Analysis
Industrial Expansion and Monopolies
Written by Anya Marcum
America’s Gilded Age was a time of immense industrial expansion which sprung from a coalescence of factors. The government supported developing industries which benefitted from a growing workforce, increased demand for goods, plentiful natural resources, and the availability of investment capital (Foner, 476). The new railroad system, steam power, electricity, and machines all made new methods of production possible. Together, these elements allowed for the burgeoning growth of industrial America and movement away from the agrarian society of the past. These developments and the expansion of industrialization became the catalyst of change for American socioeconomics.
The growth of industrialism further developed capitalism in America. This encouraged the development of large corporations which took advantage of new industrial opportunities. They were extremely competitive and sought control of entire industries through the development of trusts, vertically integrated companies, and monopolies. Through these methods, “between 1897 and 1904, some 4,000 firms” disappeared or were taken over by larger companies (Foner, 480). John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company exemplifies the capitalism and monopolistic corporations of this time. Through secret deals made with railroads to discount shipping, he drove his competitors out of business (Zinn, 256) and by the 1880s, "90 percent of the nation's oil industry" was controlled by Standard Oil (Foner, 481).
Henry Demarest Lloyd, a prominent journalist from this time, was a strong critic of the corrupt tendencies of monopolies. His book, Wealth Against Commonwealth, discusses the dangers of corporations through the analysis of their violations of economic freedom and democracy. About the nature of these early monopolies he says, “They assert the right, for their private profit, to regulate the consumption by the people of the necessaries of life, and to control the production, not by the needs of humanity, but by the desires of a few for dividends” (Lloyd, 9). With profit as their primary motivation, these companies frequently exploited the labor of their workers. The reach of corporate monopolies was such that they controlled the society in which they existed. While the economic growth of this time was profound, it was rife with inequality due to the inherent greed of capitalism which grew from corporate control.
As the economy began to revolve around these new industries, people began moving out of the country and into cities to seek opportunity and employment in factories. New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia all had immense growth during this time. New York, for instance, “grew from 850,000 to 4 million” from 1860-1914 (Zinn, 254). The advance of industrialization altered the means through which Americans derived their economic autonomy. With wealth acquisition at the forefront of American minds, a shift in social priority was imminent. The advance of capitalistic values during the Gilded Age would permanently alter American society and the way in which citizens live.
Written by Anya Marcum
America’s Gilded Age was a time of immense industrial expansion which sprung from a coalescence of factors. The government supported developing industries which benefitted from a growing workforce, increased demand for goods, plentiful natural resources, and the availability of investment capital (Foner, 476). The new railroad system, steam power, electricity, and machines all made new methods of production possible. Together, these elements allowed for the burgeoning growth of industrial America and movement away from the agrarian society of the past. These developments and the expansion of industrialization became the catalyst of change for American socioeconomics.
The growth of industrialism further developed capitalism in America. This encouraged the development of large corporations which took advantage of new industrial opportunities. They were extremely competitive and sought control of entire industries through the development of trusts, vertically integrated companies, and monopolies. Through these methods, “between 1897 and 1904, some 4,000 firms” disappeared or were taken over by larger companies (Foner, 480). John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company exemplifies the capitalism and monopolistic corporations of this time. Through secret deals made with railroads to discount shipping, he drove his competitors out of business (Zinn, 256) and by the 1880s, "90 percent of the nation's oil industry" was controlled by Standard Oil (Foner, 481).
Henry Demarest Lloyd, a prominent journalist from this time, was a strong critic of the corrupt tendencies of monopolies. His book, Wealth Against Commonwealth, discusses the dangers of corporations through the analysis of their violations of economic freedom and democracy. About the nature of these early monopolies he says, “They assert the right, for their private profit, to regulate the consumption by the people of the necessaries of life, and to control the production, not by the needs of humanity, but by the desires of a few for dividends” (Lloyd, 9). With profit as their primary motivation, these companies frequently exploited the labor of their workers. The reach of corporate monopolies was such that they controlled the society in which they existed. While the economic growth of this time was profound, it was rife with inequality due to the inherent greed of capitalism which grew from corporate control.
