Gilded Age Essay Example

The economy of the United States changed from agricultural farming to industrial and manufacturing by mass producing. The average citizen earned a wage and bought all of their necessities at the store pre-prepared. In the previous state of America an average citizen would farm and make most of their own goods. Everything in the Gilded Age was mass produced, food was canned, medicine was bottled, everything was created ready to use.

People bought goods at general stores, specialty shoppes were less abundant and everything was found in one place. The Gilded Age was an era of big business with monopolies controlling everything and basking in wealth and leaving the average citizen to squander in their waste. The Gilded Age also experienced a huge social change. Immigration brought lots of Polish, Ukrainians, and other Eastern Europeans. This new infusion of social diversity brought over a new culture and many were regretful of this migration. Immigrants that arrived before the Gilded Era were called old immigrants.

They usually consisted of skilled workers who came in relatively small numbers with some money and were willing to adopt the culture and the language. The immigrants that came during the Gilded Era were called new immigrants. They were looked down upon, they were generally unskilled and came with no money. These immigrants usually lived in tenement houses which are apartments that were usually one room and surrounded by filth. They also held on to their culture and beliefs. The Gilded Age had many new inventions that shaped the world.

The toilet was an invention which allowed people to rid themselves of outhouses and chamberpots. It was invented

by Thomas Crapper and it brought abut the idea of privacy. Electricity and home wiring brought about the a whole new world of inventions tho the table and still does. The transcontinental railroad was a railroad that provided easy access to the west and fueled a new migration west. The lightbulb was many of Thomas Edison’s inventions, it allowed for instant light with the press of a button it lit up a whole room much brighter than candles or an oil lamp.

The telephone, invented by Alexander Graham Bell permitted easy commutation for the common individual that the telegraph could not. The telephone and companies such as AT&T made it easy for groups such as unions and women’s rights groups to assemble and be organized. Union workers could communicate and organize strikes, rallies, and other events. This new weapon of communication was a formidable opponent against big industrial enterprises political leaders. The union workers were brought about during the Gilded Era to combat monopolistic corruption and was the voice of the little guy.

Women began to have a voice in political matters and many women’s rights groups came about. Women were pleading for the right to vote, to have a say in what they believe should happen. Before the Gilded Age women were meant to stay at home and to do and think what the husband tells them. This new era brought about the middle class which is a working class of the average, majority people. The Gilded Age produced an new style of politics and along with it more corruption. The Populists were a political party that sprung up in this era.