The "Gilded Age"
Rapid economic growth generated vast wealth during the Gilded Age New products and technologies improved middle-class quality of life
Industrial workers and farmers did not share in the new prosperity, working long hours in dangerous conditions for low pay
Gilded Age politicians were largely corrupt and ineffective
Most Americans during the Gilded Age wanted political and social reforms, but they disagreed strongly on what kind of reform
Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner were the first to call the years after the Civil War the "gilded age." Struck by what they saw as the rampant greed and speculative frenzy of the marketplace, and the corruption pervading national politics, they satirized a society whose serious problems, they felt, had been veiled by a thin coating of gold.
During those years, America's economy did grow at an extraordinary rate, generating unprecedented levels of wealth. Railroads, and soon telephone lines, stretched across the country, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and cheaper goods for consumers. The first Transcontinental Railroad opened up the far-west mining and ranching regions. Travel from New York to San Francisco now took six days instead of six months. But a nation that had long viewed itself in idyllic terms, as a nation of small farmers and craftsmen, confronted the emergence of a society increasingly divided between the haves and the have-nots—a society in which many poor workers struggled just to survive while an emerging industrial and financial aristocracy lived in palatial homes and indulged in opulent amusements. Some Americans celebrated the new wealth, others lamented it; all could agree that profound changes were taking place in the country.Of course, many of Twain's contemporaries disagreed with his characterization of the period. Social Darwinists like William Graham Sumner argued that the turbulence and casualties of economic development were unfortunate but necessary. Development depended on competition; economic and social progress brought failure as well as success. Economic inequalities were not only inevitable, they were essential to material progress. And any government interference with the natural course of social and economic development would impede, not advance, progress
Events
1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents telephone
1879 Thomas Edison invents light bulb
Jane Addams - Social activist; founded Hull House in 1889 to assist poor Chicago immigrants
W. E. B. Du Bois - Black historian and sociologist; lobbied for equal economic and social rights for African Americans
Urbanization
The Gilded Age saw the United States shift from an agricultural to an urban, industrial society, as millions of Americans flocked to cities in the post–Civil War era. Nearly 40 percent of Americans lived in urbanized areas by 1900, as opposed to 20 percent in 1860. Many young people left the countryside in search of new wonders: cities were at the height of modernization for the time, with skyscrapers, electric trolleys, department stores, bridges, bicycles, indoor plumbing, telephones, and electric lamps. Industrialization and the rush to the cities led to the development of consumerism and a middle class.
Mass Immigration
In addition to this major shift from rural to urban areas, a new wave of immigration increased America’s population significantly, especially in major cities. Immigrants came from war-torn regions of southern and eastern Europe, such as Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia, Croatia, and Czechoslovakia. This new group of immigrants was poorer and less educated than the Irish and German immigrants who had made the journey to the United States earlier in the century. By the early twentieth century, more than a million immigrants were entering eastern U.S. cities on a yearly basis. Many immigrants could barely make a living, working as unskilled labourers in factories or packinghouses for low wages.
Nativism
Many nativists—Americans descended primarily from Irish and German immigrants (but not exclusively those groups)—claimed that the newly arriving southern and eastern European immigrants would not be able to assimilate into American society. They saw these immigrants as illiterate and poor, unable to learn English and with little experience living in a democratic society. Many of America’s Protestants also disliked the fact that many of the new immigrants were Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Jewish. Many Anglo-Saxon Americans worried that eastern and southern Europeans would “outbreed” them and take over their once-“pure” race. Many nativists joined the American Protective Association to lobby for immigration restrictions; Congress conceded and eventually barred criminals and the extremely destitute from entry in 1882.
Nativists in the United States reserved special hatred for Chinese immigrants—a group that had worked countless hours of labour at low wages, especially on railroad construction in the West. Unions pressed Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, completely banning Chinese immigration to the United States. Congress did pass the act, and it remained in place until 1943.