As the economy began to revolve around these new industries, people began moving out of the country and into cities to seek opportunity and employment in factories. New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia all had immense growth during this time. New York, for instance, “grew from 850,000 to 4 million” from 1860-1914 (Zinn, 254). The advance of industrialization altered the means through which Americans derived their economic autonomy. With wealth acquisition at the forefront of American minds, a shift in social priority was imminent. The advance of capitalistic values during the Gilded Age would permanently alter American society and the way in which citizens live.
Child Labor in the United States
Written by Zach Sauers
With the introduction of the industrial age in 19th century America, many lower class individuals, such as newly arrived immigrants, as well as the impoverished, looked to the new factories for job opportunities. They wanted to make a better life for themselves. Many already established citizens began to flock to the cities in search of opportunity, but with this search came a new identity. The morality of American’s, and the meaning and application of the American dream, began to take a new form. The ideals of community and brotherhood, which had defined many, transformed, seemingly overnight, into the idea of self-efficacy and success of the individual over the collective whole. Those select few who profited from this transition made fortunes and have earned their place in the history books of time. Most were not so lucky. Poverty, sickness, death, and heartbreak flowed from the factory system, and those innocents caught in its wake felt the reverberations of its effect for decades to come. One such injustice sticks out amongst the rest for its deplorable and shocking consequences. This would be the employment of children in the factories. Through analyzing the main points given in the article Child Labor in the United States by Samuel McCune Lindsay, we will get a better idea of the changing values in American culture at the time, as well as a glimpse into a world many Americans seem to forget.
Written by Zach Sauers
With the introduction of the industrial age in 19th century America, many lower class individuals, such as newly arrived immigrants, as well as the impoverished, looked to the new factories for job opportunities. They wanted to make a better life for themselves. Many already established citizens began to flock to the cities in search of opportunity, but with this search came a new identity. The morality of American’s, and the meaning and application of the American dream, began to take a new form. The ideals of community and brotherhood, which had defined many, transformed, seemingly overnight, into the idea of self-efficacy and success of the individual over the collective whole. Those select few who profited from this transition made fortunes and have earned their place in the history books of time. Most were not so lucky. Poverty, sickness, death, and heartbreak flowed from the factory system, and those innocents caught in its wake felt the reverberations of its effect for decades to come. One such injustice sticks out amongst the rest for its deplorable and shocking consequences. This would be the employment of children in the factories. Through analyzing the main points given in the article Child Labor in the United States by Samuel McCune Lindsay, we will get a better idea of the changing values in American culture at the time, as well as a glimpse into a world many Americans seem to forget.
The exploitation of children in America hit its peak with the introduction of the factory system. Parents forced their children to work in order to pay their bills and draw in a larger income that they needed to survive. Children, some as young as five, could be employed in America’s factories. From such tasks as working on assembly lines, shrimp picking, and other demeaning occupations, children found work in areas many did not want to go. Children earned significantly less than most adults, which made them prized possessions to the factory owners, who saw that the less they had to spend, the more successful they would become. Samuel McCune Lindsay, head of National Child Labor Committee and author of the article Child Labor in the United States saw the issue of child labor and took a large step foreword in an attempt to draw the public’s attention towards this silent tragedy. He presented a list of demands in which he viewed that the factories and those who ran them needed to take in order to restore their morality. He stated that the factories must first eliminate children less than fourteen years of age from wageworkers. Secondly, they must further prohibit night work for children, as well as prohibit children from dangerous, life threatening work. And lastly, they can allow children from ages of fourteen to sixteen years of age to work, on the condition that they must have the guarantee that the work in which those children find themselves employed in is safe, and those children must be physically prepared to handle such an occupation.
