The Gilded age is the period in the United States characterized by time of many social, political and economic problems. The term Gilded age was first established by Mark Twain in his novel to satirized the situation of America during the 19th century using the concept of gold gilding. In the industrial process, gilding refers to the coating of thin layer of gold in any solid surfaces such as wood, metal and stone. It is a process of making the material to become glamorous and elegant which greatly symbolizes the rapid economic growth of the United States. The economic growth is the result of higher American wages than the other parts of the world especially Europe which attracted many immigrants. However, the result of the changes in the economic system of the America also brought poverty due to inequality and the migration of poor Europeans and Asians to the United States. It also caused conflicts in the political arena which tackles important economic issues such as regulation of the labor supply, taxes and tariffs (Greenfield, 1).
The Gilded age is characterized by the growth of inequality which causes political, social and economic transformations. In the political aspect, the gilded age refers to the conflict between the laborers and the management. The economic growth also boosted some of the major institutions of the 19th century such as religion, science and business. Lastly, the social transformation during the gilded age could be observed or recognized by the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Some of these transformations could also be observed at the beginning of the 21st century. The trends in the social, economic and political system in the America suggests that it is entering to the new period were the Gilded age is recreated. The Gilded age in America at the 21st century is being recreated by several processes such as ruling of the corporate world, violence against labor unions and political corruption, and could be recognized by the increasing social inequality (Babones, np).
According to Kent Greenfield, the corporate and the political sector have gained more over the laborers and the middle class during the 1980s up to the present. The gap between the rich and the poor are starting to widen again which is the main characteristic of the gilded age of the 19th century. The statistics about the income of the American people suggests that even if the real national income of the United States is increasing, the income of the laborers and the middle class is decreasing. In this case, the increase in the national income goes to the rich people due to the major control of the economic policy in the nation. The highest level of income inequality could also be observed at the beginning of the 21st century after the gilded age. There are many reasons for this inequality which could be different from the cause of the gilded age of the 19th century. However, the result and the implications of the major transformation of the country are emerging such as the declining services to the poor and the violence against private and public unions (Babones, np).
During the gilded age of the 19th century, poor people suffer from the low federal and state government services. The safety of their workplace and residents are not provided and they could not lift themselves from the poverty threshold. Their suffering is the result of the low income savings from the laborers and farmers which is now declining in the modern times. There are different ways that the political, social and economic systems are trying to recreate the gilded age of the 19th century in this modern period. It could be a result of the political policy or the tendency of the corporate industries to control the unregulated capitalism (Loomis, np).
The Panic of 1873 was also a product of the gilded age which refers to the financial crisis due to depression. However, it could also be views as the corruption of the railroad capitalists which acquire capital to them from the business activities which are not legal. They buy off the politicians to set up a phony business which allowed getting money from the accounts of the railroad system. It resulted to the economic crisis which created almost 25% of the unemployment in the United States. This financial crisis is also accommodated by the corporate world destroying the labor unions. The Panic of 1873 could be associated with the 21st century unregulated financial industry. The corporate world is now controlling the financial system of the nation due to lack of monitoring and regulation to their business activities (Loomis, np).
The income inequality is the result of the gilded age which is the most observable in the modern times. The early 21st century marks the highest income inequality since the 1920s. There are people who are richer than the federal government while most of the Americans lived below poverty line. The income inequality was tried to decrease in the Progressive Era of the late 20th century using the federal income tax, worker’s compensation and child labor’s law. However, it could not stop the widening of the gap between the poor and the rich due to the political biased and non-regulation of the corporate industries (Loomis, np).
The cause of the recreation of the gilded age could not be examined perfectly since there are only few evidences for these causes. However, it could be examined using the statistics showing how the middle class and the laborers fall to the poverty line and the rich people who are getting richer. The United States real national income increased by 6 percent during the first decade of the 21st century. However, the household income of the median dropped to 7 percent and the savings of every household decreases from 60 percent to 52 percent. It only means that the increase of the national income was experienced by the rich people and not the middle class and the laborers (Babones, np).
The income of the rich people could not be observed using statistics and the cause of the new gilded age could not be examined. The main characteristic of the 19th century gilded age was the social, political and economic inequalities which are now observable at the beginning of the 21st century. The Gilded age in America at the 21st century is being recreated by several processes such as ruling of the corporate world, violence against labor unions and political corruption, and could be recognized by the increasing social inequality.
Works Cited:
Babones, Salvatore. The new gilded age: The 21st century in review. 2012. Web. http://inequality.org/americas-gilded-age-twentyfirst-century-review/.
Greenfield, Kent. Reclaiming corporate law in the new gilded age. Boston College Law School Faculty Papers. 2008. Print.
Loomis, E. 8 Ways America's Headed Back to the Robber-Baron Era. 2012. Web. http://www.alternet.org/story/156111/8_ways_america's_headed_back_to_the_robber-baron_era.
