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The Gilded Age in the history of the United States refers to an era that occurred in the late 19th century from the years the 1870s to around 1900 (Accominotti, Khan & Storer, 2018). The term Gilded Age was coined around the 1920s and 1930s, being derived from the writers Mark Twain and Charles Dudley in their novel “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today” that was published in the year 1873. The book satirized the period of serious social problems that were masked by a thin gold gilding. The first half of the Gilded Age coincided with the middle portion of the Victorian era in Britain and the Belle Epoque in France, beginning in the period of the American Civil War, overlapping through the Reconstruction era that ended in the year 1877, up to the Progressive era in the 1890s.
The Gilded Age was an era characterized by rapid economic growth, especially in the North and Western parts of the United States. During this time, America witnessed an influx of European immigrants who were attracted to the high wages. The rapid expansion of industrialization increased the real wage up to 60% in the year 1860 and 1890, spreading across the ever-increasing labor force. Despite the rise in real wages, the Gilded Age was a period of abject poverty and inequality as millions of immigrants who came from impoverished regions had made their way into the United States and this made the high concentration of wealth become visible and contentious (Bartels, 2018).
Railroads contributed a large portion of the industrial growth due to the increased importance of factory system, mining and finance. The immigration from Europe and the eastern states led to the increase in population in the west due to farming, mining and ranching. Due to these economic activities and the increased demand for labor, labor unions became increasingly important in the growing cities. However, the rapid economic growth was interrupted by a nationwide depression that is the panic of 1873 and the panic of 1893, causing both social and political upheavals. The economy now relied on cotton and tobacco production, which also suffered from low prices. At the end of the Reconstruction Era in 1877, the African American people were stripped off their political power as well as the voting rights and consequently left economically disadvantaged.
During the Gilded Age, the political landscape was still evident despite the numerous cases of corruption. During election time, voter turnout was extremely high, and the national elections saw two evenly matched parties. During this time, the dominant issues were cultural and economic. The high growth of cities oversaw the political machines take over the urban politics, and on the other hand, the businesses were run by powerful trusts that were formed in some industries. The unions demanded for an 8-hour working day as well as the abolition of child labor as well as the demand for women suffrage.
According to Robert Reich (2014), America is back to the Gilded Age as the same giant concentrations of wealth and economic power that endangered the democracy of the American people a century ago is still present in the contemporary society. Reich claims that the floodgates of big money have been opened even wider in the wake of the 2010 Supreme Court’s decision in the “Citizen’s United vs. FEC” and the recent “McCutcheon” decision. I do agree with Reich in that corporations have been left to manage business while politicians especially the congress are ruled or controlled by the huge money bags acting in the way of the wealthy rather than representing the interests of the citizens. Due to similarity with the Gilded Age with the current society in matters such as the rise of corporations, rise of social reforms such as education and labor unions as well as the wealth inequality, it can, therefore, be said that we are back to the Gilded Age.
References
Accominotti, F., Khan, S. R., & Storer, A. (2018). How cultural capital emerged in gilded age America: Musical purification and cross-class inclusion at the New York philharmonic. American Journal of Sociology, 123(6), 1743-1783.
Bartels, L. M. (2018). Unequal democracy: The political economy of the new gilded age. Princeton University Press.
Reich R. (2014): We’re living in a new Gilded Age of wealth and power. Retrieved from: https://www.salon.com/2014/04/19/robert_reich_were_living_in_a_new_guilded_age_of_wealth_and_power_partner/
