth. Railroads, factories, and mines were slowly popping up across the country, creating a variety of new opportunities for entrepreneurs and laborers alike. These new inventions and opportunities created “...an unprecedented accumulation of wealth” (GML, 601). But the transition of America from a small farming based nation to a powerful industrial one created a huge rift between social classes. Most people were either filthy rich or dirt poor, with workers being the latter.

The Gilded Age was a time to be alive. Big business meant more money; more money meant a better economy. Everything was shiny and gold. Everything was just… not how it appeared to be. The Gilded Age was described by author Mark Twain as, “an era of serious social problems masked by a thin ‘gold gilding.’”

Mark Twain referred to the late 19th century as The Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was a prosperous time in the United States of America history. During The Gilded age there was a massive growth in technology, the industry, and innovation in America. The Gilded Age was full of political corruption and corporate financial misdealing’s. This was a period were the wealthy got more wealthy and the poor were stuck in poverty.

The gilded age is the time in which the U.S. population and economy grew quickly, there were a lot of very wealthy people living very fancy lives. The Great Depletion was a very traumatic time in the U.S. because the stock market crashed and everyone wanted their money but the bank did not have it and then the whole economy went down and most people lived very unfortunate lives.

After the end of the era of reconstruction following the civil war, the gilded age began. The gilded age was characterized by it’s rapid economic growth, however it was also defined by the political corruption and social inequallity that arrose from that growth. As companies grew at an unpresedented rate, they took a central role in shaping the political landscape and economy during the gilded age. The growth of big businesses during the gilded age changed the economy to be more focussed on industry even at the expense of the working class, contributed to most of the corruption in the government, and led to many inluential protests and movements well into the progressive era.

Politically, economically and socially the Gilded Age was truly a “Gilded Age”. Noteverything added to the “Gilded” effect of the time period. The “robber barons”, two major de-pressions and the labor unions (though not originally a bad thing) did add to the age. The Gilded Age saw the rise of Andrew Carnegie, John

Imagine working sixteen hours a day in an unsanitary, dangerous, place for a big business gaining two dollars. This is what laboring-class Americans had to go through during the Gilded age. Politically, the first largest American labor union was formed during the Gilded age and many other organizations formed as well as violent strikes. Socially, different ethnics joined together to share their thoughts and realize the evils of big business and of the federal government. Mentally, most we 're losing their personal life while some were financially stable and glad.

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 a period in the late 1800s (1865-1900) that showed tremendous increase of wealth caused by the industrial age. The lifestyle of the rich during this period hid the many problems of the time that eventually brought about the progressive era movement. This was a movement for reform between 1900-1920s. Progressives typically held that the irresponsible actions of the rich were corrupting both public and private life. Forces such as immigration, the Populist Party and industrialization that led to the progressive era also impacted the American government both in its activeness and its democracy.

Industrialist had a huge impact on the gilded age. The gilded age was a rapid expansion of industrialism and a massive jump in the population of immigrants in america. The industrialist during the gilded age such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt had a big impact because of their businesses. Vanderbilt was the first of the three to be a leader of industry. Vanderbilt made millions using the railroad system and built an empire with them.

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.

What was the Gilded Age and why did Mark Twain refer to it as such? To help understand this question, one must know the meaning of the word gild. Per Merriam Webster, the term gild means to “to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to” (Gild, n.d.). After the Civil War the American people had become tired of all the corruption and simply wanted to see an end to it and to have a stable economy. The Gilded Age was fashioned to be prosperous times for all Americans, promising wealth, and an end to past political corruption.