Mike Kerstens U.S. History CP 01/22/2015 Rough Draft Junior Thesis. From Gilded age to progressive era; The Gilded age was one of the darkest times in the U.S. for many of the working class. The working conditions in the factories, mills, and mines were unsafe, unhealthy, and unorganized due to industry being left alone by the government, similar to the separation of church and state. Big business owners and corporation heads like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan could and would do almost anything to acquire unimaginable levels of wealth. These men had children working for them starting at the age of six years old, and paid their workers the minimum wage that they accepted to work for. Not only did these corporate …show more content…
They imposed their will on the sellers of everyday goods to gain more control of all facets of the economy. It got to the point where only a few immensely powerful people owned almost all of the industry in the U.S. which meant they could choose whatever price they wanted for their products because people had no other choice but to buy from them. After years of this the people finally had enough and strikes erupted all over the U.S. the people demanded change. Because of this reporters started unveiling what the working conditions were like and a chain reaction happened. All of a sudden everyone cared about something most people did not even notice. Unions started to erupt to protect the working classes rights and demanded rules to be set for working conditions and wages. The strikes and unions worked and corporation heads agreed to a 5-10% increase in wages and child labor under 14 was prohibited also because women had to care of the children that could not work they faced less hours so they could go home and provide care for her family. After Roosevelt got elected president he was focused on improving the quality of life for the working class and regulating big business. Because of his wealth and his big range of business J.P. Morgan did not agree with …show more content…
After journalist Upton Sinclair released his book “The Jungle” which describes the working conditions and their horrors, “There would be meat that would had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust. There would be meat stored in great piles in the rooms, and thousands of rats would race about on it. A man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats” (paragraph from the novel “The Jungle”). This made Roosevelt sick and he invited Sinclair to visit him in the White House. Roosevelt told Sinclair “The specific evils you point out shall, if their existence be proved, and if i have the power, be eradicated”.-Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt really started making changes when big business price fixing started, when they would make other small businesses go out of business by lowering the prices then buying them when they would go bankrupt and then jacking up the prices again. After this went on for a while the workers got sick of it and over 100,000 workers went on strike and demanded 20% increase in wages, 9 hour work days and all workers to be associated with a union. After 5 months of intense strike Roosevelt made them come to an agreement and gave them most of their demands. After this everything was different, from now on whenever a strike happened
In the 19th century, the Gilded age was this period of time when America looked like this massive productive country. What people do not know was that in the inside they were this suffering country that had massive poverty and thousands of people without jobs. America was filled with industrialists which are also called Robber Barons. Robber Barons were these people who basically stole fortunes by having their employees work 12 hour days, 7 days a week and getting paid about 15 cents an hour. Andrew Carnegie was a really wealthy businessman who made steel. Carnegie made millions of dollars but in the end he still paid his workers very little. His employees worked long hard days and at the end of the day they got paid hardly nothing. These workers also worked in bad conditions and some of the workers were kids and they were having them do some of the really hard dangerous work. According to a US history author “They received no health benefits, no vacation, and suffered from periodic layoffs because of downturns in the business cycle( The Gilded age pg. 1) The 19th century during the Gilded age most of the big business men where these guys who had massive amounts of money and yet they pay their workers really low wages with bad conditions.
The Gilded Age is a time period in American history between 1870-1900. During this time period there was a boom in the United States economy and population. Unfortunately, during this time period there was a lot of financial corruption and inequality which caused the rich to become very wealthy. Interestingly enough there were a variety of distinguished authors, from William Graham Sumner, Henry Demarest Lloyd, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry George knew economic inequality was a major problem and something needed to be done.
In the Gilded Age, big business controlled most aspects of everyday life. As the United States was amid a time of economic growth, big business was growing as well-- contributing to that economic growth, all the while, gaining control and dominance across the nation. With such an influencing power, big business cared less to think about anyone else other than themselves. Due to this corrupt possession of power big business possessed, legislation was passed in their favor with the government wrapped around their fingers. The economy, politics and the lives of most Americans were affected negatively when big business reigned supreme.
