Gilded Age

How did the "Gilded Age" glisten? How was it tarnished? How did the progressives of the early 20th Century want to change the coating of their society?

The Gilded Age glistened in many ways. It also tarnished in many ways as well. Some of the topics that were considered highly important during this time period included political issues, race relations, workers, class issues, agriculture, and reconstruction, and the ways that this time affected the women. For this I chose to write about the political issues that happened during this era if time.

During the years of "The Gilded Age", the face of modern America took shape. Waves of people from all over the world came to America causing small towns to become much, much bigger. Because of the people coming from all over the world, the United States began to consist of much more than just Protestant, and Anglo. The neighborhoods were filled with many different ethnicities and cultures. Because of all the different types of people there were many different ways that everyone did things which taught everyone else many things. On the negative side of this because of the amount of people who came to the United States so fast there were problems such as overcrowding, poverty, and health problems which led to the issues of new government problems, prompting reform efforts, politically, journalistically, and also social issues.

There were many political issues that were brought up during the "Gilded Age" that made the era glisten. The textbook says, "For a brief period of years, black politicians exercised more power in the South than they would for another Century." (Divine 407). During those years black politicians had more power than anyone else. It definitely boosted their confidence.