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  • Essay / History of the United States: The Gilded Age

    Hand-in-hand with the end of the Civil War, the Gilded Age was a baptism of sorts; it was the beginning of freedom and the rebirth of moral conscience. Slavery was becoming the default of a freedom-loving country, and the practices of American citizens were evolving like a streetcar on its tracks. The development of a leisure culture encouraged fun and playtime in rapidly growing cities. Industrialization boomed thanks to the encouragement of immigrants to seek employment, European financial support, government approval, and entrepreneurs' pocketbooks. However idealistic the situation seems – and apparently close to realism – the limits of unspoken social and economic justices have blurred. Control and regulation of businesses and their workers has led to a political tug of war. The urbanization of the Gilded Age provides a basis for understanding the country's judicial progress and the events that followed this era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe compelling need to compete for jobs, as well as control of the company itself, was a driving force that had the potential to make or break the success of the era. James Bryce's The American Commonwealth highlights the "negligence" of the details of politics and the pressure it places on people. With the end of the war came a sudden abundance of material production and development in the West. As quickly as the growth of the economy came, so quickly did the people's only breath of rest. Social reformer Henry Demarest Lloyd called for a "renaissance of [morality]" and a cessation of materialistic desires. If the nation continued to develop without reflecting on itself, the system would fail to distribute its wealth. The tendencies to want to form a monopoly or to control the formation of a monopoly have created a spectrum, a distance between the choice of economic interests and social stability. By ignoring the virtues of the country in question, the government has also ignored the well-being of its people. Citizenship was encouraged by the endorsement of trade unions and the abolition of trusts, but nothing was done to encourage the rise of the minority on the class ladder. The burdens and weight of urbanization fell on the shoulders of the working class. The long hours spent in factories weakened their physical health and their positive outlook on the industrial system. In addressing the relationship between labor and capital, it became clear that the success of the industrial system required sacrifice from workers. (Doc 1, Doc 2, Doc 6) Cash-rich business owners ran government actions during the Gilded Age like their own private car. None of the existing government parties found it in their interest to get rid of the “grave wrongs…inflicted on the suffering people”. Having become a major global industrial power, it was easier to refrain from heavy taxes in favor of manufacturers. The value of government land would increase while the room for maneuver of the poor between social classes would decrease. Both parties' strategies aimed to distract the masses with a tariff crisis. A critical analysis of corruption among national banks, networks, trusts and that of the capitalists would be ignored, much to their pleasure. As long as millionaires' funds were a priority in Congress – as the Senate ensured – the minority was left in the dust of construction and expansion. (Doc 3, Doc 7) While exploitation, 2002.