U.S. history concepts · AP U.S. History
Gilded Age
Gilded Age: The late nineteenth century in the United States, marked by rapid industrial growth, great fortunes, political corruption and deep inequality.
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What it means
The term, from a novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, suggests a glittering surface over serious problems. Railroads, steel and oil grew into vast corporations, immigrants filled industrial cities, and workers organized unions amid violent strikes.
Debates over the power of big business, the role of government and the condition of workers set the stage for Populism and Progressivism.
Example
Andrew Carnegie's steel company used vertical integration, controlling each stage from raw materials to finished steel, to dominate its industry.
On the exam
The Gilded Age is central to Period 6 questions about industrialization, labor, immigration and politics.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Populism (People's Party)A late nineteenth-century political movement of farmers and workers that challenged the power of railroads, banks and corporations.
- Progressive EraA period of reform from roughly the 1890s to 1920 that sought to address the problems of industrialization, urbanization and political corruption.