Events That Shaped The Country And Society During The Gilded Age

The time after Civil War and at the end of the Reconstruction was known as the gilded age. The years included 1878-1889. “The Gilded Age” is a term that was created by Mark Twain in 1873. The term refers to how the country is not in very good shape yet it is known as a very wealthy time. There were seven presidents during this time; Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and William McKinley. The way they ran the country shaped the society. Another thing that shaped the country and society was all of the major industries that were flourishing and taking over the country. During the Gilded Age politics were widely known as controlled by corruption. Many of the presidents were involved in scandals. Ulysses S. Grant was involved in many scandals. Two of them are known as the Whiskey Ring and the Credit Mobilier. The scandal known as

Those four were steel, money, railroads, and oil. The main steel man was a man named Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie was self-made tycoon and he was one of the most affluent men in the United States during the 19th century. He worked many railroad jobs before founding Carnegie Steel Corporation. Another major corporation is JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase is and was a big bank that controlled many of the citizen’s money. The third major industry was US Standard Oil. John D. Rockefeller was the owner and founder of U.S. Standard Oil. The final major Corporation was the railroad system. The railroad system was run by Cornelius Vanderbilt. When he was young he worked as a steamship captain and then became one of the largest steamship operators in the United States. After he achieved being one of the largest steamship operators in the United States he decided he was going to try his hand in the railroad industry. He built another empire and helped to make the railroad system much more productive and easier to