The Gilded Age is a term coined by Mark Twain and used by some historians to refer roughly to the period between 1877 and 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction Era and the Progressive Era. The term "Gilded Age" was applied to the era by historians in the 1920s, who took the term from one of Mark Twains lesser-known novels, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) . The book satirized the promised "golden age" after the Civil War, portrayed as an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding of economic expansion. The Gilded Age was a period of economic growth as the United States transitioned from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Key features of the Gilded Age include:
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Materialism: The period was characterized by gross materialism and blatant political corruption.
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Wealth: The great burst of industrial activity and corporate growth that characterized the Gilded Age was presided over by a collection of colorful and energetic entrepreneurs who became known alternatively as “captains of industry” and “robber barons.” They grew rich through the monopolies they created in the steel, petroleum, and transportation industries.
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Social Problems: The lives of the millionaires seemed immodest to those who worked in Carnegie's mills and in the nation's factories and sweatshops. An economist in 1879 noted "a widespread feeling of unrest and brooding revolution." Violent strikes and riots wracked the nation through the turn of the century. The middle class whispered fearfully of "carnivals of revenge".
The Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of great conflict between the old ways and brand new systems, and of huge fortunes made and lost. The term refers to the economic boom between the Civil War, which ended in 1865, and the turn of the twentieth century.