Despite Lindsay’s cry to stop child labor, the numbers only kept increasing. He writes that in 1880, the United States Census concluded that over 1.1 million children were included in the wageworkers in America. That number increased to 1.7 million in 1900, and totaled at almost 2 millon in 1906, a year before this article was written. With the Keating-Owen Act in 1917 (also known as ‘Wick’s Bill), child labor almost saw its conclusion. However, this act was declared unconstitutional in 1918. Child labor never truly came to an end in the United States until the Great Depression, when adults were so desperate for some form of employment that they were willing to work for children’s wages. Through analyzing child labor in the United States, we can paint a better picture of the priorities that the wealthy exhibited in this day and age, and, in turn, examine the changing values in America.
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Shift in American Values
Written by Nelson Teng
During an unprecedented movement in 19th and 20th century America, came a rise in new innovations and a new way of thinking in American society. There exists an inescapable force that has significantly shaped every individual’s persona on what is the meaning of their value and how they define social value in America’s society. During America’s Gilded Age, the pressures for the new society’s industrial expansion gave birth to a modern America with a different culture and social norms. According to “The Theory of the Leisure Class,” the shift in American values includes the social norm of showing off one’s self worth and the bartering of women’s beauty.
Written by Nelson Teng
During an unprecedented movement in 19th and 20th century America, came a rise in new innovations and a new way of thinking in American society. There exists an inescapable force that has significantly shaped every individual’s persona on what is the meaning of their value and how they define social value in America’s society. During America’s Gilded Age, the pressures for the new society’s industrial expansion gave birth to a modern America with a different culture and social norms. According to “The Theory of the Leisure Class,” the shift in American values includes the social norm of showing off one’s self worth and the bartering of women’s beauty.
First of all, the portrayal of American value during the Gilded Age has made it the social norm to show off one’s self worth by spending a great amount of money on luxury goods and services. According to Thorstein Veblen, a progressive economist of the Gilded Age era, the terminology for that kind of activity was called “conspicuous consumption.” In quote, Veblen argued that “in order to gain and to hold the esteem of men it is not sufficient merely to possess wealth or power. The wealth or power must be put in evidence, for esteem is awarded only on evidence” (Veblen, 36). This shows that during this period, conspicuous consumption was regarded as a way for individuals to fulfill their desires for gratification through provoking the envies of others. Possessing great wealth is not pleasurable enough until it is proven through open display to grab the attention of the public to display success and prestige.
Next, another event that has changed in America’s society during this period concerns the depiction of women and what they considered important to their social value. According to Veblen it is reported that “the original reason for the seizure and appropriation of women seems to have been their usefulness as trophies” (Veblen, 23). This shows that women were depicted as “conspicuous leisure” for men of power to own as trophies. In addition, a naturalist writer Edith Wharton, who wrote “The House of Mirth,” depicted women’s lives on what they valued in a rich and poor society. Women of beauty were pressured to marry into a wealthy husband in “barter” for her beauty. The female character named Lily Bart said in quote “to be poor amounted to such a confession of failure and amounted to disgrace” (Wharton, 58). This is a great literary example that follows the naturalism style of writing which uses detailed realism of the Gilded Age era. Women, especially of beauty, during this period were pressured by society to choose wisely in marrying into a wealthy family whether it’s for true love or just for the sake of not being shunned by society because of their lowly social status. Those who chose the first option would have opportunities to engage in “vicarious leisure,” which is leisure practiced by wives to show off wealth by purchasing from her husband’s money, and in return this portrays the husband’s high economic status
H.L. Mencken, an American journalist and magazine editor of the time, gave a famous review of “The Theory of the Leisure Class” saying:
“Do I enjoy a decent bath because I know that John Smith cannot afford one - or because I delight in being clean? Do I admire Beethoven's Fifth Symphony because it is incomprehensible to Congressmen and Methodists - or because I genuinely love music? Do I prefer terrapin à la Maryland to fried liver because plow hands must put up with the liver - or because the terrapin is intrinsically a more charming dose? Do I prefer kissing a pretty girl to kissing a charwoman because even a janitor may kiss a charwoman - or because the pretty girl looks better, smells better and kisses better?”