Urban Slums
The sudden influx of millions of poor immigrants led to the formation of slums in U.S. cities. These new city dwellers lived in tenement buildings, often with entire families living together in tiny one-room apartments and sharing a single bathroom with other families on the floor. Tenements generally were filthy, poorly ventilated, and poorly lit, making them a hospitable environment for rats and disease.
Jane Addams and Hull House
A social reform movement emerged as a result of these worsening living and working conditions in America’s cities. Foremost among the reformers was Jane Addams, a college-educated woman who founded Hull House in 1889 in one of Chicago’s poorest neighbourhoods. Hull House provided counselling, day-care services, and adult education classes to help local immigrants.
The success of Hull House prompted Lillian Wald to open the Henry Street Settlement House in New York in 1893. The combined success of these settlement houses prompted other reformers to open similar houses in other eastern cities with large immigrant populations. In time, women like Addams and Wald used their positions of power to fight for women’s suffrage, temperance, civil rights, and improved labour laws.
J. P. Morgan - Wealthy banker who saved U.S. government from bankruptcy in 1895 by loaning the Treasury more than $60 million
Black Civil Rights
In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld the policy of segregation by legalizing “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In doing so, the court condemned blacks to more than another half century of second-class citizenship.
Despite the ruling, African-American leaders of the civil rights movement continued to press for equal rights. Booker T. Washington, president of the all-black Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, rather than press for immediate social equality, encouraged blacks to become economically self-sufficient so that they could challenge whites on social issues in the future. The Harvard-educated black historian and sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois, on the other hand, ridiculed Washington’s beliefs and argued that blacks should fight for immediate—and overdue—social and economic equality. This dispute between Washington and Du Bois encapsulated the divide in the civil rights movement at the end of the nineteenth century and the question as to how blacks could most effectively pursue equality—a debate that lasted well into the civil rights movement of the 1960s and continues today.
In the late 1800's, American society began to burst with cultural activity. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction, Americans were eager to return to their normal lifestyles. The period that followed, however, was quite different from what the country was used to. During the war, many pushed hard for a rise in industry, leading to an explosive industrial revolution far beyond what people had expected. America's business and economy had boomed, and, as the new century approached, many had a new outlook on life. They were eager to escape the dull regiments of both the past Victorian era and the new urban lifestyle. This was easy for the upper and middle classes, both of which were growing due to the rapid increase in industry. It was great news for entrepreneurs and business people of the time, because there was money to be made in this desire for amusement. Of course, this was not the whole story of the new Gilded Age, but it was definitely an era of growing leisure time and the business that came along with it.
One of the most popular forms of entertainment during the Gilded Age was theatre, particularly Vaudeville, which was a type of variety theatre prominent in late 19th century America. Of course, similar types of variety shows had existed much earlier, before the 1830's, but they experienced a growth thanks to Benjamin Franklin Keith, "the father" of American Vaudeville. He spent his earlier years working in travelling shows and circuses, before establishing his own museum of oddities in 1883. His success allowed him to finance the building of his own theatre, and he became the subject of his own "rags to riches" story, one of many that were so common in the Gilded Age. Keith was a savvy businessman who knew how to draw in new urban audiences. He favoured the idea of the "legitimate" stage, free of vulgarity, and developed the policy of consecutive performances that created the illusion of thriving business to ensure patrons, which made Vaudeville what it was. It featured a large variety of diverse acts, and was great entertainment to those coming from cities that were assured of quality by large numbers of people and were used to constant buzz.
Travelling entertainment was also extremely popular during this period. One such display was the circus, especially the Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was advertised as "The Greatest Show on Earth." Much like those of today, it featured an array of animals and performers gathered under a big tent. P.T. Barnum, one of its founders, started out as the owner of a freak show. He was keen on advertising and also knew how to attract audiences, skills he needed in order to compete with The Ringling Brothers' Circus, his main competitor. That show was also quite a spectacle, featuring lavish scenery and thousands of performers. The two each strove to be recognized as the best in the world, which helped to make the circus the "show to see" when it came to town.
