Political,Economical, and Social development during the Gilded Age

The gilded age : social economic and political development

The term "Gilded Age " was coined by HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Mark_Twain " \o "Mark Twain " Mark Twain and HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Charles_Dudley_Warner " \o "Charles Dudley Warner " Charles Dudley Warner (1873 . The term originates in HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /William_Shakespeare " \o "William Shakespeare " Shakespeare 's King John (1595 "To gild refined gold , to paint the lily . is wasteful and ridiculous excess " It refers to the period , in American history , after the Civil War , from 1870s to the 1890s overlapping

the reconstruction era which ended in 1877 and included The Panic of 1873 . In this period there was unusual economic industrial and population growth . It 's thus named out of the way of life lived as a result of the great fortunes created in this time

The era experienced unprecedented rapid growth of railroads , factories banks , stores , mines and many other enterprises . The American manufacturing production surpassed that of the HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Great_Britain " \o "Great Britain " Great Britain , HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Germany " \o "Germany " Germany , and HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /France " \o "France " France combined . The production of iron and steel rose dramatically with western resources like lumber , gold , and silver increasing the demand for improved transportation . Agriculture also expanded dramatically especially in the western regions which had expansive fertile farmlands . A need for workers arose fuelled by the construction of railroad and trade . From 1860 to 1905 population in farmlands had grown more than thrice Increased railroad mileage opened new areas to commercial farming . A national marketplace came up as a result of the desire to make fortune out of the railroad . Consequently , most of the nation 's financial market became concentrated at the Wall Street . The spread of economic concentration was marked by establishment of trusts in the sugar , oil meatpacking and the steel industry . Other economic development in the United States included issuance of patents for new inventions

The Breakers , a gilded-age mansion (Wikipedia , 2007

Elsewhere , ethnic diversity increased as a result of immigrants seeking jobs and farmlands which were facilitated by the availability of steamship and railroad . Rich industrial cities emerged in the HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Northeastern_United_States " \o "Northeastern United States " Northeast and gave rise to super-rich industrialists . These rich personalities such as John D . Rockefeller (in oil ) and Andrew Carnegie (in steel ) were referred to as robber barons ' because they engaged in overpowering and unethical financial manipulations . As a result a labor union movement led by Samuel Gompers emerged

The 1894 Pullman strike (Wikipedia , 2007

The era was also characterized by contests between Republicans and Democrats and occasional third parties . Almost every single man was a political partisan . In some states , more than 90 of voter turnout would be recorded . During the Ulysses S . Grant Administration , scandals of corruption in the state governments , massive fraud in cities , and political bribes to secure government tenders were common place . The Bourbon Democrats...