When the Reconstruction Age from the resolution of the Civil War started coming to a closing, a new age began to commence. This new age was the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age earned its name from the popular writer, Mark Twain. The name meant on the outside, life looked glamorous, but in reality, the underground was corrupt. During the era, the US saw a shift in the way the country operated and became more industrialized. These changes caused farmers and industrial workers to be treated unfairly and have a response to them. Farmers and industrial workers are different in the aspect of power levels they possessed when first protesting and the person that ruled over them. However, the unfair treatment they received and the organizations created to act against the effect of industrialization were similar. Therefore, despite some differences, farmers and industrial workers response toward industrialization were similar. …show more content…
Farmers were abused by the railroad freight fees, the world market’s dramatic drop of commodity prices caused by overproduction, and tariffs for their goods which resulted in the farmers to be continuously be stuck in debt. Industrial workers constantly suffered in poor working conditions and low pay. It was not uncommon for most workers to work more than ten hours a day. They were also faced with job instability. Missing a day of work could easily could get them fired, and if a worker was faced with an injury or sickness they would have to suck it up and continue working because there was no “sick days”. These unfavorable circumstances eventually caused both groups to create organizations to defend their
There was still no care for safety, no one watching them, and terrible pay. (artifact 4) Factory owners did not care about the quality or safety of the things they were making. (artifact 3) Most people lived in overcrowded cities. They could be unhealthy, dirty, and most people were very poor. (artifact 1) Most political bosses were known to be corrupt.
Companies did not care if their employees got hurt or injured in any way, shape, or form. The workers were working for many hours a day with very little pay. Children were working instead of going to school. If a worker died, the company would just replace them with someone new. The workers that had it the worst were immigrant women and children.
The Delano Grape and Strike and boycott had an impact on the farmworker movement and on American society more broadly. The strike and boycott brought national attention to the plight of farmworkers, and they helped to raise awareness about the need for better working conditions and protections for agricultural laborers. The movement inspired other workers and activists to fight for their rights, and it helped to pave the way for the creation of labor laws and regulations that improved working conditions for many Americans. In addition to its impact on the labor movement, the Delano Grape Strike and boycott also had important cultural and social implications.
In 1877, amid an economic depression, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads lowered their workers' wages by 20 percent. Their workers unionized in a strike that started in West Virginia. 2/3 of the nation joined, opposing the federal troops sent by President Hayes to end the strike. America’s Gilded Age was an era of confrontation between management and labor. It was an era of economic depression, growing industrialism and abysmal working conditions.
Jessica HillisMr. GillardAP US History5 January 2007Essay 16: Gilded AgeThroughout history, certain periods of time have been given certain names based on thehappenings that occurred. Many have called the period of 1865 to 1901 the “Gilded Age”, be-cause it was “shiny and pretty” on the outside but it was “rough and ugly” underneath. The term“Gilded Age” was actually coined by Mark Twain who satired the Gilded Age with a GoldenAge.
The Gilded Age lasted from 1870-1900 The Gilded Age, which spanned the final three decades of the nineteenth century, was one of the most dynamic, contentious, and volatile periods in American history. America's industrial economy exploded, generating unprecedented opportunities for individuals to build great fortunes but also leaving many farmers and workers struggling merely for survival. Overall national wealth increased more than fivefold, a staggering increase, but one that was accompanied by what many saw as an equally staggering disparity between the rich and the poor. Industrial giants like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller revolutionized business and ushered in the modern corporate economy, but also, ironically, sometimes destroyed
Was Mark Twain correct in calling the Gilded age? “Even though the era following the Reconstruction was one of the great invention and economic growth, all did not share in that prosperity.” For example according to Introduction to American History in 1860’s and 1900’s the millage of railroads increased from a 30,000 miles to a 193,000 mileage. One million to ten millions and the number of workers from 1.3 million to 5.3 million.
In a time, 1865 marked the end of Reconstruction of the North and the South after the Civil War. The start of the Second Industrial Revolution began with the invention of electrical power and mechanical engines. The United States expanded westward like never before with the creation of railroads, oil, and steel. The Election of 1896 marked a critical election when Republican William McKinley, United States President from 1897-1901, defeated his opponent in one of the most dramatic and complex elections in the young country’s history. Using the idea of American Imperialism, the United States aimed to spread their political, economic, and cultural control within the government over areas beyond their boundaries.
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.
Workers worked until their bodies could not take the condition and released with no benefits. They did not get any vacations, days off, or sick leaves, or else they will be soon be replaced by another suitable worker. Which they did not get coverage or retirement benefits, or kick out workers if they are pregnant or they go on strike. Labors need to demand change when they lack the money, political power, or education. Unions did not legally exist and industrial worker bosses try to prevent unions from taking place.
Between two wars The Civil War and World War I was called the Glided Age. The Gilded Age grew a accelerated industrialization of factory based steel mills, also a country based on railroad for transporation,blooming cities and in science. The Gilded Age also grew in social chage and economic growth, creating new opportunites for entrpreners. The effects of the industrialization on American 's were work labor which lead to the orgin of The Kinghts of Labor. In addition with such the rising of industrial the citites grew which lead to immigiration and also the creation of the hull house.
The eruption of industrialization in the Northeast in the decades following the end of Reconstruction created massive amounts of wealth for a privileged few. The cost of this unprecedented growth was paid for on the backs of the working-class labor. Men and women were forced to work unthinkable hours, children were forced into jobs at very young ages, and working conditions were nearly and workable which led to many avoidable injuries. All these atrocities were committed to maximize the profits of their employers, whose exorbitant wealth led to the era being referred too ironically as the Gilded Age. Labor leaders such as Samuel Gompers combated the powerful upper class that controlled the profits of production by attempting to organize labor
Problems like these angered the workers and caused labor unions to form. Some labor unions included the American Federation of Labor (AFL), or the Knights of Labor (KoL), which were the first two industrial labor unions. The industrial unions did more physical rebellion such as strikes or walk-outs, but both the industrial unions and the farmer unions were formed due to the people’s
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.