“Do I enjoy a decent bath because I know that John Smith cannot afford one - or because I delight in being clean? Do I admire Beethoven's Fifth Symphony because it is incomprehensible to Congressmen and Methodists - or because I genuinely love music? Do I prefer terrapin à la Maryland to fried liver because plow hands must put up with the liver - or because the terrapin is intrinsically a more charming dose? Do I prefer kissing a pretty girl to kissing a charwoman because even a janitor may kiss a charwoman - or because the pretty girl looks better, smells better and kisses better?”
Poverty in the Gilded Age
Written by Josh R.
Written by Josh R.
After the end of the Civil War, the United States experienced a period of staggering economic expansion. This time of rapid financial growth transformed the nation into an industrial powerhouse, which resulted in the growth of capitalism and a shift in American values. This prosperous era was given the name of the Gilded Age. Many factors fostered the maturity of the United States into a wealthy industrial society such as the overabundance of laborers. These labor workers consisted of people from both the nation and immigrants from Europe who flocked to the growing urban areas in the eastern United States. The revitalized economy and increase in factories attracted unskilled laborers looking for employment. However, as industries grew so did the disparity between the wealthy and the poor.
Although only a miniscule percentage of the population fully reveled in the unprecedented prosperity of the Gilded Age a large portion of the population, mainly the workforce, lived in poverty. Along with the increase of the wealthy and the poor, animosity between employer and employee increased as well. Before the rise of industry families and individuals made their living through farming and private businesses, but this changed during the Second Industrial Revolution. People now relied on their labor jobs as the source of their livelihood. Nevertheless, working conditions were severely lacking during this time. Laborers were subject to overwork, low wages, unsafe work environments, and brutal employers. Many families were forced to have almost every member take up a labor job to maximize their income. Men, woman, and children would all have some form of labor job at some industry whether it is in steel, oil, sewing etc. The poor conditions didn’t end at work but continued on into the homes of these families.
Although only a miniscule percentage of the population fully reveled in the unprecedented prosperity of the Gilded Age a large portion of the population, mainly the workforce, lived in poverty. Along with the increase of the wealthy and the poor, animosity between employer and employee increased as well. Before the rise of industry families and individuals made their living through farming and private businesses, but this changed during the Second Industrial Revolution. People now relied on their labor jobs as the source of their livelihood. Nevertheless, working conditions were severely lacking during this time. Laborers were subject to overwork, low wages, unsafe work environments, and brutal employers. Many families were forced to have almost every member take up a labor job to maximize their income. Men, woman, and children would all have some form of labor job at some industry whether it is in steel, oil, sewing etc. The poor conditions didn’t end at work but continued on into the homes of these families.
The families that immigrated to the United States lived in poorly maintained tenements that were no upgrade to slums. These tenement neighborhoods were highly unsanitary with trash piles on the street, poor drinking water, faulty plumbing, and even inadequate air quality. They were often over-populated as well with whole families sharing only one room. With severe unsanitary conditions and serious over-population of these tenements illness was a likely cause of death if work related accidents weren’t. Landlords neglected to address the issue offering only indifference or as much as only painting the outside of the tenements just to give the illusion of better housing. For the most part there was little government intervention and incentive for tenement owners to improve the housing conditions. The concept of Social Darwinism played a factor in this as some believed the government should not interfere but instead let nature take its course and let people succeed or fail on their own. It was also believed that those people who lived in poverty did so out of their own volition or slothfulness. Landlords didn’t view improving their tenements as profitable and therefore didn’t. However, Joseph Riis a muckraking journalist at the time revealed the truth of the lives of those in poverty in his book “How the Other Half Lives”. Riis writes of how a tenement owner, Ellen Collins, invested in her tenements improving it’s conditions greatly by installing true plumbing and hiring a janitor to enforce the new rules were practiced by the tenants. He reported that the tenants excellently maintained the tenements; the whole neighborhood saw an increase in conditions as well. Most important of all, Ellen Collins, the tenement owner, profited from her investment. Riis goes on to say that is of the not the laziness of the laborers that is the cause of such conditions but that of others who fail to aid out of indifference.
