The Impacts of Technological Innovations During the Gilded Age Essay Example

numerous technological innovations, and emergence of big business and wealthy individuals, the American lives were influenced in different ways as it is evidenced by the interpretations of events that occurred at this period by the different historians.

Some of the practices had positive impacts on the Americans such as creation of job opportunities, ability to access cheap manufactured good, improvement of transportation and communication networks and increased demand for products due to massive immigration as well as natural population growth. On the other hand, the period was characterized by many negative impacts which affected the American lives in different ways. This paper aims at exploring how the views of different historians on how the major technological innovations such as railroads, telegraph and electricity during the Gilded Age impacted the American lives has changed over the time and the existing gap that can be bridged by the future studies.

Major Technological Innovations that Occurred During the Gilded Age

There are major technological innovations that occurred during the Gilded Age which shaped the American ways of life and the manner in which things were being done. The industrial revolution that took place during the Gilded Age led to the development of the railroads, telegraph, factory system and electricity which spurred the growth of the manufacturing industries and the new market.

Bassett points out that some of the major innovations of the 19th century were built on the breakthrough that occurred earlier. For instance, the railroads created the large market for the steel while the telegraph showed explosive potential for the personal communications technologies which telephone later saw full fruition. In addition, the railroad system enabled the growth of the large industries

that created the need for new techniques of the organization as well as management.

Railroad was one of the major innovations that occurred during the Gilded Age. According to Ronnie, the railroad was a symbol as well as the socioeconomic fact and nothing rivaled power of railroad during the Gilded Age. After completion of transcontinental line at the Promontory Summit in Utah Territory in 1869, transportation in the country was enhanced and it facilitated the movement of goods and people from one point to the other.

Domenic argued that the importance of burgeoning railroads cannot be easily estimated in any period of history because it led to the development of three key areas in United States. First, the railroads created the distribution channels for the consumer and capital goods. Secondly, the railroad was a technological innovation which fostered other innovations in a faster manner and lastly, the invention of the locomotive steam engine acted as the symbol of the technological innovation that promised and shaped people’s attitudes towards the future innovations in other areas such as automobiles.

Automobiles invention during the Gilded Age also shaped the American lives in different ways as cars and trucks made it possible for the people to move to different points of the country to the other with ease. Though the railroad construction during the Gilded Age contributed to growth of the economy, many historians in the twentieth century followed their contemporaries in the nineteenth century who argued that the Gilded Age was an era of exploitation. For instance, Vernon Parrington on his book, Main Currents in the American Thought refer to the period by stating that, “exploitation during Gilded Age was business

of that time.” This has shifted from the opinions of the major historians such as Ronnie and Domenic and Vitiello.

The invention in communication platforms such as telegraphs was another important invention during the Gilded Age. According to Ronnie, the laying of the first telegraph cable in 1866 marked the major event in the communication revolution as the information could be easily shared by people irrespective of the distances they were apart within a short time.

One of the major impacts of the new technologies was the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell. Despite the fact that it was patented in 1876, it became popular in 1880’s after the sound quality was improved and Bell managed to develop a central call exchange that allowed pair of subscribers to connect. According to the Alexander J. Field, the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1870’s was also a major milestone in the communication revolution. The gadget became available to the mass audience around 1890’s and it paved way for the modern recording industry. Vitiello points out that the impact the inventions had on the people lives during the Gilded Age can be equally compared to the internet on the twenty first century.

Typewriter was another important machine that was invented during the Gilded Age. The first model was developed by Milwaukee between the year 1867 and 1873. The typewriter enabled words to be written on a paper without necessarily handwriting every letter and they were mostly used in the courthouses to write the testimonies of the defendants as well as what the witnesses had to say during trial proceedings. Despite the fact that they are no

longer used today, and they have been replaced by the printers which copy and prints words in a faster and simple manner, they served an important role during that period.

Electricity was another important invention during the Gilded Age which symbolized the ideas in the popular culture. Harnessing of electricity was a scientific story of late 19th century. As the electrical power became widespread, the energy sector was revolutionized and this has been considered by some historians to be an important breakthrough in process of the technological innovation. Unlike the inventions of the telegraph and telephones, harnessing of the electricity required application of advanced mathematics and science and this led to the establishment of industrial labs. The invention of electricity paved way for other inventions in other sectors.

