The Corruptness of the Gilded Age

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Taylor Clark                                                                        

Mr. Howlett/ Mrs. Swift

American Perspectives

5 April 2016

The Corruptness of the Gilded Age

        The Gilded Age was used to describe the late 19th century, which was a period of time that seemed to be perfect on the outside but became to be known as extremely corrupt. Overall, the Gilded Age was an era of corruption, conspicuous consumption, unfettered capitalism, as well as it was an era of reform. This age included the upcoming of a modern industrial economy. Overall, the Gilded Age “… was marked by tremendous industrial and agricultural expansion, as well as the spread of settlements across the continent.” (Industrial Expansion and the Gilded Age). “The age got its name from a novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which satirized the unscrupulous behavior and conspicuous consumption of the time.” ("Introduction to the Gilded Age (1870-190)”).

        There are many ways in which the Gilded Age might be considered corrupt, but, on the outside this period of time was almost “glittering”. This was far from the truth, but there was a considerable amount of reasons why people might have been fooled in the first place. The rapid economic growth that occurred during this age most likely was sparked from the beginning of

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the Civil War because this is when the Republicans were able to gain control of Congress. Something extremely important that happened during the Gilded Age was that The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 meant that there could be a funding for the construction of the first transcontinental railroad in America. As soon as the railroad industry began to grow larger, farmers were introduced to a new way of getting people the food they needed. They were able to link with markets in the Northeast which in result provided manufacturers with more consumers of their finished products. An industry that received a direct benefit from the railroad industry booming was of course the iron and steel industries. “By 1900, the United States produced four times as much as Britain, with U.S. manufacturer Carnegie Steel alone producing more pig iron than the entire British iron and steel industry.” (Industrial Expansion and the Gilded Age). Something that the Gilded Age is extremely prominent for was probably the rise of large corporations. Before this era, Americans mostly created hand made goods. Yet, during the Gilded Age, “… every American bought product from companies, supplied them with raw materials, or worked with them in some capacity.” (“Gilded Age"). Also, since Andrew Carnegie completely revolutionized the steel industry, he needed a plethora of workers to produce the mass product. This enabled him to provide jobs for close to 12 million new immigrants. Politically, there were some positives as well. “Politics, although troubled by corrupt legislators and greedy party bosses, such as New York’s William “Boss” Tweed, witnessed great voter interest and participation.” (“Introduction to the Gilded Age (1870-1900)”). Those citizens who showed up for the polls for major elections were those who mainly insisted on major reforms to be done. Some reforms that were suggested include the Sherman

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Antitrust Act which curbed business consolidation and monopolies. Also, the Pendleton Act occurred, which created Civil Service Commission to control the political patronage. As proven by these facts, there were a considerable amount of positive events that were known to occur throughout the Gilded Age. Yet, nothing outweighed the fact that underneath these so called improvements, was a corrupt economy that provided a multitude of trouble for American citizens.

        There are many underlying aspects which make up a large portion of what the Gilded Age consisted of. “Throughout the Gilded Age there were numerous other scandals involving big business and the government.” ("Scandals Involving the U.S. Government and Big Business”). Definitely one of the major concerns during this age was the risk of the spread of disease. Since during the 19th century the economy grew by more than four hundred percent, the majority of Americans moved in large numbers to urban centers in hopes of accumulating an occupation. “Many of these new arrivals lived in overcrowded apartment blocks, or tenements, where they were vulnerable to outbreaks of disease, which had serious implications for urban economies.” ("Public Health Campaigns”). Many people during the Gilded Age thought that these so called “advancements” that were simultaneously occurring were a good basis in order to “get rich quick”. This of course, encouraged rampant political corruption and fraudulent businesses practices. The large corporations that resulted from this boosted economy created a vast competition in the marketplace by increasing production and lowering prices. Yes, the railroad industries were making great profit, but this also led to an extreme case of overproduction. “The combination of overproduction and rampant speculation led to a series

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of economic crises.” ("Gilded Age”). Another outcome of this overproduction was that it led to employee layoffs, wage cuts, and also increased the work for the same amount of pay. Urbanization was a direct result of industrialization and immigration. Since the cities were so over packed and crowded, this of course led to awful housing conditions and severe hygiene problems that led to serious cases of illness and sometimes even death. “As more Americans moved to the cities to work and live, urban crowding, political corruption, and a host of social problems raised doubts about the benefits and costs of economic change.” ("The Emergence of Urban-Industrial America”).  The Gilded Age has been known to have angered much of America’s population during the 19th century. Many people were losing their jobs because big businesses and corporations were dominating the economy in every way possible. This forced them to major cities basically against their will, people needed jobs in order to provide for their family and for themselves. The city life during this time period was definitely not ideal and therefore many people resented the so called “benefits” that the Gilded Age was supposedly providing for America. There were many people who existed and were well known throughout the Gilded Age that had a massive positive influence amongst various groups who definitely were not getting the fairest treatment at this time. For example, Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s rights, which included the right to vote. Frederick Douglass was able to crusade against laws that were specifically set to segregate the races. Samuel Gompers and Eugene V, Debs, who are well known labor leaders, formed their own unions meant to protect workers from exploitation. Even the leaders of big businesses such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie showed their gilded neighbors what could be accomplished through something known

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