Unit 2B: Gilded Age (1870s – early 1900s)

The Gilded Age is when we start seeing a more modern America. The three big changes of this era are industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. The American people and government struggled to adjust to a new, faster-paced, industrial lifestyle that included millions of new immigrants, a more modern economy and workforce, and a boom in the population of cities. While some people benefited greatly with new wealth and power, others with low-paying factory jobs languished in tenements with few options to rise to the middle class.

Links/review guide:

Are we in a new Gilded Age?

Westward Expansion and Gilded Age Review Guide

Extra resources:

The Gilded Age: Primary Documents
(advertisements, songs, newspapers, etc...)

American Experience: The Richest Man in the World - Andrew Carnegie

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
NY Times (3/23/11)