Mechanization of industries and agricultural activities was another important technological innovation that characterized the Gilded Age. The increased mechanization of industries during the Gilded Age marked the end of search for a cheaper means of creating more products. Frederick Taylor observed that the workers efficiency could be easily improved by the use of machines within a short time. He redesigned machines in order to increase their productivity and this resulted to the increase of the factories productivity and at the same time cutting the need of much labor.

The unskilled labor performed simple and repetitive tasks under the supervision of the skilled individuals. As more factories were established, wage rates in the country increased. According to Davis, A.B, mechanization of agricultural activities enabled more land to be utilized as some operations that could not be performed manually were now possible. For instance, the water drilling machines enabled some lands that

lied in dry climatic conditions to be utilized for farming as the crops could be grown by irrigation.

Some historians such as John Tully points out that the inventions of the mechanical devices such as telegraph and telephones were not fantastic as the ideas themselves. One of the great ideas of the time was the start of the mail order catalog company by the Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872. The company was a marketing firm and Ward grasped railroads as the means for distributing the network for mass communication as well as consumption. In order to interact with the consumers of different products such as suits, saddler and wallpapers, Ward established a department store that facilitated his operations. This created a marketing channel which enabled Ward to create the national consumer culture for mass-produced commodities which manufacturer were selling out.

Factors that Contributed to Adoption of the Technological Innovations during the Gilded Age

The industrial revolution that started in 1865 and lasted in 1901 in United States transformed the country from a nation of isolated and small communities that scattered across the three million square miles into the compact economic as well as industrial unit. The country had prerequisites that enabled such transformation to take place as it had rich minerals such as coal, vast resources of petroleum, and deposits of the high quality iron ore as well as treasury of the copper, gold and silver. The technological innovations which occurred during the Gilded Age made the United States to become the richest country, ahead of Britain, Germany and France.

Due to the capability of the Americans to invent and at the same time harness invention of other people

to suit their own purposes, the United States managed to acquire the facility for turning the raw materials into the finished industrial goods. Approximately 440,000 patents were issued as from 1860 and 1890 for the new inventions. Most of the major inventions that occurred during this period were either improved or new such as telephone by Bell, electricity by Edison, elevator by Otis, among others. The fundamental principles of these inventions were understood long time ago but the technology led to the invention of tools which put them into the practice. As a consequence, the inventions relied on the improved technology which in return contributed to other inventions and greater refinement.

According to R. Mendel, there were several factors which contributed to numerous technological innovations in United States. One of the major reasons that made the American technology to advance was relatively high cost of labor which encouraged the industrialists to invest in mechanization. Mendel points out that , the industrialists invented machines which replaced labor, enhanced efficiency, reduce the cost of labor and ensure standardization. In addition, the large domestic market which was triggered by massive growth of population through immigration and natural process called for mass production for the demand to be met.

As a consequence, more commodities were produced which were in a position to meet the growing population demand. Due to reduction of wastages as well as increased efficiency, the consumers accessed the manufactured goods at a cheap cost. Furthermore, the high demand for the agricultural goods, also encouraged commodities to be produced in bulk and this called for the mechanization of operations. The Americans were also not bound by the Europeans traditions

and were more than willing to try out new things on their own. Their intellectual freedom as well as curiosity made them to experiment and try new things which would enable them to improve their living conditions and this resulted to innovations of different things and processes.

As a consequence, this led to the willingness to scrap or replace the old ideas, formulas and old machinery which were ineffective and which impeded the achievement of certain objectives. Historians who focused their efforts during the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century such as Charles A. Beards who regarded the period as “ as age of negation” because the laws that were formulated by that time contributed to inequalities. Beards differs sharply with modern historians by pointing out that the technological innovations only favored a section of the individuals and they marginalized many more others.

The Impacts of Technological Innovations during the Gilded Age as Documented by Historians

Many historians have examined the impacts that the technological innovations had on the American people during the Gilded Age. Due to use of different methodologies, the interpretation of historians on the impacts the Gilded Age had on the Americans have yielded different results. However, they all contend that the technological innovations had many impacts on the people’s lives, either positive or negative. According to historians who have examined the issue on the Gilded Age from the late twentieth century to date, technological innovations led to the emergence of big business had positive impacts not only to the people but also the country’s economy. Other historians such as Charles A Beard, look the events that occurred during the period at a different

angle and they point out that the period was characterized by event and practices which disadvantaged some people such as the workers and the poor.