Despite the success of the industrial giants during the Gilded Age many were plagued with poverty. The rise of capitalism gave birth to the social fact that money trumps all. Those who had access to money had the ability to make even more money in the industrial boom but those who didn’t were likely to be fixed into the lives of factory laborers living in poorly kept tenements.
Gilded Age Scandal and Corruption
Written by Isaac Loftus
The Gilded Age, extending from the late 1800’s to the early twentieth century, was a period plagued by scandal, corruption, and greed. A reference to the Mark Twain novel The Gilded Age, the word “gilded” means to cover a common metal in gold leaf, a far cheaper alternative to pure gold. A metaphoric representation of the era, “gilded” is a connotative reference to the shoddy commercialization and corrupt, thieving politicians that led America through its formative years.
Written by Isaac Loftus
The Gilded Age, extending from the late 1800’s to the early twentieth century, was a period plagued by scandal, corruption, and greed. A reference to the Mark Twain novel The Gilded Age, the word “gilded” means to cover a common metal in gold leaf, a far cheaper alternative to pure gold. A metaphoric representation of the era, “gilded” is a connotative reference to the shoddy commercialization and corrupt, thieving politicians that led America through its formative years.
America's population after the civil war increased as a result of immigration, leading opportunity-seeking immigrants flooding into cities to take readily available, low pay factory jobs. Immigrant neighborhoods, filled with individuals from similar cultural and ethnic backgrounds, relied on each other, creating close knit societies and communities within America's many industrial metropolises. Leaders of such societies and associations, garnered the respect of their community, and with support ran for government positions. Political jobs were appointed to those without expertise or even experience, in many such industrialized cities, as the existing middle class left for the desirable suburbs. Leaders, or bosses, had an unethical loyalty to their supporters, and fell victim to selfish and greed-ridden intentions, as opposed to tending the needs of the people. One instance of such corruption was the spoils system, an employment method by which politicians handed out posh government jobs to close friends, family and supporters. Another was the rigged elections by which many elected officials remained in power. One of the most infamous bosses of the era was William Marcy Tweed, head of Tammany Hall. The agenda of Tammany Hall, like many political machines during the Gilded Age, was to benefit corrupt politicians. Boss Tweed and his partners effectively defrauded New York City of over two-hundred million dollars. Political machines, and their bosses acquired huge fortunes through bribery and the acceptance of kickbacks.
Business practices during the Gilded Age were often cutthroat and profit-oriented. The government, still adjusting to the transition of America as a newly industrialized nation, was ineffectually naive to some of these new practices that companies were utilizing to make money. After incorporation was made legal, big companies often bought out competing businesses, and held them under the same names, but new ownership. This led to the formation of corporations, which are and were legal. Unethical business owners, however, could buy out another business, transfer assets to the existing company, then bankrupt the newly acquired business, leaving stockholders with nothing.
Business practices during the Gilded Age were often cutthroat and profit-oriented. The government, still adjusting to the transition of America as a newly industrialized nation, was ineffectually naive to some of these new practices that companies were utilizing to make money. After incorporation was made legal, big companies often bought out competing businesses, and held them under the same names, but new ownership. This led to the formation of corporations, which are and were legal. Unethical business owners, however, could buy out another business, transfer assets to the existing company, then bankrupt the newly acquired business, leaving stockholders with nothing.
In an “interlocking directorate”, a single board of directors forms and leads two different companies; another legal business practice. However, a legal issue arose when the government caught on to companies abusing this practice by transferring assets from one of their companies to the other, bankrupting their secondary company, and reaping the rewards at the expense of the stockholder. The most notorious example of such an abuse was Credit Mobilier, a company created by a small group of Union Pacific Railroad stockholders. This ring of stockholders was able to sign contracts between the two companies, for both services and supplies, at inflated prices, all for profit. Many politicians fell to the puppeteering of big business, through kickbacks that were provided them by wealthy business owners. President Grant’s vice president and two congressmen received censures for accepting bribes (in exchange for turning a blind eye to Credit Mobilier).
