Research Paper On The Gilded Age

679 Words3 Pages

The Gilded Age Shaw, Christopher Student# 232095
The Gilded Age “What is the chief end of man? –To get rich. In what way? –Dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must.”— Mark Twain. 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 term “Gilded Age” was a metaphor use to describe the United States of America, meaning that even though America appeared to be a …show more content…

Americans that had issues with the economy, and over population believe that urban areas would become less crowed and better suited for living. With expansion to the West America could extend the railroad systems, which would make trading easier from the East coast to the west coast, and also open up overseas trading. Expanding west wasn’t easy. It brought conflict with the Mexican government, and the Native Americans. Wars and battles were fought for ownership of land. A major act implemented during The Gilded Age was the General Allotment Act. Also known as the Dawes Act, was implemented by congress in 1887 to assimilate Native American Indians by annihilating their culture and way of life. With this act the president was authorize to cease and redistribute American Indians tribal lands. “To be civilized is to "wear civilized clothes, cultivate …show more content…

With the expansion West all signs for the United States looked good for most. Expanding West wasn’t easy; there was a lot of conflict that came with expansion. Conflict between the north and the south, conflict with the Native Americans, and conflict with Mexico. These conflicts lead to multiple wars and battles in a tussle for ownership of land that everyone wanted for its natural resources and space. Although America seemed to be the place to live, there was a lot of hidden