Gilded Age Benefits

The Gilded Age, the period from 1870 to around 1900, got its name from Mark Twain, who thought the era was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath (Mintz, McNeil). When most people picture the Gilded Age, they refer to Mark Twain's view of an imbalanced, corrupt society. Many think that the Gilded Age was mainly an era full of social inequality, greed, careless captains of industry, unhealthy and immoral lifestyles of the lower class, business scandals, and devious political tactics. Many critics and historians, who haven't set aside time to thoroughly study or take note of most of the beneficial effects of this period, may easily support and claim these beliefs. Although the Gilded Age is frequently viewed as an adverse era of social
Many of the technological inventions of the Gilded Age centered around the use of electricity. Innovations such as the telephone, electric stove, vacuum cleaner, air conditioner, refrigerator, and typewriter increased the productivity and efficiency of tasks. I believe that these inventions helped America to become one of the top producers in the world. America has been able to create and sell a variety of products by adding to and building off of these past inventions. As Michael G. Mulhall, an eminent statistician, declared in 1895, the United States "possesses by far the greatest productive power in the world," and "this power has more than trebled since 1860" (Santis 1). The production of industrial materials (steel), sources of power, and internal combustion machines helped America to become an industrial power. For example, by the 1890s, the U.S. had the most extensive railroad network in the world— cities were linked together in every state. These railroad systems carried and supplied natural resources for the raw materials of industrial use, lowered the cost of shipping freight (which lowered the price costumers paid for food and durable items), carried food and products to the urban labor force,
The population of the country increased by about 27 million people, from about 49 million in 1880 to 76 million in 1900 (White). Immigrants migrated to America from different parts of Europe: Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Lithuania, Romania and Asia: China and Japan. They believed in many various religions, such as Catholicism and Judaism, and introduced several unique, cultural ideas to other immigrants and American inhabitants. The United States welcomed immigrants because they were essential to its growing economy, but nativists opposed immigrants as antithetical to American culture and society (White). They felt threatened that the immigrants would compete with them for jobs and housing. Some of these immigrants faced discrimination and unjust acts and laws. Even though there was rising rates of political tension, overcrowding, high unemployment rates, and unsanitary living conditions, new opportunities, jobs, housing, and transportation systems, benefited the immigrants. The growing number of immigrants had a significant impact on American society. The immigrants helped to transform America into a multicultural, diverse society, one full of various religions, languages, practices, ideas, and beliefs. Would America still be known as a melting pot without the immigration and urbanization effects of