Gilded Age | Definition, History, & Mark Twain (2024)

United States history

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Gilded Age: Marble House

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Date:
c. 1871 - c. 1880
Location:
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Top Questions

What was the Gilded Age?

The Gilded Age was a period of flashy materialism and overt political corruption in the United States during the 1870s.

Who were some of the key figures of the Gilded Age?

Among the best known of the entrepreneurs who became known, pejoratively, as robber barons during the Gilded Age were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford, and J.P. Morgan.

Who coined the term Gilded Age?

The Gilded Age took its name from the novel The Gilded Age, written by Mark Twain in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner and published in 1873

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Gilded Age, period of gross materialism and blatant political corruption in U.S. history during the 1870s that gave rise to important novels of social and political criticism. The period takes its name from the earliest of these, The Gilded Age (1873), written by Mark Twain in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner. The novel gives a vivid and accurate description of Washington, D.C., and is peopled with caricatures of many leading figures of the day, including greedy industrialists and corrupt politicians.

The great burst of industrial activity and corporate growth that characterized the Gilded Age was presided over by a collection of colourful 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. Among the best known of them were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford, and J.P. Morgan.

More From BritannicaAmerican literature: Critics of the gilded age

Twain’s satire was followed in 1880 by Democracy, a political novel published anonymously by the historian Henry Adams. Adams’s book deals with a dishonest Midwestern senator and suggests that the real source of corruption lies in the unprincipled attitudes of the wild and lawless West. An American Politician, by Francis Marion Crawford (1884), focuses upon the disputed election of Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, but its significance as a political novel is diluted by an overdose of popular romance.

The political novels of the Gilded Age represent the beginnings of a new strain in American literature, the novel as a vehicle of social protest, a trend that grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the works of the muckrakers and culminated in the proletarian novelists.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.

Gilded Age | Definition, History, & Mark Twain (2024)

FAQs

Gilded Age | Definition, History, & Mark Twain? ›

Gilded Age, period of gross materialism and blatant political corruption in U.S. history during the 1870s that gave rise to important novels of social and political criticism. The period takes its name from the earliest of these, The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is a novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner first published in 1873. It satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America.
https://en.wikipedia.org › The_Gilded_Age:_A_Tale_of_Today
(1873), written by Mark Twain in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner.

How did Mark Twain define the Gilded Age? ›

Digital History. Mark Twain called the late 19th century the "Gilded Age." By this, he meant that the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath.

What is defining the era Twain called it the Gilded Age? ›

Answer and Explanation: Mark Twain called it the Gilded Age because on the surface, American society seemed to be wealthy, but beneath the surface there was extreme poverty and hardship. If something is gilded, then it has a thin surface or gold or bronze which covers an inferior substance.

What was the Gilded Age answer? ›

During this era, America became more prosperous and saw unprecedented growth in industry and technology. But the Gilded Age had a more sinister side: It was a period where greedy, corrupt industrialists, bankers and politicians enjoyed extraordinary wealth and opulence at the expense of the working class.

What was Mark Twain emphasizing by using the term Gilded Age? ›

Mark Twain used the term "gilded age" to satirize the materialism and corruption of industrialists and politicians during the late 19th century.

Why did Mark Twain call it The Gilded Age quizlet? ›

He called it the gilded age, because on top the system was glittering but underneath it was corrupt. According to the author of this text, what might it be more useful to think of the late 19th century as?

What is The Gilded Age in history? ›

Gilded Age, period of gross materialism and blatant political corruption in U.S. history during the 1870s that gave rise to important novels of social and political criticism. The period takes its name from the earliest of these, The Gilded Age (1873), written by Mark Twain in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner.

What is the definition of The Gilded Age quizlet? ›

The Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. it have technology, big business, urbanization, immigration and reaction segment.

Which statement best describes what the term "gilded age" means? ›

In summary, the term "Gilded Age" describes a period in American history characterized by rapid economic growth, extreme wealth accumulation, and stark social inequalities. It highlights the stark contrasts between the opulence of the upper class and the struggles faced by the majority of Americans.

Who made up the term The Gilded Age and wrote Huckleberry Finn? ›

The Gilded Age‚ which Twain wrote in collaboration with his Hartford neighbor Charles Dudley Warner‚ gave its name to the mood of materialistic excess and cynical political corruption that started with the Grant administration in 1869 and prevailed into the 1870s and beyond.

What best defines The Gilded Age? ›

What words describe the Gilded Age? Political corruption, corporate greed and wealth inequality describe the Gilded Age. Business owners amassed great fortunes while working class Americans and immigrants suffered low wages and poor living conditions.

What was the main idea of The Gilded Age? ›

The Gilded Age was a period of economic growth as the United States jumped to the lead in industrialization ahead of Britain. The nation was rapidly expanding its economy into new areas, especially heavy industry like factories, railroads, and coal mining.

Was The Gilded Age good or bad? ›

But to Twain and Warner, and to many of their contemporaries, the Gilded Age was basically acquisitive and corrupt, with little cultural depth. They saw the era as a time of hypocrisy and of political indifference and irresponsibility. America's politicos, to them, were mercenary and neglectful of the public welfare.

What did Mark Twain mean by "gilded age"? ›

Mark Twain coined the phrase the"Gilded Age" to describe the late 19th century. What he meant by this was that society, the government and nation at a large was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath.

What ended The Gilded Age? ›

A societal shift from agriculture to industry resulted in a movement to the cities for some and westward migration for others. The beginning of organized labor, investigative journalism, and progressive ideologies began to spell the end of the Gilded Age and its rigid class structure.

What were the problems with The Gilded Age? ›

During the Gilded Age, the economic disparities between the workers and big business owners grew exponentially. Workers continued to endure low wages and dangerous working conditions in order to make a living. Big business owners, however, enjoyed lavish lifestyles.

What does "gilded" mean in history? ›

You might have first heard the word gilded in the name of a historical period in the U.S. known as The Gilded Age; the name suggests that the appearance of wealth concealed actual poverty. Gilded is often used to point out illusion in this way, but if no illusion is intended, it need not be a negative word.

What was the Gilded Age a level history? ›

The Gilded Age was an age of industrialisation caused by the Second Industrial Revolution, which was characterised by laissez-faire capitalism. There was huge wealth inequality throughout the period, which was justified by the wealthy through social Darwinism.

Who held the most political power during the Gilded Age? ›

The Republican party dominated the Presidency and the Congress for most of these years. Both houses of Congress were full of representatives owned by big business. Laws regulating campaigns were minimal and big money bought a government that would not interfere. Similar conditions existed in the states.

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