Progressive Era vs. Gilded Age - Essay Example

The Gilded Age on the other hand was a period of rapid growth and development in terms of the economy of the country and it began in the late 19th century. The main aim of the Gilded Age was to make progress in the industrial sector of the economy so that positive changes could be seen in the Gross Domestic Product as well as capital formation of the country. It mainly saw the growth of heavy industries, transport, mining and other such aspects of development which form the backbone of the economy.

It was this period during which the US soared past other rival countries like Germany, France and Britain with respect to technology. Wall Street was also established during this period. On the other hand, the Progressive Era sought to bring about political reforms in the country on the basis of the Gilded Age. During the Gilded Age there was a vast amount of widespread corruption as well as glitches in the process of development which needed to be curbed. Movements were begun in the Progressive Era to bring about the welfare of the people and expose all the corruption.

This period also saw the growth of a large number of people that were modernizers and were ready to adopt the path of science and technology. They believed in education and how it was the sole object that could lead people into the future. They had faith in improving substantially, the environment as well as people’s lives with the help of proper government and social interventions. In terms of business, the Gilded Age was the period where the economy witnessed a very high growth in wealth of about 3.

8% which subsequently led to a higher growth in national income. The GDP of the economy also doubled with time. More and more careers began to give way and younger people, even younger than 21 began to be hired for jobs in all kinds of blue collar fields. All this took place after the economy had faced a depression also known as the Panic of 1873. Almost twenty years after, the Panic of 1893 struck the American economy however the Progressive Era emerged as a result of the same because during this time, the citizens were trying to handle the stress caused by the depression by trying to put emphasis on employment and hard work.

However, all these aspects declined considerably due to lack of finances, and this state carried on till about the First World War During the Gilded Age, none of the parties wanted any kind of involvement on part of the federal government in the private sector except for a few areas like railroads and tariffs which were for the common benefit of the people. The concept of laissez-faire was adopted by the private sector as the economy developed into a capitalist form of market. However, with the Progressive Era dawning upon the economy by the late 19th century, more and more small-scale entrepreneurs, farmers and laborers began believing that they could receive better help from the government.

They felt that the government could take out policies for the purpose of their protections against the big industries and thus help in increasing the employment levels of the primary and secondary sectors of the economy. The Gilded Age witnessed the growth of a number of labor movements and unions being formed. These were generally groups of people coming together in order to protest against the current wage rates, hold strikes for unfair conduct and unhealthy working environments. For example, one very significant strike that