Gilded Age is a Period of History

 The Gilded Age, a period lasting from about 1870 to about 1900, saw the country experience increasingly rapid industrial and economic growth as well as an expansion of philanthropy, wealth, and immigration. Many concepts and innovations were introduced during this time that have had a lasting effect on American culture and society, even to this day. One of these innovations, for example, was the Transcontinental Railroad. Between the years of 1863 and 1869, the United States’ first Transcontinental Railroad was built as a way of connecting the eastern and western portions of the country. This had numerous lasting effects not only on the country itself, but on its inhabitants as well. To begin with, it made commerce possible on a much larger scale and by 1880, the railroad was transporting $50 million worth of products, such as crops and materials to the east and manufactured goods to the west. It also allowed for international trade to be possible, which resulted in a national market of trade and, ultimately, gave America the single largest market in the world. As an additional consequence of the railroad, travel became drastically cheaper. A six-month stagecoach trip across the U.S which would have cost $20,000 (modern-day amount) in 1860 was 85 percent less after the introduction of the Transcontinental Railroad, only costing about $3,000. This made it possible for Americans to travel farther than they ever had before. The railroad also changed the way that Americans viewed the world. While viewing travel from the railroad as opposed to another method, such as riding a horse, it made the distance seem much closer than it previously may have seemed. 

This, and railroad schedules, eventually lead to the introduction of time zones in 1883. Also notable about the railroad is that it helped develop a Victorian version of Amazon. The railroad, in addition to mail-order catalogs, allowed for products to become available and be sold anywhere without the need for a physical store. Not all effects of the Transcontinental Railroad were positive, however. For instance, immense amounts of wood were needed to build, not only the railroad, but also railroad ties, support beams, and sheds. As a consequence of this, thousands of trees were cut down and western forests were devastated and as towns were added along the tracks, more damage was done to nature and the wildlife that existed there previously. Additionally, the railroad allowed hunters to travel farther westward and kill millions of buffalo, which had an effect on Native Americans who not only hunted buffalos, in moderation, as a source of food, but it also weakened their ability to resist western settlement.

World War I, which lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918, had many causes that initiated it but there was one event in particular that truly set off the most impactful chain of events. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina by nineteen year old Gavrilo Princip. The reason this caused World War I was because it strained the alliances that had previously been made between a multitude of countries. Specifically, after the assassination, Austria-Hungary was far from happy and, with the support of Germany, they declared war on Serbia on July 28. Soon after, Germany also declared war on Serbia’s ally, Russia, and invaded France through Belgium. This then led to Britain declaring war on Germany. As a consequence of World War I, the United State’s economy was largely affected. Prior to the war beginning, America's economy was in a state of recession. After the war began, however, a 44 month long economic boom ensued from 1914 to 1918. This was caused, initially, as a result of exports from Europeans purchasing goods from the U.S. for the war. In fact, American exports increased from $2.4 billion in 1913 to $6.2 billion in 1917, most of which went to the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, and Russia) and was used to secure materials such as rubber, brass, automobiles, wheat, machinery, and American cotton. 

Later on, however, the economic boom was aided from the United States itself also joining the war. Now the country was receiving income from two sources, both abroad and from home. This flood of money also resulted in an increase in employment opportunities. As work and jobs became increasingly available, the U.S unemployment rate during 1914 to 1916 dropped from 16.4 percent to 6.3 percent.