Gilded Age and the rise of Populism
The gilded age as well as the first years of the 20th century in United States was a time of grand social change and economic development. Over the years between reconstruction and the introduction of a new century, the Gilded age enhanced industrialization, urbanization as well as the building of grand transcontinental railroads and the advancement in science and technology and the growth of bigger businesses. Later, the first years of the new century that came after this era, became a subject of progressiveness which was a political movement that was involved with the task of redressing some of the issues that had arisen during the gilded age (Calhoun 13). The populism movement on the other hand rose as a responsive movement to help the farmers who were hurt by the sale of their produce to the unprotected markets and the purchase of the expensive manufactured products. This was established with an aim of ending the crop-lien structure that had caused so many of the farmers to live under the poverty level (Moffitt 74).
This era is important in the modern history of the United States citizens since they refer to it as the 2nd industrial revolution. They thus view it as the era that brought total change in the American society, their politics as well as their economy. Mechanization as well as marketing therefore was viewed as the core success in this age. This age therefore brought about urban explosion with emergence of the American classes and thus most of the Americans could afford to live comfortably as they all enjoy all the modern amenities that the gilded age brought unto them. Farmers’ rights were protected and this resulted to a greater wealth among these farmers.
References
Moffitt, Benjamin. The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style, and Representation. , 2016. Print.
Calhoun, Charles W. The Gilded Age: Essays on the Origins of Modern America. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006. Print.
