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Gilded Age Dates: 1865 - 1900
When was the Gilded Age, when did it start and when did it end? The
Gilded Age dates covered the era after the Civil War from the
presidency of Andrew Johnson in 1865. The Gilded Age continued until
1900 and the start of the
Progressive Era
during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt that led to
political and social reforms in America.
Why was it called the
Gilded Age?
The 'Gilded
Age' was a sarcastic term coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley
Warner to describe the era when many ruthless Industrialists
acquired wealth and opulent lifestyles through unethical business
practices, bribery and corruption. These people lived a golden
existence but it was merely a facade of gold paint (gild) that
covered over a multitude of sins in the Gilded era including
poverty, crime, fraud, bribery and corruption during the
Urbanization of America.
What were the characteristics of the
Gilded Age?
The characteristics of the Gilded Age were the excess and waste of
the wealthy with their spectacular mansions and opulent lifestyles.
But the 'golden facade' also spilled over into the lives of many
ordinary people. The incredible
Inventions
of the era changed
America and people were in awe of the power of electricity, the
advances in transportation systems and the literal rise of the
Skyscrapers
with their amazing elevators. These astonishing
inventions were showcased in expositions like the
1893
Chicago World's Fair that attracted over 27
million visitors. The standard of living had increased in the Gilded
era for many people, life was not dictated and restricted by the
daily need for tending the land, and their was some time for
leisure. The facade continued with the bright lights of the city and
new forms of entertainment such as amusement parks, spectator sports
such as baseball, saloons, vaudeville, P.T. Barnum's circus like
that of or Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. The Gilded Age was
characterized by its shiny, glittering surface which masked the
problems beneath.
Why was the
Gilded Age a period of change?
The Gilded Age
was an era of massive economic growth in the United States and
unprecedented social changes. The changes of the Gilded age are
defined by the following events:
Reasons Why the Gilded Age
was a period of Change
Gilded Age: The inventions and new technologies
of the
Second Industrial Revolution in Steel, Oil and
Electricity
Gilded Age: The economy boomed in new areas,
especially heavy industry like factories, railroads, and
coal mining.
Gilded Age: The
Rise of Big Business and Corporations involving
vast monopolies and trusts
Gilded Age: The emergence of the 'Robber Barons'
the ruthless and wealthy industrialists who monopolized
the railroads, the steel industry, the oil industry and
the powerful financiers who controlled the banks
Gilded Age: The support Free Enterprise and 'laissez-faire'
capitalism combined with political conservatism
justified by the theory of
Social Darwinism
Gilded Age: The process of
Industrialization in
the United States that changed the lives of Americans
forever, bringing about complex social and economic
changes
Gilded Age: The mechanization of industry, mass
production and factories that transformed America from a
rural, agricultural society to a city based industrial
society
Gilded Age: The ever increasing need for cheap
labor was fed a surge in
Immigration
Gilded Age: The rapid
Urbanization in
America that resulted in squalid housing conditions
for the poor and the rise of the corrupt Political
Machines
Gilded Age: The economic and social changes,
great disparities in wealth between the rich and the
poor and appalling working conditions led to riots,
strikes and the emergence of the
Labor Unions
Gilded Age: Realism in Art and Literature
Reasons Why the Gilded Age
was a period of Change
Who were the Robber Barons of the
Gilded Age?
The
Robber Barons
of the Gilded Age were the wealthy men who monopolized
the railroads, the steel industry, the tobacco industry, the oil
industry and the financiers who controlled the banks.
The names of the Robber Barons included those such as Andrew
Carnegie, Charles M. Schwab, James Fisk, Jay Gould, Franklin B.
Gowen, George Pullman, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford, J.P.
Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. The Robber Barons kept wages at a
minimum, cared little for the working conditions and safety banned
their workers from joining labor unions and used bribery and
corruption to gain support from politicians and government
officials. Some Robber Barons manipulated the stock market,
monopolized the major industries and made it impossible for
competitors to survive.
Gilded Age for kids: The 'Gospel of Wealth
Other wealthy Industrialists of the Gilded Age were
philanthropists. Steel magnate Andrew
Carnegie published his 1889 article called the 'Gospel of
Wealth' in which he described the responsibility of philanthropy by
the new upper class of self-made men to further social progress.
Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to charitable causes and
perhaps should be referred to as one of the
Captains
of Industry rather than one of the Robber Barons.
