The American Civil War: The Gilded Age

The years after the American Civil War have been characterized by Mark Twain and others as “The Gilded Age”. By this statement he means, this period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. Historians have come to the conclusion that there was a decline of human value and low morals from 1870-1910. This was a period of greed, corruption, with Robber Barons, shady business tactics, and horrible political power. However, this era was the making of the modern world. We now have transportation, communication technologies as well as sports that arose in this era. Industrial workers had to work long hard hours in factories, but struggled to survive because of low wages and dangerous working conditions. People started riots and they fought and killed policeman in the streets. Farmers had it rough because with new technologies such as the plow, tractor, and other farming tools, they produced way too many crops. The more crops they produced, the less they would get paid for the agriculture. So they would try to grow more crops hoping to make more money but it only made it worse. “Between 1873 and 1894 cotton production doubled while the price of cotton fell from about 15 cents a pound to less than 6 cents a pound. The same phenomenon occurred in all other sectors of the agricultural economy” (Patrick). This caused them to go into debt. They had tariff policies, they were not given tax breaks, life was hard for farmers in this day while everything was still working out. Although it was rough to situate into this brand new environment, so many great things came out of this so called “Gilded Age”. The late 19th century saw the creation of the modern industrial economy. Transportation and communication networks were created and corporations became the way of business. So while it is easy to look at this era as negative, because “there were turbulent years that saw labor violence, a rise in racial tension, militancy among farmers, and discontent among the unemployed” (Digital), we have to look at the positive as well. Such as the economy growing at a fast rate generating wealth. Railroads and telephone lines stretched across the country, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and cheaper goods for consumers. The creation of “the phonograph, radio, newspapers and magazines, the growth of commercialized entertainment as well as new sports, including basketball, bicycling, and football, and appearance of new transportation technologies, such as the automobile, electric trains and trolleys” (Digital) were all created. Think about it, a person has to start from the bottom to get to the top. Unfortunately, these people started from the bottom. They were the ones who lived through these tough times of inventions, new ways of living, economy changes, etc. Many were successful. Oil was another success during this time period created by John Rockefeller. There was little need for oil before the Civil war. However, with all the new machinery, suddenly everything required oil. Steele, founded by Andrew Carnegie, also became very useful and big as well. They used steel for railroads, farm equipment, and canned goods. Thomas Edison created the light bulb …show more content…
(2016). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=9
Patrick. (n.d.). "Agricultural Problems and Gilded Age Politics". Retrieved February 10, 2017, from