The Gilded Age refers to America from the 1870s to the 1890s. It was called “Gilded” because on the outside America looked like it was going great, but America was actually having troubles. This is why America during this time is referred to as “The Gilded Age”. Many immigrants were moving to the United States because it seemed possible to become rich and successful like Rockefeller.The nickname “The Gilded Age” is partially accurate for America from 1870 to 1890. This name can be used to describe America, but it is not 100 percent accurate. About 25 percent of America was good and the other 75 percent was not. Anyone could tell that America wasn't perfect but it did have some good qualities at this time. Big companies would force workers to work long days for very little pay. Many immigrants did not know this before going to work for these companies. This would make the company's rich, but the workers were poor. This practice was used by Carnegie. He would work his workers 12 hours a day. He only gave his workers a day off once a year, on July 4th. A lot …show more content…
There were some improvements for people during this time. People had job opportunity and choice, they could either work on a farm and own a farm, or they could go work for a company. The choice of workers at a company gave the people a choice to have a steady pay. Before factory working, 80 percent of Americans were working in the farm industry. Farmers did not have a steady income and everything was a game of chance. Working in a factory you knew your budget, which is a lot more satisfying. Also some companies provided their workers with housing. This was a big deal for a lot of workers. They didn't have to pay anything out of their pocket for housing. This was another reason why a lot of people went to work for