According to Rodney P. Carlisle, the establishment of big businesses and industries created numerous job opportunities that attracted millions of immigrants from Europe, Asia and South America. The influx of people from different regions caused economic fears and this led to racial as well as ethnic resentment. Since the industrial jobs attracted the blacks from the South to the North as well as Europeans and Asians, the whites felt besieged by newcomers. This in return led to the mob violence which agitated for the enactment of immigration laws in order to regulate the people from other countries to migrate into the United States. In addition, the labor movements also joined in this battle and they started to stop these immigrations, whereas more radical organizations become more embroidered in the violence and at the same time embracing the social politics.

Railway road construction was among the major technological innovations that are majorly characterized by the Gilded Age. According to Cashman, railroads construction led to the transformation of United States economically, socially and politically during the period. Cashman points out that railroads acted as the engine of new industrialized economy and it facilitated speedy transportation of the raw materials as well as finished good from point to the other in the country. In addition, they were also used to transport people to the west frontier in order to settle them in these regions. As a result, the construction of the railroads in United States helped in the opening of some regions which were remote

and could not be accessed easily.

Furthermore, the growth of railroads power exerted influence on the local as well as state governments and this prompted the Congress to enact the laws which regulated the industry. Some of the individuals like Cornelius Vanderbit focused on their effort on converting the iron tracks to steel and this enabled them to lay the tracks at a very little cost. As a consequence, by around 1900, United States had managed to lay a railway track of about 250, 000 miles of the railroad track. This in return created a large demand for the steel industries companies and the individuals like Andrew Carniegie responded by producing more steel. This in return created the job opportunities to many people some of whom migrated from the foreign countries.

Ulysses Grant Dietzx in his work, Gilded Age Metalsmithing in America points out that streamlining of the costs by consolidation as well as innovations, transportation of the raw materials, people, manufactured goods and foodstuffs were made easier and cheaper by the use of railways. As a result, many regions that were remote and inaccessible were opened and people could easily reach them with ease.

Railroads were also used to transport people and it contributed to the development as well as transformation of the west than any other factor. Cashman points out that even though there were people who had migrated to the west long before the Civil War started, the train was used to transport millions more throughout the entire period of the later part of the 19th century. The construction of the railroad made it possible for the people to settle in the areas such as

Colorado, South and North Dakota, Arizona, Wyoming and Montana.

However, Louis Parrington differed sharply with Cashman by pointing out that the to the growth of the railroads companies’ power, not only managed to exert the influence the local politics but also economics. This is evidenced by the unscrupulous robber barons who extorted the members of the public by charging them the outrageous rates and at the same time distributing the uncompetitive rebates to the preferred customers, receiving kickbacks and bribes as well discriminating against the small shippers. According Louis Parrington, the public discontent with railways made a small farming community in the Midwest to express its concerns and this led to the formation of a backbone of populist movement. Just like the socialists of early 20th century, the populist movement intended to curb the railroad corruption through nationalization of all lines.

Despite the fact that the populist movement later faded, their claims prompted the federal government to take an Action. This is evidenced by the creation of the interstate Commerce Commission that supervised the railroads which carried out operations in more than one state. The commission required the companies to publish the fares upfront in order to outlaw the unfair rebates. As a result, the commission brought order to the railroads company and the members of the public got relieved as they could no longer be exploited by being charged high rates as the fair were published up front. Many historians such as Cashman contend that the railroads played a great role in transforming the American society, economy and politics during Gilded Age more than other inventions. In addition, they enabled big business to be established and

prosper as it was easy to transport the raw materials, people and manufactured goods. It also contributed to the formation of political movements such as Populist as well as the Progressive movements.

The technological innovations as well as the establishment of industries had major impacts on the urbanization during the Gilded Age. Due to massive immigrations by people from Europe, Asia and South America as well as the movement of people from the farms to the city, United States experienced urban boom during Gilded Age. According to Ronie, this in return contributed to the rise of the powerful political machines which stimulated and economy and at the same time the rise of the American middle class. The civil wars as well as persecution of the individuals prompted many Europeans to run away from their homes and search for better live in America between the year 1880’s and 1920’s. According to Ron Olson, it is estimated that about one million employees who originated from Poland, Italy, Greece and Russia migrated to the Eastern United States cities in each year. Furthermore, the millions of people who were living in the countryside also moved to the cities in order to look for job opportunities in order to reduce the poverty levels.

