The Gilded Age: The Economic Achievement Of The Gilded Age

To some the Gilded Age was a time of great success and job opportunities. To others it was a time of constantly wondering whether or not they were going to have a job that or day, or if they were going to be fired and then replaced by a machine or a another worker who could do the labor for a cheaper price. Jay Gould, a wealthy business owner, tells us about his success and how other people are not as successful because they did not work hard enough or there own misfortunes. Thomas O’Donnell, a textile mill worker, tells about the hardships he and his family goes through besides him constantly working. It can be argued that the economic achievements of the Gilded Age looked different from the eyes of a shop floor worker, compared to the eyes of a corner office business owner. Thomas O’Donnell, a textile worker, gives a testimony before the U.S.Senate about the hardships workers during the Gilded Age go through. Factory workers knew that profits meant low wages, long hours, and frequent unemployment, while their employer would attain large sums of money and power. Thoma O’Donnell explains to Senator Blair that wage workers only had jobs as they were hired and how workers were often fired and then replaced by machines of other workers that could do the labor cheaper. O’Donnell goes on to explain to Senator Blair that men with boys were often hired first because the man’s son could act as a “back-boy” and only be paid $.30 to $.40 a day. When Senator Blair asks O’Donnell