Mark Twain's Gilded Age

There are many events throughout history that can be compared to Mark Twain’s, “Gilded Age”. Characterized by unprecedented levels of rapid growth involving the railroad, mining, factories, new family grown farms, and the banking industry, it was the time of new found wealth and the coming of age. However, it was also the time of greed, corruption and political venues that were so intertwined making political parties and government difficult to follow. However, the post-civil war events that I can relate his works to is the overwhelming greed and entitlement the government and people showed against the indigenous native Indians. From the beginning of the western migration from England, the indigenous Indians were treated very poorly. They survived hundreds of years living off the land, using all portions of their kill for shelter, clothing, tools and, of course, nourishment nothing went to waste. Nomadic, the small tribes moved from place to place living with the migration of the herds. Enter the white man, and the migration westward. Promises of cheap rich land for farming, jobs and the prospect of mining minerals started the move west News of buried treasures brought forth prospectors from around the world trying their luck at striking it rich with a mineral mine, such as gold or

Basically giving the government permission to confiscate the reservation land and divide it up innate 160-acre parcels of land to be given to each Indian as their own private property. The allotments were given to single men, and single women with children, but did not include married women. However, if the Indians took this land, then they would become US citizens, which in turn crippled almost all tribal cultural traditions. Since the reservation land far outnumbered the allotments given out to the Indians, the government reserved the right to sell the surplus to the white