Though the United States economy also benefited to a great deal from influx of the immigrants and movement of the people from the farmlands to the cities, inequalities resulted from exploitation of the workers by the company owners who paid them meager wages. For instance, the factory owners benefited from the immigrants from Europe who were more than eager to work in order to start a life in United

States. These immigrants often worked for many hours in a day at and at very little pay. Besides, they never threatened to form unions which would advocate for their rights.

Due to the availability of cheap labor, United States experienced an economic boom during Gilded Age and on early 20th century. In addition, the urban explosion also contributed to the rise of middle class individuals who were neither poor nor rich. The individuals in this class managed to afford to live comfortably by enjoying modern conveniences which were experienced during the Gilded Age. The increased number of the middle class women during the Gilded Age led to the establishment of the reform movements which aimed at eliminating social evils such as gambling, prostitution and drinking. For instance, women like Lillian Wald, Jane Addams, among others started the settlement houses in the slums in order to assist the immigrants to adapt and settle in a new world.

These movements served as roots of broader progressive movement which dominated the United States politics after turn of century. In short, the influx of the immigrants as from 1880’s to 1920’s into the United States cities changed the country’s politic, economic and society in various ways. The use of political machines dominated politics, cheap labor fueled contributed to the economic growth while the emergence of the middle class spearheaded progressive movements.

Some historians such as Charles A. Beard and Louis Parrington who were popular during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries points out that the Gilded Age as an era of corruption and acquisition where individuals exploited the natural resources in a greedy manner for their own advantage. These historians’ further points

out that corruption had taken root in all aspects of life and it led to uneven distribution of resources as the technological innovations only favored a small number of individuals who squandered their money with expensive things at the expense of poor people. They referred the Gilded Age as the period of hypocrisy, political indifference as well as irresponsibility. This is evidenced by the politicians who neglected the welfare of the citizens while a few business leaders exploited the country’s natural resources as well as workers in order to accumulate the huge fortunes for themselves.

Uneven distribution of resources is another reason that has made the Gilded Age to receive much criticism from many historian scholars. The distribution of the resources was not even among the regions and among individuals. According to Gonzalez, economically, United States was not a single country, but rather three regions. The region that lied on the north of Ohio Rivers and Potomac as well as the east of Mississippi held approximately 45% of the total population. This region lied on the Midwest and North East and it contained the larger of towns and cities, banking and money institutions, factories, railroads as well as schools and libraries.

The second region lied on the south part of the country and relied on heartland. This region was occupied by Whites who were recovering from the Civil War after their properties were destroyed and the emancipation of the slaves. The third region lied to the west and it was characterized by rugged terrain, sparse population and arid climate and the economy of this region relied on the quasi-nomadic grazing and agriculture. In addition, distribution of the

resources among the individuals was also uneven during the Gilded Age.

The first class comprised of small number of individuals who owned the significant wealth of the country. These individuals owned large business in the country and they exploited their workers by paying them meager wages despite the fact that they worked for long hours in a given day. These individuals, who were referred as Robber Barons, overworked their laborers and the returns that were realized were only enjoyed by them and they lavishly spend their money by purchasing expensive things such as mansions. In addition, there was another class of individuals who belonged to the middle class. Despite the fact that these individuals were neither too rich nor poor, they managed the conveniences of life.

Not all historians look at the Gilded Age at the negative dimension after examining the events that occurred during the period. In fact, historians in late 20th centurys have departed from the conventional views that were being held by their predecessors of late 18th and 19th century. There has been recent changes in the traditional views or stereotypes that have been held for a long period of time.

According to modern historians such as Cashman and Domenic Vitiello, the traditional views about technological innovations in Gilded Age have been miscast and there is no need of being critical about that era’s leaders for not discovering the Welfare of the State. In addition, Domenic argue that it is important to suspend the moral judgment about the period and in return focus the attention on innovative features as well as changes in the social and economic life. He also contend that the period should

not be looked on the basis of the modern views as well as standards, but rather it should be examined as it actually was to its contemporaries. If it is looked on that dimension, historians can then realize that the government during the Gilded Age was actually in line with the general opinion about the laissez-faire that was held in America as at that time.