One more prevalent travelling show was the Chautauqua, which blended education with entertainment. When its founders realized how popular their exhibition had become, they knew they had something good, and the one show expanded to locations throughout the country. Large tents were set up for huge audiences who came to hear orators, comedians, and musicians. Eventually, the shows were run by a few agencies that booked tickets far in advanced, which gave those companies a big payoff as well.3
another form of theatre that had its beginnings in the Gilded Age was the movies. They emerged due to Thomas Edison's kinetograph, a new type of camera that could photograph motion pictures. At first, movies were very short and contained no plot structure. Due to their growing popularity, however, nickelodeons, the first permanent movie theatres, began to spring up. Soon after, glamorous movie palaces, such as The Roxy in Los Angeles, were built to mimic the grand style of real theatres. Filmmakers began making movies longer and more sophisticated in order to please their audiences. By the early 1900's, there were already 10,000 movie theatres throughout the country.
In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as president of the United States after President William McKinley dies eight days after being shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz.
From 1901 it was then called the progressive era.
The years between 1868 and 1901 can, with some justice, be labelled a "gilded age." A glittering façade did indeed cover a host of social and economic problems. But merely labelling the period a gilded sham, à la Mark Twain, doesn't truly capture all that was going on. These years saw Americans struggling to come to terms with the size, wealth, political needs, and new labour relations of their changing nation. Beneath the nation's golden façade—whether we think that façade fairly captured the underlying reality or not—Americans were already at work on the answers to the social and economic challenges of the new era.
In today’s society theatre has changed and evolved so much and expanded deeply from vaudeville theatre and circus acts. Theatre has expanded and goes beyond performances that are made just for enjoyment. Theatre is a new way of expressing views on social events and political issues that people feel strongly about, without having to be involved with the government to share their thoughts and opinions on the subjects.
ENRON
In just 15 years, Enron grew from nowhere to be America's seventh largest company, employing 21,000 staff in more than 40 countries. But the firm's success turned out to have involved an elaborate scam. Enron lied about its profits and stands accused of a range of shady dealings, including concealing debts so they didn't show up in the company's accounts. As the depth of the deception unfolded, investors and creditors retreated, forcing the firm into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. More than six months after a criminal inquiry was announced, the guilty parties have still not been brought to justice.In 2009 British playwright Lucy Prebble and Rupert Goold created a play based on the scandal.
Review of the play:
The Guardian Wednesday 23 September 2009
After the high praise earned in Chichester, there was always the lurking fear the Enron bubble might burst on transfer. But, although it had more room to manoeuvre at the Minerva, Lucy Prebble's play and Rupert Goold's production are so strong that they survive the move. What they vividly offer is not a lecture on corporate madness but an ultra-theatrical demonstration of it at work. The play shows how the Texan energy giant, Enron, moved from a model of the future to a bankrupt disaster with debts of $38bn. Prime mover is Jeffrey Skilling: a Marlovian over-reacher who boldly announces "we're not just an energy company, we're a powerhouse for ideas". His basic idea is to trade in energy as well as supply it. But, as his dreams expand to include video, internet and even the weather, the gap between stockmarket perception and reality grows ever greater. As profits fail to materialise, Skilling turns to his sidekick, Andy Fastow, to create shadow companies to conceal mounting debts. Once the market loses confidence, however, Skilling's schemes are revealed for what they are: a fraudulent fantasy.
It could all be dry as dust. But the pulse and vigour of play and production stem from their ability to make complex financial ideas manifest. Everything is made visually apprehensible. Thus the complicity of market analysts in Enron's over-evaluation is captured by turning them into a close-harmony troupe. The Lehman Brothers become Siamese twins locked into a single suit. Best of all is the scene where Fastow explains his system for funnelling Enron's debts into shadow companies. Even financial innocents can follow this as Fastow shows boxes encasing ever smaller boxes lit by a flickering red light symbolising the basic investment. This is capitalism exposed as con-trick and illusion.
