Mark Twain coined the term Gilded Age as satire, as gilded means a cheap metal covered in a thin layer of gold.
He described how the era was golden on the outside but corrupt and false underneath.
The people in this period pursued rapid and massive expansion worldwide. With this expansion came a rush to extreme wealth, shaping industries and generating enormous migration.
This corruption of the wealthy and powerful destroyed lives and created massive wealth for very few people. It also sped up the development of technology and society exponentially.
Stick around to discover how American robber barons and European royalty changed the world, taking everything for themselves.
The Gold Rush caused massive migration westward.
On January 24, 1848, a man named James Marshall found gold in the American River in California.
This discovery triggered a massive migration to California. Everybody wanted a piece.
The population of non-native people in California went from around 14,000 to over 20,000 between 1848 and 1852. This was one of America’s biggest mass migrations, and it caused a rapid expansion of cities and towns in the state.
Mark Twain said, “During the gold rush, it’s a good time to be in the pick and shovel business.” And many famous people of the Gilded Generation got rich doing just that!
Levi Strauss (1829–1902), one of many European immigrants seeking business in the mining industry, created blue jeans, arguably one of the most widely used types of clothing worldwide.
He created them for miners and cowboys who needed stronger clothes for their hard work.
The Gilded Generation revolutionized transportation.
Before cars and roads, it took months to travel from the East Coast of the US to the West.
Travelers would have to go by wagon through Middle America or by boat all the way around the southern tip of South America.
A shortcut across Panama was possible, but the possibility of hurricanes, malaria, and yellow fever made it a dangerous trip.
In 1855, that changed with the creation of the Panama Railroad, which made it much safer and quicker.
One of the biggest projects ever to hit the US was the Transcontinental Railroad.
An engineer named Theodore Judah created the plan for it and, in 1861, created the Central Pacific Railroad Company.
The US government decided that two companies would be in charge of the construction and would race to meet in the middle of the country.
The final railway spike was hammered in at 12:47 p.m. on May 10, 1869.
Americans could now travel from East to West in under a week, which helped supercharge westward immigration and fueled the gold rush even more.
Two canals that also changed the world were the Suez Canal in Egypt, which connected Europe to the East, and the Erie Canal, which connected New York to the Great Lakes.
People around the world were completely changing the landscape, shaping it to suit this new era of humanity.
American robber barons aggressively monopolized their industries.
As the country moved around and built itself, a few people in positions of power and wealth became incredibly rich by buying up all the companies that made up their industries.
J.P. Morgan (1837–1913) was one of these people. He made a lot of his money by organizing and eventually owning a lot of America’s railways.
He went on to own General Electric and other huge companies that would control trade in so many areas.
John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), another household name, used his money to buy the American oil industry and, with nine other board members, created the first “Trust” in America.
Trusts were groups of businessmen controlled by one man who bought and controlled all of the competing businesses in an area.
Much like organized crime, they forced smaller competitors to sell their businesses.
Europe took control of Africa, profiting greatly from its resources.
One of the most terrible figures of the era was King Leopold II. He and many other European kings and people of power carved up pieces of Africa and started taking everything they could.
Leopold II personally owned the Congo and used forced labor and heinous acts to export Ivory from elephant tusks to Europe.
Later, rubber was the main export of the Congo, an industry that left lasting damage in Congo that is still felt today.
Between 1870 and 1914, Europe’s ownership of Africa grew to 90%. This was named The Scramble for Africa. Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained, though they were later colonized.
Due to Europe’s massive empire expansion, Africa’s landscape, people, and history changed for the worse.
The toll on the natural environment was also great as Ivory hunting and mass farming became popular.
Even though this generation is responsible for creating the wealth seen around Europe and America today, it is important to recognize the people who lost their lives building the railways and mining the gold.
The industries and countries of today were built on the backs of these people, and they are often forgotten. Many were still slaves, and many of their cultures and histories were erased.
With all of the positives of its shining exterior, this generation was truly gilded in gold.
