The Late 19th Century: The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age refers to the brief time in American History during the late 19th Century. The era lasted from 1877 to 1893, before the market crash of 1893 that caused a severe depression. The Gilded Age derived its name from Mark Twain, who described the era as the Gilded Age because of the many great fortunes that were created during this period. During this time, the United States experienced a population and economic boom that led to a wealthy upper class. However, the Gilded Age also portrayed a negative side. There are many reasons why Mark Twain described the late 19th century as the "Gilded Age", due to the growth in Immigration, Labor Unions, Corporations and Robber Barons. The population in America during the Gilded Age increased dramatically due to the economic opportunities for immigrants. Immigrants came to America from Eastern and Southern Europe and also from China and Japan. However, many of these immigrants were often discriminated by the Americans and even subjected to bad living conditions and dangerous low paying jobs. It had been reported that approximately one hundred and forty thousand Chinese immigrants entered the country. Most of these Chinese immigrants worked on the Western railroads. The increase in population in America led to severe shortages in housing, …show more content…
First of all, Americans subjected all the immigrants to poor living conditions and dangerous low paying jobs. Labor Unions were established due to the harsh working conditions that immigrants and lower class people were subjected too. Robber barons were businessmen and entrepreneurs that got rich through unscrupulous practices during the late 19th century. Mark Twain was correct in describing the late 19th century as the Gilded Age because the great economic growth "hides the cheapness of the metal