During the nineteenth century Americans were experiencing something they had never seen before. From one perspective America was flourishing, big companies owned a vast majority of America’s wealth and were gaining more power every day. But the truth was the majority of people were stuck in poverty with no way out. The upper class was small and lived lavishly, while the lower class was huge and could barely get by. Unequal distribution of wealth led many to respond, labor unions formed because Americans wanted things to change.
The United States was filled with riches but also inequalities, the boundary between upper and lower classes was only getting larger; this was a period in American history known as the Gilded Age. During this age the line between employees and employers was strongly divided, and these lines only grew stronger as a result of industrialization. The relationship between the employee and employer worsened and the worker was seen as unimportant. Social Darwinism was also at its rise during these times, and many believed the poor were to blame for the conditions they lived in.
The big companies were unwilling to change and the belief in laissez-faire capitalism only grew stronger because of Social Darwinism. This way of thinking caused any government program aiding those who were less fortunate to be quickly shut down. The belief that only the fittest survive and the weak die off worsened conditions for many. This caused the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer; The Gilded Age was in full effect. The growth of industrialization had an everlasting effect on the United States. With the rapid growth of industry there were bound to be some problems that would affect society.
Industrial companies now required more laborers to meet demands, all sorts of people started flowing into the cities for a chance to fill in these jobs. Although, not all these people looking for jobs could get one, with so many people willing to work these industrial jobs were hard to get into because of intense competition. Even if you could get a job working was not easy. Knowing the people were desperate and needed the money, the companies did not care for their workers at all. Wages were low, but it was their only source of income so the workers could not leave.
Hours were gruesomely long, but they had to keep working to feed their families. The working conditions were also horrible, many worked dangerous jobs with no protection of their lives because they could be easily replaced by the next guy looking for a job. Industrialization may have had a positive outcome for some but it hurt more people than it helped. With no government regulation over business companies could form huge monopolies to control whole industries. This lead to even more problems, with no other competitors these monopolies controlled their own prices and had enough power to even influence government.
The laissez-faire government could not regulate the prices so people were forced to pay what the companies asked. The lower class could not afford to live like this anymore, they demanded a change. Workers now start looking for ways to reform the government so they can get out of the poverty they live in. The inequalities created during the Gilded Age were immense, people were tired of suffering every day with no improvement to their lives. Workers started fighting back, labor unions were created to push for better lives for the Americans living in lower class lives.
A major event displaying workers desperate push for change was the 1894 Pullman Strike. George Pullman was the owner of a car company, he established a town company for his workers to live in while they worked for him. Every worker in the town became dependent of Pullman to live, if he stopped paying them they would have no other source of income. So when Pullman cut wages as a result of The Panic of 1893, workers fought back. Many in the town company could not afford to pay their rent and bills which led them to come together and strike.
The strikers called in Eugene V. Debs, of the American Railway Union, for further help on their strike against Pullman. Eugene V. Debs was able to stop all trains with Pullman cars but this also led to a restraint of other goods on the railroads. According to the Shermin Anti-Trust Act, this was illegal, and federal troops were sent in to stop the strike. Although the strike did not lead to any direct changes for the working class at the time, it did lead to people becoming more radical as they pushed for change.
Strikes were getting put down left and right by the federal government so people started wondering what to do next. Their own government was clearly not on their side and believed they were not responsible for the poverty people were struggling with. Changing the system through violence was not working, so they tried to get their way through politics. With the formation of the Populist party, a party for the people, things started taking a positive turn. This party consisted of people who wanted change, mainly the lower working class who looked to reform politics to better their lives.
To help change the lives of millions they hoped to tax the rich, improve working conditions, and bust monopolies. The people now had their voice and reform was on its way. The Gilded Age was now dissipating and better times were ahead for the United States. A new era approached, an era where people would start rejecting the ideas of Social Darwinism and try to better the lives of the majority; this was known as the Progressive Era. During this time people saw a major change in the way government ran things.
Presidents like Theodore Roosevelt hoped to improve society as a whole and eliminate the everyday challenges people faced during the Gilded Age. A world full of riches for few and a gloomy time for many, the Gilded Age was full of inequalities. The Industrial Revolution led to a lot of economic, social, and political problems, and drastically changed the way people lived. Big business ran the world, they influenced government, and held most of the nation’s wealth. But the people of American did not just stand back and watch, they fought to improve their lives.
Workers would strike on the job, form labor unions, and even influence politics to try and reform government. Although they faced substantial challenges along the way, they persevered and eventually saw things change slowly. An age of reform followed the Gilded Age, the United States had progressed forward becoming closer to the society we live in today. The Gilded Age may have been a dark time in history for many but it made America strong, it changed people’s views on what government should do for its people and as a result America has learned that the people are what matters most.
