Division Of Power In The Gilded Age

In the Gilded Age, the division of power was more prominent than ever. It caused people of lower wealth to suffer financially and physically, leading to a harmful, stagnant society.

Because of the low-paying jobs that were offered only to the people of the lower class, it made it financially impossible for the “poor” to elevate into the middle and upper classes. As depicted in the political cartoon titled “ The Protectors of Our Industries”, “cloth workers averaged $9 a week, linen workers averaged $11 a week, and lumber workers averaged $6 a week, all while providing for their families, who in relation to the rich had more people to take in account for. Because of this sad reality, the lower class was robbed of the opportunity to go to school

Men like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Pierpoint Morgan were all lucky enough to become people who nearly ruled the business world as well as the upper class. John D. Rockefeller excelled in the oil business. His use of vertical and horizontal integration allowed for him to own the largest oil company in America, the Standard Oil Company. This sense of absolute power and rule can be seen through the political cartoon titled “Next”. In it is depicted a huge octupus, resembling the Standard Oil Company, engulfing key elements of the nation, including the capital, the White House, and what seems to be other people of other classes. Although this cartoon focuses heavily on the exageratory elements, it makes sure to highlight the negative aspects of the “rich”. It depicts the idea that the wealthy overruled all. Because one person was able to dominate a whole branch of business, like Rockefeller, it made it impossible for others to grow. Instead it left these men working for Rockefeller in which most people of the lower class worked in factories for low wages and long hours. This idea that the lower class was trapped in their fate can be proven through the fact that most of the people who emigrated to America were almost always unable to escape poverty. Although the Gilded Age did bring economic success to America, it did not come without its cons. It left innocent

Although this assumption did not apply to all wealthy men, it did in fact apply to a man named George Pullman. George Pullman was an American engineer who designed and manufactured the Pullman sleeping car. Although his invention did lead to a boom in business opportunities, it did end in a “great depression”. During this time, Pullman laid off workers and cut their wages, all while refusing to lower their rent for the model homes they lived in. This unfortunate reality can be depicted/proven through the political cartoon entitled “The Condition of the Laboring Man at Pullman”. In this cartoon, Pullman is seen to be suffocating the life out of one of his workers in which “low wages” and “high rent” are the defying factors of life or death. Not only does this show the attitudes the upper class had towards the lower class, but it shows the unfair treatment people experiecned if they were not a part of a wealthy group. It proves that this “injustice” could have been prevented to some extent. It gives context to why the lower class were trapped in their lifestyle. Because of this, the economy would face even more problems and challenges in the future like constant depressions in company with several union strikes and