Who were the Presidents of the
Gilded Age?
The Presidents of the Gilded Age, frequently
referred to as the "Forgettable
Presidents", were Andrew Johnson, Ulysses
Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover
Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley.
Their terms in office of some of these presidents led to accusations
of political patronage and nepotism (favoritism)
which was
'custom and practice' of
presidential administrations and related to the
Spoils System
that had been favored by President Jackson.
● President Andrew Johnson
(1865-1869): Andrew Johnson interfered with Congress to such an
extent that he was impeached
● President Ulysses Grant
(1869-1873) & (1873-1877):
The scandals and corruption of politicians and government
officials during his presidency led to the term 'Grantism'.
● President Rutherford B.
Hayes (1877-1881): Rutherford B. Hayes administration witnessed
the first nationwide strike in the United States
● President James Garfield
(1881): James Garfield presidency only lasted for 100 days when
he was assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau
● President Chester Arthur
(1881-1885): Chester Arthur attempted to address the 'Spoils
System' with the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act but his presidency was marred
by the Star-Route Scandal involving bribery and corruption of
Federal postal officials
● President Grover Cleveland
(1885-1889) and (1893-1897): Grover Cleveland's terms in office
saw the Haymarket Riot, the Panic of 1893 and the Pullman Strike
● President Benjamin
Harrison (1889-1893): During the Benjamin Harrison
administration the
Dependent Pension Bill cost the government over a billion
dollars.
● President William McKinley
(1897-1901): William McKinley
saw the highest protective
tariff in the history of the United States. Arbitration
procedures were implemented to settle railway disputes.
President William McKinley's term in office ended when he was
assassinated by the anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz
The
Gilded Age for kids: Realism in Art and Literature
Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined the term 'Gilded Age'
and along with other writers and artists attempted to balance the
superficial nature of the era by balancing it with Realism. The new
movement in art and literature, that became known as Realism,
attempted to portray people realistically instead of idealizing them
and portrayed the realities of urbanization and industrialization in
their work.
● Mark Twain, with Charles
Dudley Warner, wrote The Gilded Age (1873) that satirized greed
and political corruption
● Mark Twain also went on to
write novels like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry
Finn· that portrayed realistic descriptions of American life
● Henry James wrote novels
such as his humane masterpiece the Portrait of a Lady (1881)
● William Dean Howells
depicted realism in his 1885 novel The Rise of Silas Lapham
● In 1890 Jacob Riis
published 'How the Other Half Lives'
● American artists also
responded to the Gilded Age by adopting Realism. These famous
artists included Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer and Mary Cassatt
Gilded Age Timeline and Facts for kids
Interesting facts about the era referred to as the Gilded Age detailed below. The history of the
Gilded Age and era is told in a
factual timeline sequence consisting of a series of interesting, short facts
and dates providing a simple method of relating the
history of the Gilded Age for kids, schools and homework projects.
Gilded Age
Timeline
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 1: 1865: Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
becomes President
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 2: 1867:
The
Granger
Movement
was established to promote the social needs of farmers
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 3: 1869: Ulysses Grant (1869-1873) &
(1873-1877) becomes President
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 4:
1869:
The Union Pacific
Transcontinental Railroad
linked the
Pacific Coast to the Atlantic
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 5: 1869: The
Knights of Labor was the first
major American labor union to be established
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 6:
1869: The
Black Friday Scandal an attempt by two Wall
Street speculators to corner the gold market
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 7: 1870: John D. Rockefeller's Standard
Oil Company is incorporated
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 8:
1872: The
Credit Mobilier
Scandal involving corruption by the
Union Pacific Railroad and Credit Mobilier
construction co
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 9: 1873: The
Panic of 1873, a serious
economic crisis that led to riots, strikes and civil
unrest
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 10: 1873: Mark Twain and Charles Dudley
Warner publish The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
Continued...
Gilded Age
Timeline
Gilded Age cont.
Interesting facts about the era referred to as the Gilded Age detailed below. The history of the
Gilded Age and era is told in a
factual timeline sequence consisting of a series of interesting, short facts
and dates providing a simple method of relating the
history of the Gilded Age for kids, schools and homework projects.