During that time, the government rarely concerned itself on social as well as economic issues as it happens today. In addition, there were the limits on the decisions which could be taken in order to relieve the social discontent as well as those imposed on the political leaders and the governments by court, voters or the wealthy party supporters. The individuals who were interested in reforms could not always accept to support the voters, party or chastise the political leaders who tried to reform.

One of the most noticeable impacts of the Gilded Age in the United States was the emergence of the United States as a leading industrial power towards the end of 19th century. Many modern historians contend that the Gilded Age was a period of remarkable generation in the American history. It was an era of exciting growth, important technological and scientific inventions of telephone, typewriter, and electric light. These inventions continue exerting their profound impacts even up to date. According to other historians, the Gilded Age was also a fertile and significant period for the culture and intellectual matters which gave birth to the new social sciences, establishment of major museums as well as formation of American Historical Association.

Historians point out that this was the period of numerous

endeavors, and associating it with self-seeking, blandness, false glitter as well as jobbery is actually evidence to the contrary. The rate of industrial growth was overwhelming and this made United States to emerge as the leading industrialized power in the world by 1900. In addition, during the Gilded Age, United States was the leading producer of the raw materials and food and this made it the richest country in the world. The population of the country had also grown tremendously and it offered ready market for the manufactured goods, in addition to the labor which was in high demand during this time. Between 1870 and 1900, the population almost doubled from about 40 million to 76 million.

Rapid population growth was attributed to the natural growth and massive immigration by people from Europe, Asia and South America who were looking for job opportunities and fleeing from civil wars in their countries. The enormous industrial expansion is attributed to the advances in the field of s chemistry and physics which provided principles for new technologies. The inventions that fostered economic growth occurred in electric power, communication, transportation as well as production of oil and steel. Mechanization of farm and agricultural activities was another important aspect that characterizes the Gilded Age
The other positive impacts of the Gilded Age were felt in the field of communication.

The Existing Gap that can be Bridged by Future Studies

The historians who have focused on the issue of the impacts of technological innovations during the Gilded Age can be broadly classified in two groups: the traditional views who existed in the period of late of eighteenth and nineteenth century and the modern historians who

have emerged in the late 20th century. The traditional historians such as Charles A. Beard and Louis Parrington have sharply by their modern contemporaries on the impact of technological innovations during the Gilded Age.

For instance, Beard regarded the period as the time of total negation and the technological innovations that took place only favored the minority in the expense of the Majority. His words were echoed by Parrington who held that the exploitation was the order of the day. In other words, the historians who have explored the impacts of technological innovations during the Gilded Age hold that the period was characterized by negative effects.

However, the modern historians such as Cashman and Domenic Vitiello have examined the topic at a different angle and they all agree that the period was characterized by many positive effects that transformed the people and the country politically, economically and socially. According to Cashman, the opportunities for people to advance knew no limits. However, there are no studies that have been conducted to compare the political, economical and social conditions before the and during the Gilded Age. The studies will help to establish the extent to which technological innovations positively or negatively impacted the people during the Gilded Age. Future studies should carry out these studies in order bridge these gaps. As a result, this will help to bridge the gaps between the traditional and modern views.

Conclusion

The technological innovations that occurred during the Gilded Age had significant impacts on the American politics, culture and economy. Different historians such as Mark Twain together with his coauthor who coined the term ‘Gilded Age’ in their novel seriously criticized the events and practices

that were happening during that time. His contemporaries also expressed their dissatisfaction with the events that were happening at that time by expressing their concerns and at the same time criticizing the social vices such as corruption, exploitation of the workers, discrimination that were prevalent during this period.

However, modern historians have changed their perspective about the Gilded Age by departing from the views that were held for a long time by historians since the time of Charles A Beard. On the contrary, these historians have looked at the positive aspects that resulted from the technological innovations. Some of the positive impacts include the opening of the western frontier and settlement of the people as result of construction of the railroads; increased market for manufactured goods, economic growth, increased agricultural output, mass production of goods and creation of job opportunities to many people in the country. In short, many historians who have examined about the different aspects of the Gilded have expressed their divergent opinions on the issue.

In future, historians should compare the social, political and economic aspects of American lives before and during the Gilded Age. This way, historians will be in a position to establish the extent to which American lives were changed by the technological innovations and as a result establish if the innovations brought about positive or negative impacts. This will help in bridging the opinions of both traditional and modern views.

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