The Guilded Age, Populism and Progressivism
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Table of Contents
This section covers the following topics
- Industrialization and the rise of big business
- The growth of cities
- Gilded age politics
- Populism
- Progressivism
Section Summary
This period saw increasing industrialization and the rise of big business. Technological advances such as the Bessemer Process, the telegraph and telephone aided development, while scientific universities laid the foundation for the 2nd Industrial Revolution. Large businesses formed and were made more competitive through economies of speed, scale and scope, as well as horizontal and vertical integration.
American cities continued to develop. Cities grew through natural increase and by annexing their smaller neighbors, but most importantly through immigration. A variety of factors pushed and pulled people to migrate both from rural American and other countries to cities. In addition, the structure of cities was changing. Walking cities, which were generally small and jumbled due to a lack of public transportation, were replaced. Public transportation allowed for geographical expansion and the creation of streetcar suburbs. The poor were increasingly locked into the inner city, which was also home to ethnic ghettos.
Politics in the Gilded Age were incredibly competitive due to high voter turnout and near perfect parity between the Republicans and Democrats. The Populist movement was born out of agrarian discontent, but was unable to appeal to urban voters and soon collapsed. In addition, the Democratic Party lost a significant number of adherents. The Progressive movement also developed, fighting for reform on the Local, State and National levels.
Industrialization
A Changing National Economy
In the decades leading up to 1900, the US economy expanded rapidly. GDP, population, and the standard of living were quickly improving.
Farming had expanded significantly after the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted land to anyone who lived on it and improved it for a few years. In addition,... Sign up to continue reading The Guilded Age, Populism and Progressivism >