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Idealogical Shifts: The Introduction of Socialism
Written by Jessica O.
The rampant exploitation and corruption of the Industrial Age catalyzed a shift in political and social thought. Anarchy and socialism, which had previously been considered too alien and radical to be integrated into American discourse, began to infiltrate the media.
Laurence Gronlund’s The Cooperative Commonwealth marked the first shift into the recognition of socialism in the United States. Prior to Gronlund, the concept of private property was considered essential to individual freedom, rendering socialism incomprehensible. August Spies, anarchist and radical leader, wrote about the portrayal of socialism during this era, stating that “from what I'd read, I concluded that the socialists were a lot of ignorant and lazy vagabonds who wanted to divide up everything” (Spies, 1886).
By the early twentieth century, socialism had made its mark as a presence in American thought, paving the way for the popularization of utopian literature. Most influential of these was Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, in which a man “falls asleep in the late nineteenth century only to awaken in the year 2000, in a world where cooperation has replaced class strife, “excessive individualism,” and cutthroat competition” (Foner 438). While Bellamy never explicitly stated that his work was a socialist allegory, the tenants of Marxism and socialist revolution are present throughout. Looking Backward sparked controversy, debate, nationalist clubs and a generation of reform. Bellamy’s hope was for a future which saw a society that could capitalize off the wealth of industrialization whilst eliminating inequality. Despite his aspirations, inequality persisted as a result of industrialization.
Those influenced by Gronlund and Bellamy became leaders of the labor and anarchist movements, staging protests and forming unions to combat their oppression. The most significant of these labor strikes came to be known as the Haymarket Affair of 1886, when the iron moulders union organized a strike against the Mccormick plant for reducing their wages. Despite government urging to appease the strikers, the Mccormick plant retaliated by hiring strikebreakers and private police. Later, they integrated technology which made them less reliant on iron moulders, allowing them to operate on a non-union basis. This time, the government sided with the company, resulting in a lengthy strike and culminating in the deaths of four demonstrators at the hands of the Chicago police department.
On May 4th, 1884, protests were held in Haymarket Square to admonish those responsible for the killings. A bomb was thrown into the crowd, killing a police officer and inciting chaos. Panicked, the police opened fire, killing both protesters and members of their own squadron. Needing to hold someone responsible, officers raided the headquarters of various radical groups, arresting 8 anarchists for a crime none of them actually committed. The evidence against them was weak, scarce, and circumstantial. However, American sentiment towards socialism had taken a sharp turn following the Haymarket Affair, allowing for their indictment and consequent sentencing. Capitalists took the opportunity to paint the labor movement as unpatriotic, violent, and the product of dangerous foreign thought.
August Spies wrote a disheartening account of his experience as one of the 8 anarchists imprisoned during the Haymarket affair, lamenting against the structure of a society which not only exploits it’s tired masses, but makes it patriotic to do so. Concluding his autobiography, he writes that he “cannot but reject the idea that the foundation of society could be changed by alterations of or by a structure that rests upon it and would tumble down the very minute the foundation was touched.” (Spies, 1886). While radical schools of thought found room for integration during the gilded age, the guiding hand of capitalism and the omnipotent presence of big government swiftly stifled them.
Written by Jessica O.
The rampant exploitation and corruption of the Industrial Age catalyzed a shift in political and social thought. Anarchy and socialism, which had previously been considered too alien and radical to be integrated into American discourse, began to infiltrate the media.
Laurence Gronlund’s The Cooperative Commonwealth marked the first shift into the recognition of socialism in the United States. Prior to Gronlund, the concept of private property was considered essential to individual freedom, rendering socialism incomprehensible. August Spies, anarchist and radical leader, wrote about the portrayal of socialism during this era, stating that “from what I'd read, I concluded that the socialists were a lot of ignorant and lazy vagabonds who wanted to divide up everything” (Spies, 1886).