Goold's immaculate staging, Anthony Ward's design and Scott Ambler's movement illustrate the whirling kaleidoscopic energy that is part of the dream. But Prebble also creates plausible people, and Samuel West is hugely impressive as the self-deluded Skilling. It is difficult to feel sympathy for such a man, whose deregulation policies did so much damage, but West reminds us of the global complicity in money worship. Amanda Drew as his rival, Tim Pigott-Smith as Enron's avuncular founder, and Tom Goodman-Hill as the greed-driven Fastow, haunted by the scaly raptors which symbolise the shadow-companies, are also first-rate. But the triumph of the evening is that it renders Enron's rise and fall in exciting theatrical terms, and leaves us with the feeling that, as the bonus culture thrives while others lose their jobs, the lessons of this vast collapse have still to be learned.
As this huge scandal was turned into a play, it gave people the answers that were lacking when the scandal first came out. This piece in particular conveys the freedom of speech and how anything can be transformed into a performance for the theatre. I think it was important that it was turned into a live theatre piece instead of a film because it gives a more effective account of what happened and the people who were effected, it brings it more to life being on stage in front of an audience who can voice their response there and then and hear the impact the people in the story have on the crowd over looking this tragedy.
Comedians have one of the biggest influences on the modern world and their opinions they get to express whilst being on stage in front of thousands of people. Most of their material is based on today’s economy, the government, the recession but it gets transformed into a humour and light heartedness that helps people forget that it is a real problem and for one night you get to just laugh at life itself and the bad things that happen in it.
I think the circus has changed dramatically over the years as now there are so many new laws in place for animal rights so animals are entrapped and forced to perform tricks that may endanger them. Whereas 100 years ago people were none the wiser about the dramatic impact it had on animals and their health and living, they were only really in that line of business to make a wealthy profit as the circus is something really on the wealthy could enjoy.
Now in this day and age we have circuses but they are performed by humans with various skills in; acrobatics, trapeziums, equestrians, tramp lining etc. Safari Parks and zoo’s are the new animal version of the circus, you can view them in a natural habitat and appreciate them for what they are and know that they are being properly taken care of. In a sense you can get more up close and personal to the animals and become more amazed at them for just being themselves, without performing tricks.
Variety shows are the modern age for making a name for your self in the business of performance. The X factor, Britain’s got talent, American idol, the royal variety show all offer a chance to express and put you talent out there in front of the public. It is not just for the wealthy and upper class as the entries are free people from all different types of backgrounds and cultures can apply to these competitions without worrying about the cost and upkeep as it is all paid for you.
The task I set the group was for them to be able to express through a performance what they would want to change in the world if they could. But to also keep it fun and give them opportunity if they wanted to see what they come up with creatively just on the stimuli I gave them. They came up with the idea that one campaign wanted to change Sainsbury’s shopping bags from orange to purple. I asked them out of everything they could have picked why did they choose that particular topic, they said that they wanted it to be a completely random topic, but something that certain people would actually care about and make it an issue if that ever came about.
My task:
Mission Statement
You now have the opportunity to create your own “new era”.
It can be whatever you want it to be, your own set of rules for the whole world, for example “I am stating that from now on, by the law of Kate subsection 3 verse 20 under “because I said so” Jelly beans must be in every vending machine in every office building”.
You have to create a political debate between two parties, name each party whatever you want and try and convince us (Ellie and I) which party we should vote for.
BUT! These are the conditions, you MUST include the following:
· One party is corrupt but you cannot reveal which one it is, we have to try and guess
· One party is set in the Elizabethan time
· One party is set in deep south of Texas
Characters you must have:
President x2
Interviewers x2
Protestors
Security Guards
Other than this the stage is yours, the scene can be whatever you want it to be. Think outside the box, the world is your oyster!
Bibliography
Websites
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/gildedage/ (Accessed 24/01/13)
http://www.shmoop.com/gilded-age/ (Accessed 25/01/13)
http://www.123helpme.com/entertainment-in-the-gilded-age-view.asp?id=156816 (Accessed 25/01/13)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1780075.stm (Accessed 9/02/13)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/sep/23/enron-review (Accessed 9/02/13)
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