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Gilded Age: Shift To The Progressive Era

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Shift To The Progressive Era
Following the Civil War, the mid-19th century brought a second industrial revolution. Many technological advances took place during this time, which gave way towards the beginning of the Gilded Age. Although the Gilded Age brought great economic improvement, many suffered. The economic development that this era brought to America was very appealing to immigrants, and America experienced a large influx of European immigrants towards the latter part of the 1800’s. Despite the technological and economic improvements of the Gilded Age, only a small percentage of the population in America reaped the benefits of this. Living and working conditions were abysmal, and tensions rose within the large, yet poverty ridden middle …show more content…
However, once the war ended, these factories remained, and this created an Industrial Revolution. Factories became a much larger part of the American economy, and technological development ensued. There were advances in communication technology, such as the invention of the phonograph, the telephone, and radio. We saw a rise in mass communication, largely through magazines and newspapers. The nation experienced a growth of commercial entertainment, mainly through sports like baseball and football. This substantial innovation brought many people into the city, and eventually, more people lived in the city than in the country for the first time in American history. Gas and electrically powered innovations took the nation by storm, and improved forms of communication and transportation greatly increased the productivity of American industries and factories. This is what led America into the turbulent Gilded …show more content…
These two presidents continued the legacy of Roosevelt (to an extent) by continuing to regulate American Industry. The Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 gave the Interstate Commerce Commission more power to set Railroad rates, similarly to what Roosevelt did. Taft actually busted more trusts than Roosevelt did, and he busted 99 trusts, including the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and the American Tobacco Company. However, he eventually drew criticism from even Roosevelt, since Taft tried to bust all trusts, while Roosevelt believed in distinguishing between good trusts and bad trusts. Woodrow Wilson’s presidency followed Taft, and Wilson focused largely on tariff rates. He did this through the Underwood-Simmons Act, which was very effective in drastically reducing tariff rates. Wilson argued that high tariff rates hurt consumers and contributed to the formation of monopolies. Wilson was also a strong supporter of the Clayton Antitrust Act, which prohibited price-fixing and interlocking directorates. In the same year, the Federal Trade Commission was passed, which regulated corrupt business practices. He also passed the Adamson Act, guaranteeing an eight hour workday to railroad workers. He attempted to pass an act prohibiting child labor, but it was ruled unconstitutional by Congress. Wilson tried to support the Progressive platform

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