By the early twentieth century, socialism had made its mark as a presence in American thought, paving the way for the popularization of utopian literature. Most influential of these was Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, in which a man “falls asleep in the late nineteenth century only to awaken in the year 2000, in a world where cooperation has replaced class strife, “excessive individualism,” and cutthroat competition” (Foner 438). While Bellamy never explicitly stated that his work was a socialist allegory, the tenants of Marxism and socialist revolution are present throughout. Looking Backward sparked controversy, debate, nationalist clubs and a generation of reform. Bellamy’s hope was for a future which saw a society that could capitalize off the wealth of industrialization whilst eliminating inequality. Despite his aspirations, inequality persisted as a result of industrialization.
Those influenced by Gronlund and Bellamy became leaders of the labor and anarchist movements, staging protests and forming unions to combat their oppression. The most significant of these labor strikes came to be known as the Haymarket Affair of 1886, when the iron moulders union organized a strike against the Mccormick plant for reducing their wages. Despite government urging to appease the strikers, the Mccormick plant retaliated by hiring strikebreakers and private police. Later, they integrated technology which made them less reliant on iron moulders, allowing them to operate on a non-union basis. This time, the government sided with the company, resulting in a lengthy strike and culminating in the deaths of four demonstrators at the hands of the Chicago police department.
On May 4th, 1884, protests were held in Haymarket Square to admonish those responsible for the killings. A bomb was thrown into the crowd, killing a police officer and inciting chaos. Panicked, the police opened fire, killing both protesters and members of their own squadron. Needing to hold someone responsible, officers raided the headquarters of various radical groups, arresting 8 anarchists for a crime none of them actually committed. The evidence against them was weak, scarce, and circumstantial. However, American sentiment towards socialism had taken a sharp turn following the Haymarket Affair, allowing for their indictment and consequent sentencing. Capitalists took the opportunity to paint the labor movement as unpatriotic, violent, and the product of dangerous foreign thought.
August Spies wrote a disheartening account of his experience as one of the 8 anarchists imprisoned during the Haymarket affair, lamenting against the structure of a society which not only exploits it’s tired masses, but makes it patriotic to do so. Concluding his autobiography, he writes that he “cannot but reject the idea that the foundation of society could be changed by alterations of or by a structure that rests upon it and would tumble down the very minute the foundation was touched.” (Spies, 1886). While radical schools of thought found room for integration during the gilded age, the guiding hand of capitalism and the omnipotent presence of big government swiftly stifled them.
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Industry and Liabilities
Written by Joshua Chan
As more and more Americans and immigrants began working in factories the number of work related injuries and deaths skyrocketed.
Before the rise of factories man and women worked for themselves in agriculture or small businesses. Everyone had a trade they specialized in, and they knew both the rewards and dangers of their trade. A carpenter was a skilled craftsman that knew how not to cut his finger off when cutting the materials he needed for a project. Craftsmen were careful when working because they knew every part of the process. That is not to say accidents didn’t happen, it’s just that work related injuries were few and far between for skilled craftsmen.
The introduction of the factories and wage labor lead to a tidal wave of unskilled workers being put behind the controls of dangerous machinery. Wage labor appealed to many Americans and immigrants because it sold them the idea of economic freedom, but did very little to warm them of the physical risks that were involved in factory work. These men, women, and children that worked on the factory floors were in constant danger of losing an eye, a limb, or their life.
In “The Liabilities of Industrialism”, published in the New York Observer and Chronicle(1910), it is stated how the number of injuries and deaths could have been easily lowered by using safer machines and methods of production or decreasing the speed at which the laborer worked. This however would have lowered productivity and given Industrial European a chance to surpass the United States.
The people to blame for deaths and injuries were never the employers or owners of the factories according to the court at the time. The responsibility was almost always put on the victim. It was either the worker’s carelessness or their disregard for a state regulation that would keep them out of harm’s way. The owners and employers would typically win any court case involving an injured worker seeking compensation.
Written by Joshua Chan
As more and more Americans and immigrants began working in factories the number of work related injuries and deaths skyrocketed.
