Gilded Age Research Paper

When thinking of the Gilded Age, at first I often thought of money, wealth, and the beautiful mansions that we are surrounded with here in Newport. The Gilded Age actually stands for a period that meant growth of the amount of immigrants in the United States along with the growth of industry in general. Throughout this period production spiked for materials such as iron and steel, which were used to build railroads and means for transportation at this time. Resources such as lumber, gold, and silver also increased, which relied on the increase in routes for transportation. All of the spikes in different industries produced a mass of wealth in the nation for businessmen specifically. Aside from the apparent sources of wealth, there was a lot …show more content…
Aside from the few mansions that had already existed, the wealthiest of the wealthy were now constructing intricate, and frankly unnecessary, mansions. These estates were built with famous Victorian architecture in mind, aiming at building the most detailed and flaunting buildings that materials allowed. The Breakers, The Elms, The Marble House, and Rosecliff are a few of the enticing structures that occupy Newport, Rhode Island. Important objects that resided in these mansions were all about what the owners could show off. The wealthy felt the need and responsibility to over-do everything and anything simply to prove their wealth for all to see. Important things that mansions had in common were imported works of art, expensive materials like silk used to cover the walls and beds, and intricate chandeliers and uses of electricity (as this was a new technology for the …show more content…
In this time period, chandeliers and light fixtures were mostly made of imported crystal and were made to refract light. These chandeliers were public and were meant to attract the eye of anybody in the room. Despite the high ceilings, the high class crystals and design of the lighting fixtures did just that, they sent the message that the owner of the home that they were in was sophisticated, high class, and it was probably meant to even provoke jealousy or envy of the owner because of the elite manner in which they were “in your face”. This everyday object was important for a functional reason as well, for these chandeliers did work in providing light for the rooms, along with the lighting fixtures on the walls which were just as decorated and detailed. Today, lighting fixtures are taken advantage of more than they were at this time, for lights are a common product within our society. We don’t even think about using electricity because it is accessible for us, as compared to it being a new invention in the Gilded Age. The use of lights now are more for functionality rather than showing our guests or whomever is in a room how much someone can afford to pay for the details within the