The Gilded Age Essay

increasingly dangerous pursuit of a serial murderer. Through the misadventures of John Moore, Caleb Carr argues that late 19th century New York City and America as a whole was on a collision course for disaster. This period of time, coined the ‘Gilded Age,’ is marked by intense social oppression of foreign children.…

William Dean Howells wrote The Rise of Silas Lapham in 1885, at the height of the Gilded Age. It was a time of great industrial expansion in the United States. For the first time, the majority of workers had jobs outside of agriculture. It saw the rise of massive companies, led by robber barons like Carnegie and Rockefeller. The economic gap in the U.S. began to increase: the richest one percent received the same total income as the bottom half of the population. With this gap in wealth came…

The late 19th century is named referred to as the “Gilded Age” thanks to Mark Twain. He meant that the period at first look was glittering but was very corrupt underneath. During the “Gilded Age”, there were some people that were titled elites and then the others fell under multiple categories that included American laborers. The elites were wealthy in which they had more influence in politics therefore American laborers found it hard to survive. The most momentous political conflict of the…

prosperity allowed Americans to live lavish lifestyles teeming with cars, moviegoing, speakeasies and jazz. Every attempt was made to fill the voids of human loss with materials and riches, leaving the Roaring Twenties with the fitting nickname of “The Gilded Age.” This gold-masked … prompted writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald…

American people. It was a question of whether to uphold imperialist ideas or to sustain an isolationist agenda. Looking back on that time, one can see the shift from expansionism to isolationism in American foreign policy over a 20 year period. The Gilded Age was not called such a phrase because of its honesty and pure intentions; it was called such because it masked the social problems with fancy material items and overpowering wealth. Thus, when rich, powerful…

The Progressive Era, also known as the Gilded Era, spanned the late 1800s until the early 1900s. During this time, there were many reforms that came along. They spanned every area from politics to society, to the environment, and consumers. Some of these reforms we still have today, and others were left behind with the era. Many of the political reforms helped citizens have a more direct impact on the political process. Four of these measures include a direct primary, which allowed voters to…

The 20th Century saw several changes take place in all sectors in the United States. Fields like science, technology, mass communication, and the economy made great improvements in this century. The 20th Century also witnessed the struggle for freedom by minority races and slaves and their liberty. These innovations, change in governance and certain ideologies transformed America into something similar to what the country is now. One of the most significant movement/ideology was progressivism.…

encouraged women to stay home and perform menial tasks. This notion of separate spheres between men and women began to be contested as the 19th century progressed. Beginning with the Seneca Falls convention in 1848 and continuing throughout the Gilded Age, society’s views on women were challenged. Culminating with the Progressive Era, women gained various political rights, most notably gaining the right to vote. Despite experiencing a shift from the Cult of Domesticity and expansion of political…

Political cartoons during the late 19th century Gilded Age revealed, on a large scale, key issues at stake throughout the era. These drawings flourished in the 1860s due to advances in new technology of mass circulation and because people of all kinds; young, old, black, white, educated, illiterate could interpret the intense meaning from the artists. Cartoonists emerged by the names of Thomas Nast from Harper’s Weekly, Joseph Kepper of Puck, Frank Beard, Eugene Zimmerman, Grant Hamilton, etc.…

Environmental historian and professor, Ted Steinberg wrote the book Down To Earth which presents American history through the lens of nature. Steinberg does an excellent job displaying the significant role nature has played throughout American history and his writing will forever change the way you perceive our country’s history. This book differs from your traditional American History books by uniquely linking historical events to their environmental counterparts. Down To Earth provides an…