Before the rise of factories man and women worked for themselves in agriculture or small businesses. Everyone had a trade they specialized in, and they knew both the rewards and dangers of their trade. A carpenter was a skilled craftsman that knew how not to cut his finger off when cutting the materials he needed for a project. Craftsmen were careful when working because they knew every part of the process. That is not to say accidents didn’t happen, it’s just that work related injuries were few and far between for skilled craftsmen.
The introduction of the factories and wage labor lead to a tidal wave of unskilled workers being put behind the controls of dangerous machinery. Wage labor appealed to many Americans and immigrants because it sold them the idea of economic freedom, but did very little to warm them of the physical risks that were involved in factory work. These men, women, and children that worked on the factory floors were in constant danger of losing an eye, a limb, or their life.
In “The Liabilities of Industrialism”, published in the New York Observer and Chronicle(1910), it is stated how the number of injuries and deaths could have been easily lowered by using safer machines and methods of production or decreasing the speed at which the laborer worked. This however would have lowered productivity and given Industrial European a chance to surpass the United States.
The people to blame for deaths and injuries were never the employers or owners of the factories according to the court at the time. The responsibility was almost always put on the victim. It was either the worker’s carelessness or their disregard for a state regulation that would keep them out of harm’s way. The owners and employers would typically win any court case involving an injured worker seeking compensation.
In the event that the employer and owner lost the court battle, then they offered the injured a settlement that would round out to half a year’s pay in wages. Which may have sounded like a lot of money to the injured, but in reality the factory is getting off cheap. And because factories didn’t pay a great deal of money to deal with these sorts of lawsuits they didn’t bother improving their machinery to be safer for workers to operate.
Pursuing a lawsuit against a factory often did more harm than good because of the high costs of legal aid and services. Injured workers became an extremely profitable market for lawyers of the time. Lawyers could represent either side in court, battle it out, and cash out in the end, win or lose.
As a result of the increase in risk that was involved in factory labor, the insurance industry began to grow along side industrialism. Several worker’s unions offered their member insurance, while a few railroad and mining companies began offering workers hospital and insurance plans.
There were in fact several attempts to improve working conditions and make things safer for laborers, but attempts were all made by the public. As early as 1840 regulatory commissions were established to protect railroad workers, but in reality they had very little power to do anything about the dangerous working conditions. State regulations wouldn’t begin to gain the power they needed to help workers until the early 1900’s.
Pursuing a lawsuit against a factory often did more harm than good because of the high costs of legal aid and services. Injured workers became an extremely profitable market for lawyers of the time. Lawyers could represent either side in court, battle it out, and cash out in the end, win or lose.
As a result of the increase in risk that was involved in factory labor, the insurance industry began to grow along side industrialism. Several worker’s unions offered their member insurance, while a few railroad and mining companies began offering workers hospital and insurance plans.
There were in fact several attempts to improve working conditions and make things safer for laborers, but attempts were all made by the public. As early as 1840 regulatory commissions were established to protect railroad workers, but in reality they had very little power to do anything about the dangerous working conditions. State regulations wouldn’t begin to gain the power they needed to help workers until the early 1900’s.
Conclusion
Written by Anya Marcum
The industrial expansion and subsequent change in social values which occurred during the Gilded Age left a lasting mark on American society. The development of monopolies, changes in labor practices, economic inequality, political corruption and ideological developments of this time can still be seen in society today. While the Gilded Age ushered in a new economic period in American history, we must recognize that the effects of this time were not beneficial to all and the negative results of this time have not been resolved. Through conducting historical analyses, we can more clearly see our country's past transgressions and, perhaps, shed light on our path into a better future.
Written by Anya Marcum
The industrial expansion and subsequent change in social values which occurred during the Gilded Age left a lasting mark on American society. The development of monopolies, changes in labor practices, economic inequality, political corruption and ideological developments of this time can still be seen in society today. While the Gilded Age ushered in a new economic period in American history, we must recognize that the effects of this time were not beneficial to all and the negative results of this time have not been resolved. Through conducting historical analyses, we can more clearly see our country's past transgressions and, perhaps, shed light on our path into a better future.