The Gilded Age

Throughout the week our class has delved into the topic of the Gilded Age, a point in time during the late nineteenth century (from about 1870-1900). It was a time of extreme industrial and economic growth. While this was a time of wealth, poverty remained as an issue and became even more so during this period in time in which wages, wealth, and so forth all shot up. Despite the negative aspects, positive ones still existed as well. This attracted immigrants. People, in hopes of reestablishing their lives, came to America. It seemed to be a drive based on the American Dream; and to begin anew with ones self and their family. The interest of America itself could have been apparent already to those who viewed it dreamily as the "land of the free" and wished to take a drastic step in their lives. While of course any reason is possible for immigration, when evaluating this particular time slot, it was mostly based upon the economical expansion which took place. The chance for change was in the air, and some people took that opportunity. This period in time is, to some extent, connected with our American Literature course as well. We have begun reading a novel titled The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which evidently seems to be set during the "Roaring Twenties", a point in time that came not extremely long after the Gilded Age.