American Gilded Age

New Technology

East and West Shaking Hands at Laying Last Rail. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Technological advancements during the gilded age ushered in a new standard of living for Americans. The late nineteenth century saw an explosion of inventive creativity that brought inventions such as harnessing electricity, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, and sewing machines. With access to commercial electricity, factories began situating themselves in large cities. As factories became commonplace, waves of immigrants arrived in America searching for work.

The country saw a rapid wave of industrialization with technological advancements such as railroads, steel, and new communications technology. For example, the railroad became the first extensive and significant technological advancement that saw use even in the Civil War and ultimately created an efficient method of quickly transporting goods across the country. Production processes, such as steel-making, saw an advancement known as the Bessemer process, which allowed for stronger quality steel. Also, the commercial use of electricity allowed businesses, offices, and other manufacturers to increase production and, consequently, working hours. Unfortunately, the extended working day deteriorated conditions and workers' lives.

Urban life

Fueled by millions of immigrants and industrialization, the sweeping urbanization of the U.S. population caused movement toward large cities instead of rural areas. Due to the rapid pace of American urbanization, logical urban planning did not exist, leaving city infrastructure poorly equipped to handle the population surges. The result led to the poorest living conditions, such as overcrowded tenements and slums. Housing generally did not provide heating and sanitation, and with no access to medical care, millions died from diseases. However, while many slums had poor living conditions, others believed them to be crucial social hubs, especially for new immigrants.

Native American Issues During the Gilded Age

While America became an industrial nation, Native American culture, lifestyle, and lands disappeared with the Congressional passing of several social and political acts.

Native American Traditional Dress. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

In 1871, the Indian Appropriations Act imparted a crushing blow to Native American sovereignty as it dictated the U.S. government's attitude and policy regarding Native Americans. The act stated that the government no longer accepted or recognized Native American tribes as legitimate. All tribal lands belonged to the United States, not Native Americans. The government's refusal to acknowledge Native American independence made them subjugated to further congressional acts that sought to continue the erosion of Native American culture.

The Dawes Act of 1887, also called the General Allotment Act, gave the president the power to split up tribal lands and assign them to individual Native Americans instead of the entire tribe. The act allotted 160 acres for use as farmland and 320 acres for grazing to coerce Native Americans into gaining citizenship. However, to gain land ownership and citizenship, Native Americans lost their tribal identities as the government discontinued recognition of tribes. The Dawes Act subsequently tore land from Native American tribes and dissolved their culture overnight.

African American Life in the Gilded Age

Continuing to seek civil rights, liberties, and economic opportunities in the decades following the Civil War, African Americans sought new ways of life in the South and other areas of the country. Unfortunately, racism hit a new high in the Gilded Age, and race relations intensified with the segregation provisions of Jim Crow laws.

Group of Florida migrants near Shawboro, North Carolina, on their way to Cranberry, New Jersey, to pick potatoes. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Often, facilities became racially divided, allowing whites and forcing African Americans to use separate stores, bathrooms, lunchrooms, and train cars. The repercussions for not following Jim Crow generally resulted in extreme violence.

Many African Americans felt tied to agriculture and remained in the South. The prior plantation system evolved into tenant farming that generally employed African Americans. The new tenant system required payments for the rental of land, equipment, and seeds. The system existed to keep tenants indebted with no financial way out. However, other African Americans looked to the blossoming industrial nation as a way out and left rural areas to seek new jobs.

Stratification of American Society in the Gilded Age

Inequality among Americans peaked during the Gilded Age creating a significant gap in the social stratification of American society. The gap between the social classes in American society became the most pronounced throughout the Gilded Age. By 1900, only ten percent of the country’s population controlled ninety percent of America’s wealth.

Robber Barons and Captains of Industry

The Protectors of our Industries. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Throughout the Gilded Age, business opportunities proliferated, leaving prominent industrial leaders some of the wealthiest individuals in the world, even by today's standards. The immense wealth gained by individuals such as John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie underscored the financial inequality between the upper, middle, and lower classes. The men who accessed such great wealth soon became known as both robber barons and captains of industry.

Robber barons and captains of industry are business tycoons, yet each title defined a particular method of acquiring wealth. The term robber baron is effectively hostile, labeling businessmen who used questionable and unethical practices to create a monopolistic industry. Captains of Industry became labeled philanthropists and used their wealth to benefit society. Wealthy industrialists of the era were often called by both titles due to the gap in the social classes.

Food in the American Gilded Age

New advancements in technology and manufacturing and the mass consumption market brought a unique variety of foods.

Dinner at Delmonico's restaurant in honor of Admiral Campion. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Before the Gilded Age, many relied on themselves for food and resources. However, people began relying on larger organizations to provide goods after mass industrialization in the late nineteenth century. New inventions of the Gilded Age brought about a food revolution that allowed for easily prepared food. For example, the food industry experimented with tin cans and frozen food to extend the shelf life of goods. However, with the diversity of food did not come equal accessibility. Income equality also translated into food disparity between the upper, middle, and lower classes.