In the late nineteenth century, America went through a time of progress that was later dubbed the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age is known as a time of economic prosperity, industrial advancement, and population growth. However, the era included many dark times that are masked under the guise of progress and prosperity. The economy took a downward spiral, discrimination was rampant, and corrupt politicians worked with wealthy businessmen to concentrate the country’s wealth in a small population of people. Despite the tough circumstances that were caused by a boom in population growth, immigrants remained a large portion of the American population and contributed to the creation of the modern United States. This era was a prominent time in the creation of the multicultural hub that America would soon become, as an influx of immigrants arrived to the country with optimistic hopes and goals and remained in the country to raise generations of immigrant children who became model United States citizens.
Immigration increased significantly during the Gilded Age because of the appeal of higher wages that America offered compared to Europe and the rest of the world. Industrialization had allowed the country to blossom with new developments and economic opportunities that shifted the country’s society from an agricultural society to an urban, industrial society (Shackel and Palus 828). This led to the rise in the urban city. Earlier in the nineteenth century, there were 6.2 million Americans living in “large cities,” classified as populations of 8,000 or more, and this number rose to 54.3 million Americans by the end of that century (Connolly 260). By the early nineteenth century, the United States had at least 3 cities that had populations of over one million people (Connolly 260). With the advent of the manufacturing industry, American business owners expanded all across the country to search for raw materials and went to every corner of the country to search for new products (Campbell 17). As a result of this newfound industrial progress, the costs of food and living had decreased due to the rise in availability of transportation of trade goods (Campbell 18). This created more jobs and labor opportunities and an affordable cost of living, the news of which quickly spread around the world. During the years of the Gilded era, from 1871 to 1901, 11.7 million people immigrated to the United States (Daniels 21). 90 percent of these immigrants came from Britain, Germany, Eastern and Southern Europe such as Italy, Poland, and Russia, with Chinese and Canadian immigrants making up the last 10 percent (Daniels 21). The nature of immigration during this time was non-permanent, as the majority of immigrants originally came overseas to temporarily take advantage of the rising wages (Daniels 21). However, many immigrants of this time became permanent residents eventually. They began to settle and raise children in the United States, according to the outlined American values that they had moved into. These immigrants were primarily those who had come from areas that were dominated by political or military turmoil, negative living conditions, and unfair social circumstances (Daniels 22). Higher rates of immigration were possible during this time because of the industrialization that had occurred since the beginning of the century. Railroads and oceanic transport had increased in access and affordability (Daniels 22), allowing more people to have the option of migrating overseas. About 95 percent of the immigrants who came to the United States arrived by steamship from Europe (Daniels 22).
Many issues arose that were partly due to the rapid influx of immigrants, including an increase in the gap between the wealthy and the poor. These issues were masked by the golden image of the era. The United States economy slipped into a depression between 1870 and 1890 (Campbell 16), largely due to the amount of labor available after the prosperous boom of industrialization. Corrupt politicians worked with the wealthy business owners to override regulations, allowing the wealthy to continue to dominate society (Campbell 16). The lower working-class expanded, producing more families that lived along the poverty line. Immigrants who found themselves in the crutches of poverty and social injustice still remained in the country and found ways to survive. While some people who arrived in the country had some type of skills training which allowed them to find better jobs, the majority of the immigrants could only find low-paying, unskilled jobs that were the most dangerous (Daniels 23). The immigrants who came to the United States were also faced with a significant amount of discrimination, especially in larger cities (Hatton 36). As a result, many assimilation initiatives were undertaken by governments and authorities, in an attempt to conform the arriving immigrants to American culture and society. These assimilation attempts were effective for the first wave of immigrants that arrived before 1890, as studies have shown that wage earnings for immigrant children balanced out with wage earnings of native-born American children (Hatton 59). This indicates that both groups of children attained proper schooling, cultural education, and job training that would allow everyone to conform to the ideal American working standard of the time (Hatton 59). This allowed many immigrants to remain in the country in order to increase their earnings over time on an inclining basis. Assimilation initiatives were also inspired by the rising presence of child labor in factories that was blamed on the “peasants” who came from Europe “who did not know civilized U.S. culture” (Shackel and Palus 829). There was a significant difference in attitudes about child labor in different countries around the world, which caused a divide in the United States, who did not support child labor (Shackel and Palus 829). Children of immigrants were placed in schools in order to learn American culture.
