The Industrial Age

The Gilded Age Industrialization

The Gilded Age was a period in American history that roughly coincided with the second Industrial Revolution. The name came from a book by Mark Twain and Dudley Warner entitled The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. The title was intended to be ironic, and implied that under the surface of America's gleaming new achievements and supposed prosperity lay a dark and sinister underbelly. The fact is that most Americans were struggling financially. The Gilded Age is known for producing the wealthiest industrialists of all time, known as the Robber Barons and Captains of Industry.

Fig. 2 The Gilded Age - Twain - 1874

Causes of Industrial Growth During the Gilded Age

The expansion of telegraph and rail lines meant that the exchange of information and ideas became much more efficient. Earlier advances in steel and iron-making led to great advances in the modern factory and the production of interchangeable parts. Electrification of the factory, as well as developments in water and sanitation, soon gave way to the assembly line, so crucial to the development of the automobile industry.

Fig. 3 William Gropper's 1941 mural of an automotive factory

New technology

Technological advances meant a new standard of living for those living in the United States. New-fangled devices were introduced that would revolutionize daily life and industry. These included the vacuum cleaner, the refrigerator, sewing machines, and more. The communications revolution was cinched through Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone.

Fig. 4 Bell's drawing for his application for a patent for a primitive fax machine

Improvements in the rail industry had been in development as far back as the Civil War, which led to vast advancements in the realm of transportation. Now goods could be transported cross-country on the cheap. The introduction of the new Bessemer process in steel-making meant upgrades in the quality of steel, which strengthened the rail system as well as manufacturing. Henry Ford's great contribution to production in the Gilded Age was his invention of the assembly line, which was devised for his production of the Model T. In the 1920s, there were 5 of these cars on the road for every person.

A Wave of Immigration

As electrified factories and offices began to open in cities, huge waves of immigrants descended on the US looking for work. However, the roads were not to be paved with gold–far from it. Working conditions in many cases left much to be desired. Working hours had increased in offices with the advent of electricity. This increase caused a drastic dip in the quality of life of many workers.

Fig. 5 Picture of wave of Immigrants

Social Problems During the Industrial Age

Industrialization and the accompanying influx of millions of immigrants, along with the move of workers from rural into rapidly expanding urban environments, meant that these folks needed some form of accommodation. Unfortunately, this movement was unprecedented, and the existing infrastructure could not accommodate the new arrivals. Development of industrial technology simply outpaced the ability to provide housing and sanitation for the workers, and with no logical sense of urban planning, many slipped between the cracks.

The poor lived with their families in overcrowded conditions in tenements and slums. As there was no heating or sanitation in these buildings, and no health insurance, millions died of disease. However, the existence of these housing units was a double-edged sword for many: while rife with problems, the tenements and slums provided a valuable sense of belonging and community for ethnic immigrant families.

Social Stratification

The gaps in income between the classes in America contributed to social stratification or arrangement of society into disparate classes or groups. The Gilded Age saw the most pronounced gap between social strata up to that point. In fact, only ten percent of the country's population owned 90% of the wealth.

Robber Barons and Captains of Industry

The income disparities between the lower, middle and upper classes created a big social divide and fomented much resentment towards the elite and business tycoons who had made their fortunes off the backs of other less fortunate folks. These businessmen had seized the wealth of opportunities brought by the Gilded Age of industrialization, but they were much hated by the hoi polloi due to their association with unethical business practices.

Fig. 6 John Davison Rockefeller Senior, 1917 portrait painted by John Singer Sargent

These were industrial leaders the likes of whom included such names as John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie: super-capitalists whose names are forever etched into America's consciousness as builders of an industrial empire.

However, the term "Robber Barons" was far from flattering–indeed, it was downright hostile. This title was indicative of a fortune built on questionable ethics and abuse of power in pursuit of monopolies.

"Captains of Industry" didn't fare much better, though it had a slightly more positive connotation in that it referred to wealthy industrialists who sometimes doubled as philanthropists and whose wealth actually benefitted society. Due to the gaps in social status, however, the two terms were often used interchangeably.

Impacts of the Industrial Age

The impact of the Industrial Age meant that new technology enabled mass production like never before. Cities became the strongholds of industry and manufacturing. Workers descended on these conurbations en masse. The resulting increase in density caused major issues with living conditions. Families lived in tenement housing which was cramped and often unsanitary. Workplace safety was often compromised. Such conditions of poverty were a blight on urban life for much of the first half of the 20th century.