The Gilded Age By the late 1800s, he United States economy had finally become industrialized and was soon to become monopolized. Railroads were becoming the most important factor of American economy, and local businesses were being put out of work. This time period was commonly known as “The Gilded Age”. Meaning on the outside our economy looked marvelous, but beneath that golden skin, corruption and injustice plagued our society and made the rich even richer. America’s “Second Industrial Revolution” was a growth spurt of the economy that would prove to weed out the weak and create the original business moguls whose wealth still resides today. The first monopolies were created in this period as businesses began to combine both horizontally …show more content…
Andrew Carnegie, once a poor immigrant, he was able to become a powerful businessman and run the steel market of America with his vertical integration tactic. Vertical integration is the practice of controlling all aspects of a goods development from raw materials to finish product. Once Carnegie had established his empire of wealth, he became well known for generous habits and his philosophy of “The Gospel of Wealth” showed what kind of man he was. He believed he had divine instruction to use his wealth fairly and for the greater good of society. Carnegie also drew ideas from social Darwinism, much like natural selection served to weed out the weak in nature, it did the same in business. It was understood that the wealthy made it to their place on the podium because they were better fit and equipped for the competition. Another business mogul, John Rockefeller took control of 90% of the nation’s oil. He used a vicious business tactic known as horizontal integration. Basically, he expanded outwards and consumed smaller oil companies, creating the Standard Oil Company. He successfully became the totalitarian of American
Monopolies in America during the late nineteenth century held various effects on the nation’s economy. They increased the amount of jobs for the struggling, provided necessary capital, and introduced new inventions that are still used today. On the other hand, monopolies continued the spread of corruption in enterprise. The creation of monopolies brought forth multiple benefits for the country. Rockefeller stated that with monopolies came expansion of business.
Carnegie's business became knowns as, the Carnegie Steel Company. The business changed the production of steel throughout the country. Carnegie built mills around the country, using new technologies and methods of manufacturing, that made steel easier faster, and more productive. But, what made Andrew Carnegie truly successful was his use of vertical combination in the Carnegie Steel company. He owned every
Gilded age 1878-1889 was the age of fast growth of industry and immigrants in America history. The production of steel and iron rose radically than other time. In contrast, the Western resources increased such as silver,lumber, and gold. As well as the transportation also improved. Railroad develop and move goods from resources rich west to east.
After the Civil War, the United States had two distinct economies, which is quite significant. The Southern economy was completely damaged by the results of the Civil War. Southerners were forced to readjust their entire economy, because slaves needed to be liberated, leaving slave-owners with no workforce. Meanwhile, in the North, the need to supply Union armies with particularly daily supplies marked the start of an era of industrial development. Which giant corporations essentially emerged known as Big Business.
He’s an ambitious man that lacks the significant achievement and the care for others. Andrew Carnegie was an ambitious man, who focused mostly on success not the people. He was determined to succeed by using his business skills. Carnegie was one of the first to use vertical integration, which is the control of the production process from raw materials to manufacture and sale of finished product. He owned many properties using vertical integration.
The Reconstruction era has ended and Americans are seeking a way to reach the American dream. With the gold rush leading the way, a significant amount of Americans wanted to reach the top, and many of them started large monopolies. The Gilded Age is an era that can be described as America’s greatest era, but the reality is dark. Corporations were taking advantage of the nation’s increasing economy, and the most affected were the people. The industrialist was able to amass tremendous wealth by exploiting the people, justifying their actions with social Darwinism and the government’s protection, which promotes social class divisions.
The Gilded Age was a period of time in the United States where industrialization was advancing at an alarming rate and the economy was expanding quickly. However, through all of this success many people were in poverty and the rich got richer while the poor got poorer. The monopolies were the main cause of the Gilded Age and the problems that came along with it. Jacob Riis’s views were biased to an extent, because he is a product of his time and blamed the immigrants for most of the problems during the Gilded Age.
After the Civil War, the Second Industrial Revolution was established due to America’s rapid growth for industry and economics. Capitalists during the industrial period of 1875-1900’s were either accused of being a robber baron or a captain of industry. Some capitalists leaders who were accused of being a robber baron or captain of industry included J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, and John D. Rockefeller. A robber baron is a business leader who gets rich through cruel and scandalous business practices. The captains of industry is a business leader who wants to better the companies in a way that it would be positively contributing to the country.
Was Cornelius Vanderbilt a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? A cruel businessman or an industrious leader? Henry J. Raymond believed that Vanderbilt was “a monopolist that crushed other competitors”(T.J Stiles). While he is also deemed one of America’s leading businessmen, and is also credited for helping shape the United States. His fortunes were made unfairly in some cases but his million dollar contribution to the Navy was very generous.
The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.
At the end of the 19th Century, as the United States was experiencing rapid industrialization, a reconfiguration of the social order yielded opposing visions of social progress. Andrew Carnegie, wealthy businessman, and Jane Addams, founder of Chicago’s Hull House, put forward different methods to achieve such progress, where Addams focuses on creating social capital in a seemingly horizontal manner while Carnegie advocates for a top-down approach. While both of them seem to reap a sense of purpose from their attempts to improve the nation, their approaches vary depending on their vision of the composition of the population they want to uplift. First, Carnegie and Addams’ desire to improve society is partly self-serving. For Carnegie, improving society is the role of the wealthy man who, “animated by Christ’s spirit” (“Wealth”), can administer wealth for the community better than it could have for itself (“Wealth”).
During the late 19th century, there was a growth in industrialization. This brought new opportunities for the poor and the rich. For example, Carnegie helped build the steel industry in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, which made him one of the richest man in the world. As Carnegie gained more wealth, he questioned who money should be given to. Carnegie was both a Robber Baron and a Captain of Industry.
Carnegie was known to be a great businessman but also a cruel, strict boss. He exploited the working class to gain huge profits. He later wrote an article titled “Gospel of Wealth” in which he says there is nothing wrong with making fortunes. His views were very similar to Social Darwinism which used the “survival of the fittest” theory as an attempt to justify actions of the rich. In addition, Carnegie used vertical integration to expand his company.
The Gilded Age was the time period during 1865-1900. During the Gilded Age several changes took place, such as; Industralization, Urbanization, and Westward movement. Industralization was a major part of the Gilded Age. Industralization was the shift from agricultural jobs to more factory related jobs.
Modern day America is an economic superpower. However, one and a half centuries ago, this was not the case. In the late 1800’s there was a large boom in terms of population and industrialization in the United States. From this stemmed many new technological innovations, innovations which could be applied to the creation of alluring products for the masses. This led to the rise of a prominent American consumer culture, which was a driving force in the great economic growth of the Gilded Age.