Gilded Age
Timeline
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 11: 1874: Joseph Glidden invents barbed
wire fencing changing farming and ranching in America
that heralds the end of the
Cowboys and the
Wild
West
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 12:
1875: The
Whiskey Ring Scandal,
a conspiracy by
distillers to avoid the excise taxes on liquor
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 13: 1876 The
Belknap Bribery Scandal in which the Secretary of War, William Belknap, received bribes
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 14: 1876: National League baseball plays
its first official game
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 15: 1877: The
Molly Maguires
a secret society of Irish coal miners in
Pennsylvania led the
'Long Strike of 1875' which resulted in
20 members being
unjustly hanged for murder
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 16: 1877: Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
becomes President
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 17: 1877: The
Great Railroad Strike
the first nationwide
strike in the United States
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 18: 1878: Thomas Edison establishes the
Edison Electric Light Co
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 19: 1880: The Rise in the power of Big
Business and Corporations and the Robber Barons
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 20: 1880: Andrew Carnegie gains a
monopoly of the steel industry
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 21: 1881: James Garfield (1881): becomes
President but is assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau
who resented not receiving a government job under the
Spoils System
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 22: Chester Arthur (1881-1885) becomes
President
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 23: 1882:
The
Star-Route Scandal involving bribery and corruption
of Federal postal officials
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 24: 1882: For the first time in US
history Congress acts to restrict immigration on a
selective basis
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 25: 1883: Chester Arthur attempts to
address the 'Spoils System' with the
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 26: 1883: The
Brooklyn Bridge is completed, the first steel-wire
suspension bridge in the world
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 27: 1884 The world's first true
"skyscraper" is completed. A ten-story building called
the Home Life Insurance in Chicago.
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 28: 1885: First Grover Cleveland
Presidency (1885-1889)
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 29: 1886: The
Haymarket Riot and the Haymarket Chicago bombing
is perpetrated by anarchists
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 30: 1886 The American Federation of Labor
is organized by Samuel Gompers
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 31: 1886: The
Statue of Liberty is dedicated a symbol of America,
the land of freedom and opportunity
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 32: 1887: Congress passed the
Interstate Commerce Act which created the Interstate
Commerce Commission as a federal regulatory agency to
address Shipping rates and Price discrimination
Gilded
Age Timeline Fact 33: 1889: Benjamin Harrison becomes
President (1889-1893)
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 34: 1889: The
Dependent Pension
Bill aka the
Billion Dollar Congress cost the government over a billion dollars.
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 35: 1890: Sherman Antitrust
Act, 1890, first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to
prohibit monopolies
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 36: 1892:
Ellis Island opens in Upper New York Bay as a federal
immigration inspection station
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 37: 1893: The Second Grover Cleveland
Presidency (1893-1897)
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 38: 1893: The
Panic of 1893
led to a 4 year economic depression with 20%
unemployment
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 39: 1893: The wonders of the
Chicago World's Fair
that introduced the
Ferris Wheel
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 40: 1897: William McKinley becomes
president (1897-1901)
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 41: 1897: The
Dingley
Tariff is the highest
protective tariff in the history of the United States -
also refer to
Protectionism
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 42: 1898: The
Erdman Railway Labor Act is passed, a law to settle
railway disputes and set up arbitration procedures
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 43: 1898: The consolidation of
the
City of Greater New York
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 44: 1900: The
Galveston Hurricane.
As a consequence of the tragedy Galveston introduced the
commission system of government replacing the
mayor and city council. a major step to combat the
Political Machines
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 45: 1901: President McKinley is
assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt assumes the
presidency. President. President Theodore Roosevelt was
a leader in the
Conservation Movement fighting to end the waste of
natural resources
Gilded Age
Timeline Fact 46: The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
heralds the
Progressive Movement which led to political and
social reforms in America detailed in the
list of
the
Progressive Reforms made at city, state and federal
level.
Gilded Age
Timeline
Gilded Age for kids
The article on the Gilded Age provides
detailed facts and a summary of the
most important events and dates in the history of the
United States
- a crash course in
American History. The following video will
give you additional important facts, history and dates about the
personal and political lives of all the US Presidents.
Gilded Age
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Interesting Facts about Gilded Age timeline for kids
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Key events
in the Gilded Age for kids
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US era of the Gilded Age
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Interesting Facts about the Gilded Age for kids
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Gilded Age
timeline with key dates and important events
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Gilded Age timeline for kids and schools
● Facts via the
Gilded Age timeline for schools,
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