This Era was called the Progressive movement, “The Progressive Era is unique in that this impulse spread to foster an all-encompassing mood and effort for reform”. Theodore Roosevelt was the president for half of the progressive era. Theodore Roosevelt came up many laws to help monitor business work environment and food safety, “the Meat Inspection Act was the beginning of federal regulation of the country’s meat, poultry, and egg products supply” (noto.com). This was big game changer it allows the government to regulate the meat companys, so people won’t get sick. Roosevelt wanted to get rid of the monopolies in America. Roosevelt broke more trusting busting than any other president. As you can see in the progressive era the government was regulating
The Gilded Age was a time a of great prosperity but also great corruption. Many advances in technology and industry took place during the time period. The transcontinental railroad was built, the steel industry was expanded, and oil took off. These developments allowed for the US to experience an industrial revolution, but not all was well. Most of the wealth generated during this time concentrated itself into the hands a of a select few who were able to weasel their way to the top of their industry. One example is John D. Rockefeller, who with wealth adjusted for inflation, amassed a fortune of around $700 billion. The way the these men obtained their wealth was an issue for many during the
America at the turn of the century was a very different place than it is today. The industrial revolution had set into motion a series of events that empowered and enriched some and nearly enslaved others. Theodore Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” was a necessary response to growing social unrest. A severely unequal distribution of wealth along with poor living and working conditions were leading workers and capitalists to increasingly extreme means. By enacting a large body of legislation intended to set right the wrongs in society and using whatever force necessary, Roosevelt avoided what could have been a popular revolution of the working
Many different arguments emerged from Roosevelt’s New Deal. Some people believed that FDR was against the idea of business, they had no hope for the economy, and thought that the United States would be in debt forever. In the letter to Senator Robert Wagner, the author explains the unemployment rates, and how the government hasn’t done anything to stabilize the economy. In fact, the author believes that communism is arising and everything clashed together will lead to a “disaster to all classes”. Meanwhile, Franklin Roosevelt was creating jobs to decrease unemployment rates, and he created the National Industrial Recovery Act, which proposed fair competition and collective bargaining for workers. The author of this letter is proven wrong because in fact, America did turn around, and FDR’s policies were ultimately extremely effective. The unemployment rate was brought up again in an NBC radio broadcast by John L. Lewis in 1936. This broadcast spoke about the “labor unrest”, the strikes that unemployment has provoked, and the major issue of huge corporations having the right of self-organization and collective bargaining. Once again, Franklin
Andrew Carnegie was believed by many to have stolen his immense fortune by underpaying workers while others believed he worked his way to get where he was, and deserved every last penny he received. Controversial figures like the one described caused a copious amount of issues while many tried to decide whether they believed these industrialists were robber barons or captains of industry during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. The Gilded Age was an important time is United States history that witnessed many concerning issues such as corruption, unemployment, and poverty. Because of the expansion westward and rapid pace of industrialization, many believed the United States had reached a “new golden age.” Relating to the term Gilded, the United States was looked upon as an unbelievably successful area, but had underlying elitists manipulating how the United States was viewed. The wealthy industrialists of the late 19th century were social darwinists involved in many unnecessary actions such as putting their employees in poor working conditions, underpaying their workers, and supporting children and women in the labor force.
The Gilded Age was one of the most dynamic and controversial periods in American history. With the growth of factories in the north, America’s economy increased at an unbelievable rate. This growth created a series of new opportunities for some but also left many workers and farmers to struggle in poverty and harsh conditions. As one groups continued to grow more and more wealthy, the other continued to grow poorer and poorer. This created a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. As this phenomenon continued it created many problems such as monopolies, racist and sexist laws, filthy city conditions, and child labor. To try to remedy these problems, the Progressive Movement was started. By initiating reforms in many aspects of American
During the turn of the century, in the 1900’s, conditions were harsh in working areas and big businesses were growing largely. There were many things wrong with the time period, and Theodore Roosevelt recognized this. Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to introduce progressive reforms and restrictions to the country. This impacted many areas of people and businesses. Areas of reform included conditions for the coalmine workers, civil rights, and breaking trusts in businesses.
Lorenzo smith Mr. Alvarado P.5 Gilded Age During the Gilded Age America was going through a time of extreme change, advancements, and also conflicts. The gilded age was originally coined by Mark twain who described the times as gilded with gold and fortune but under the surface was filled with unnoticed conflicts. The Gilded Age lasted from 1870-1900 and was a time of rapid economic that created some of the big businesses we know today.
One way he did that was again siding with the workers in the coal mine strike. Another way he fought for the working class was he created the Department of Commerce and Labor. The Department of Commerce and Labor which controlled the excesses of big businesses and “foster, promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment” (U.S. Department of Labor). He also immediately dealt with the meat companies. When the meat companies had been exposed by the book “The Jungle” Theodore Roosevelt immediately sent a team to investigate and when they found out that they were true he made laws to fix
The Gilded Age was the period of transformation in the economy, technology, government, and social customs of America. Robber Barons were businessmen who used unfair tactics to help the union. The people who had jobs were struggling to the fact that they have low pay and working condition is bad. So many people were struggling because of these low cut pays. Also, little kids had to work but did not get paid, these kids should not have been working since they let them work they at least should have paid them for their hard work and dedication. Robber Barons used unfair tactics by giving poor working condition, low paychecks, and child labor.
How did President Roosevelt re-define the meaning of economic freedom over the course of the New Deal? President Roosevelt re-defined economic freedom by eliminating the controlling power from large corporations that monopolized economies, such as the farm industry. The New Deal offered support to farmers with the Agricultural Adjustment Act, it aimed at raising prices by reducing production. The New Deal also provided assistance for the poor and the unemployed by creating jobs in public works programs. Roosevelt compared these capitalists to the royalist of the 18th century, naming them “new royalists.”
The economic crisis that showed all the contradictions of capitalism led to an increase of a deep political crisis in the USA in late 1920?s. October 29, 1929 is known in the American history as the Black Tuesday. It was the date, when the American stock market collapsed. In such economically difficult situation, in November 1932, a regular presidential election took place. The Democrat Franklin Roosevelt, who spoke with the program the New Deal, came to presidency. It was a series of social liberal programs applied in the United States in 1933-1938 in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal was focused on three main principles: relief, recovery, and reform.[footnoteRef:1] They promised to bring the country to prosperity and economically stable future. However, the Conservatives criticized the New Deal during the whole period of the reforms. It was expressed by Herbert Hoover in Anti-New Deal Campaign Speech in 1936 and Minnie Hardin in 1937 in a Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt. [1: (notes)]