However, despite the circumstances that arose as a result of the immigration increase, The United States was rapidly becoming a mixed-culture nation that would become known as “melting-pot” society: a society in which people from many different countries came together and brought a blend of cultures and ethnicities with them. The majority of immigrants settled in urban cities, particularly the rapidly increasing larger cities (Daniels 22). This was largely due to the fact that it was easier for them to find jobs in large cities than it was to gain employment in smaller cities (Hatton 36). Here, they lived among populations of Americans who came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and races. Many of the urban neighborhoods were divided along ethnic lines, with particular racial and ethnic groups inhabiting particular neighborhoods (Connolly 260). The development of urban areas that were populated by specific ethnicities became a way that groups of immigrants could identify with one another and share their cultures with the rest of America. Immigrants lived in “ethnic enclaves” in the cities where they would live with populations of other immigrants with the same ethnic backgrounds (Daniels 23). This allowed them to speak their native languages and keep many cultural aspects that they would otherwise have been forced to leave behind or abandon. These areas were places known as Chinatown or Little Italy that still exist in large cities today. By keeping these areas specific to ethnic origin, these societies contributed to the multicultural cities that would continue to grow and define modern America (Connolly 260).
This era would lay the foundations for the future of America as it is known today. People from all around the world still migrate to the country for many different reasons. The United States is seen as a positive environment for people to go who are trying to escape the hard times that their countries have fallen under. The ethnic enclaves that immigrants had originally settled in are now a part of the foundations of many metropolitan urban cities. They are known as “ethnic destinations” and are used to highlight certain areas for tourists and residents of that city (Sheth 69). They have also grown to incorporate more backgrounds and cultures than in previous centuries. For example, in Los Angeles, California, one can visit an abundance of ethnic destinations, from Little Ethiopia to Thai Town and Cambodia Town (Sheth 70). New York City’s Little Italy is one of the most well known areas of the city. The use of these areas as tourist destination and local hotspots for residents signifies the change in values for immigrants and multicultural society in the United States. These areas are now being used as a source of pride in the melting-pot attitude of the country and are used to show off the inclusion of different ethnicities in the country. Today, immigration and multiculturalism is a positive aspect of the country and it could not have become so without the immigration rates of the Gilded Age, as they set the example for others to follow and created their own identity among the assimilation attempts and pressure to conform to American culture.
The Gilded Age produced a national image of prosperity and economic growth, sparking the rapid immigration of people from around the world to the United States. This rapid growth caused a plethora of social and economic issues, but would create the foundations of the melting-pot society that America became known for. The Gilded Age was not entirely the progressive, prosperous era that it is known to be, and immigrants faced many challenges in coming to the country for work purposes. They managed to remain in the country regardless of the situation, and began to produce generations of families with ethnic origins. This was the largest influx of immigrants to arrive in the country in modern times, and was influential on immigration for centuries to come. This is an important part of the American image in today’s world, and allows the country to be an ideal location for people looking to move and find a better life.
Works Cited
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Connolly, James. “Bringing the City Back in: Space and Place in the Urban History of the Gilded
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Daniels, Roger. “Immigration in the Gilded Age: Change or Continuity?” OAH Magazine of
History 13.4 (1999): 21-25.
Hatton, Timothy J. “The Immigrant Assimilation Puzzle in Late Nineteenth-Century America.”
The Journal of Economic History 57.1 (1997): 34-62.
Shackel, Paul A. and Palus, Matthew M. “The Gilded Age and Working-Class Industrial
Communities.” American Anthropologist 108.4 (2006): 828-841.
Sheth, Anup. “Little India, Next Exit: Ethnic Destinations in the City.” Ethnography 11.1 (2010):
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