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The Gilded Age was a short period in American history after the Civil War, characterized by a population and economic boom that created an incredibly wealthy upper class. The era lasted from 1877 to 1893, ending with the market crash of 1893. The success of western expansion, the California Gold Rush, and improved technology in factories and mining operations led to incredible profits for big company owners. The term “Gilded Age” was coined by Mark Twain and symbolized the contrast between the pampered upper class and immigrants and increasingly poor working classes. The era was also marked by governmental corruption and a severe housing shortage. The Panic of 1893 and the ensuing depression prevented America from creating a true aristocratic class and firmly established the cultural reality that wealth is power and is meant to enrich the possessors, rather than the community.
The Gilded Age refers to a short period in American history after the Civil War Restoration era. During this period, the United States experienced a population and economic boom, resulting in the creation of an incredibly wealthy upper class. The era lasted only a few years, from 1877 to 1893, before the market crash of 1893 brought a major depression to the whole country.
With the success of western expansion, the California Gold Rush, and the staggering supply of natural resources in western North America, the demand for railroads paved the way for much of the Gilded Age. Improved technology in factories and mining operations has also led to incredible profits for the visionary owners of big companies. The upper class was suddenly rolling in cash, and an elitist culture began to evolve around expensive tastes and possessions.
Mark Twain brought the term to life by paraphrasing Shakespeare in King John, who says that “to paint the lily is a waste and a ridiculous excess.” The term had an ironic meaning and used the title of a book the humorist wrote with Charles Dudley Warner, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. The irony of the term also came to symbolize the contrast between the pampered upper class and immigrants and increasingly poor working classes.
Coinciding with this era of wealth and materialism was a population explosion in the United States as waves of immigrants sought freedom and a better life in America. In a decade, nearly 140,000 Chinese immigrants entered the country, most to work on Western Railways. Since the Potato Famine in the 1840s, Irish immigrants had begun arriving in droves to escape their homeland’s starving countryside, a trend that continued throughout the era. In 1890, a census showed 190,000 immigrants of Irish descent in New York City alone.
Immigrants were often looked down upon by American citizens and relegated to shoddy jobs, low wages, and squalid living conditions. The population explosion has led to a severe housing shortage, leading many to live in poorly constructed tenement buildings, with high risks of fire and other disasters. The irony of The Gilded Age is metaphorical: a thin covering of fake gold on a dirty and terrible situation.
Governmental corruption was another feature of this dynamic era in American history. After the assassination of idealistic President Lincoln, the concept of morale in government took a sharp downward turn. The famous William “Boss” Tweed used his political clout to defraud New York State of millions of dollars to enrich himself and his political partners. Even in the White House, under President Ulysses S. Grant, scandal after scandal seemed to rock Washington and shock the world.
The era was a complicated period, brought into balance only through a sudden and extreme economic depression. From a historical perspective, the Panic of 1893 and the ensuing depression prevented America from creating a true aristocratic class and falling into the ways that had convinced America to give in from Britain in the first place. The Gilded Age firmly established a rather unfortunate American cultural reality, that wealth is power and is meant to enrich the possessors, rather than the community.
