Big Business In The Gilded Age

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The Gilded Age The late 19th century and early 20th century was nicknamed the Gilded Age by Mark Twain. The Gilded Age was a time in American history for growth in every facet after the Civil War had divided the nation, especially for big business. It was the Gilded Age that developed many of the key business practices we have today. People in control of business during this period were considered rebels, whether it was for the good of the people or themselves. Development was needed for both social change and economic growth. The Gilded Age saw the beginning of corporations and crooked political machines. The Gilded Age thus produced the need for reform in businesses and politics. The majorities of the population during the Gilded Age…show more content…
Big business had come into play, and they were controlling government, workers, immigrants, the poor and consumers. The Gilded Age was an age of economic development as the United States became the world leader in industrialization ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_age ). There was an exceptional explosion of new industrial and agricultural technology. New inventions like steam tractors, mechanical reapers, harvesters and combines improved agricultural efficiency (The Gilded Age2013). The time it took to produce crops had been reduced immensely. The process by which steel was being produced changed and buildings began to go up at quicker rate. Cash registers, adding machines, and typewriters altered the…show more content…
Men like Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan were millionaires, but most Americans knew nothing about them. Americans were working 10 shifts, 6 days a week, for wages hardly enough to survive (http://www.ushistory.org). Children were kept out of school to work at young ages. Men and women worked until they couldn’t anymore, and were released with no retirement benefits (http://www.ushistory.org). Many were hurt or injured and given no medical assistance. It became evident that laborers were going to have to demand change. Unions were not formed immediately, even though they had every lawful right to exist. Bosses often retaliated with risky measures including violence to prevent unions from working (http://www.ushistory.org). Despite actions to slow unions down they slowly grew. Having common goals was often a problem among unions. They couldn’t agree on issues like admitting women and immigrants, the length of the work day and wages. Because of the work unions did during the Gilded Age workers today enjoy higher wages, better hours, safer working conditions, medical coverage and vacation time (http://www.ushistory.org). Workers not only looked to unions for help but they often felt that politicians should step in and change the wrongs that existed among laborers. The problem with this is that the political history of the Gilded Age was scarred
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