During the turn of the 19th century, the entire United States was undergoing major changes, many good and many bad. To fully understand the corruption of the Gilded Age, it is necessary to uncover the deception that lead to it; the Reconstruction Period. The Reconstruction period, which occurred after the United States had prevented the South from seceding during the Civil War, was known as an era of social progress. As the Civil War had recently been won, many called for the integration of slaves into common society. Many were pleased to find that on July 28, 1868, the 14th Amendment, which would declare that, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States,” was created.(1) For many, this was regarded as a victory for social progress, and for others, it was seen as a doorway to wealth. No longer were imported Africans slaves, they were now American citizens who were their own people. Unfortunately, this amendment, under the guise of providing freedom for all, allowed corporations, which are legally recognized as individuals, to become citizens; therefore they would have the same rights as a citizen.(2) This legal fiction, as a stark contrast to the original demeanor of the 14th amendment, was used to bring unintended rights to corporations, which led to corporate corruption and eliminated many labor regulations.(3)
President Lincoln believed in freedom and equal opportunity, including in the field of labor. Lincoln’s intentions for the 14th Amendment were clear; the slaves would be able to buy farms provided by the Homestead Act and create a life for themselves. His intentions were very honorable, and a major tenet of the Civil War and emancipation was to create a “free labor” system, in which an individual would work for his property, then live off of said property and employ others.(3) As Lincoln’s war was raging on, the Intercontinental Railroad was being constructed and the telegraph system was being installed across the nation. Not only was the nation united through the North’s victory, but through the communication, transport, and interconnectivity that the railroad and telegraph provided as well. As the railroad allowed the easy travel of both goods and individuals, it gave rise to both large businesses and cities. As corporations got larger and larger, more opportunity was presented throughout the urban areas, causing a great interest from rural areas Corporations exponentially grew, and the new market interested foreign investors. Hordes of immigrants flocked to the industrial North and further established its city structures. Previously, it was not uncommon to see the boss of a company living in the same conditions, often the same building, as his workers, but as time changed, so did the class structure. The bad business practices that were unregulated had become standard, so much so that the United States was the world’s leader in workplace injuries; showing that corporations valued only the end product: money.(4) As the markets were saturated with immigrants, the businesses no longer cared about their employees on a personal level, and one worker could easily be replaced by another.
Was the dramatic growth of corporations good for the average worker? Even though the wage of the average worker increased by 68.23% from 1880 to 1890, the industrial United States had created a steadily growing wage gap.(5) The wealth was split incredibly unevenly. 4,000 families had the same wealth as the remaining 11,200,000 with 200,000 controlling between 70-80% of the nation’s wealth. The top one percent owned 51% of all property, with the bottom 40% having only 1.1%.(6) This was not only an issue in urban areas, but also to those trapped in a new cycle of indebtedness: sharecropping. Sharecropping is the practice in which land, owned by landlords, often has rates so high that being independent was nearly impossible.(7)
Many considered this to be the transition between literal slavery and wage slavery. Wage slavery was the idea that one is so dependent on a corporation that they do not have the ability to dictate their own life, and is therefore held back by said corporation. It is safe to say that corporations dominated the working class, and those corporations were very aware of it.(8) Corporations had no concern for the safety or well-being of their workers, and the working conditions were very horrible. The United States had the highest rate of workplace injury worldwide, and was the only superpower to not provide workman’s compensation.(4) When the corporations finally pushed too far, the working class strove for a medium in which they could negotiate between themselves and their employers, and thus labor unions were born.
A commonly held philosophy in the Gilded Age was the concept of social Darwinism, which is the belief that in an open market, such as the United State's laissez-faire government, the strongest will survive. While the corporations survived times of economic unrest, it was discovered that the strongest ways to cut cost is to vertically expand. The invention of the production line started the trend of streamlining and decreasing the cost of production and making pacts, called trusts, with other corporations in accordance of the production of final goods. Trusts had become extremely powerful, with one trust generally representing an entire industry, they became monopolies, and eventually could meddle with political affairs. A good example of a trusts involvement was the debate on tariffs, which prevented the goods of other countries from becoming competition, therefore allowing trusts to become monopolies.(9) Political machines were created to bring the power of individuals a solidarity in the age of social Darwinism mainly found in urban areas. These political machines acted as a medium between the people and the government, and supplied them with jobs and other aid. Political machines were essentially miniature governments, and they became so popular that the leaders, or bosses, of said machines would run for government positions and garner votes through public support. Eventually, these bosses were able to essentially hold the well-being of their members for ransom in order to obtain votes, as voting against a boss could lead to being outcast. While the political machines generally assisted the working class, the unskilled in particular, they also held the well-being of others hostage in attempts to push their agendas through the democratic system.(10)
While labor unions and the common individual were in support of better working conditions, political machines were often corrupt and abused their votes. Unions were generally unsuccessful in their attempts to stand up against corporate giants until around 1890, and didn’t grow dramatically until the 1930s.(11) Eventually, anti-trust acts were set in place, and while it disbanded many companies into tiny subsidiaries, it didn’t prevent the creation of the eventual Super Political Action Committees, which could push corporate agendas into congress. As the government became more liberal by providing assistance to the poor, the need for political machines has since died off, halting their existence. Before any of these major issues were fixed, it was an era when the economy relied on the cheap labor and exploitation of the third-class, forming the social hierarchy that the United States was originally freeing itself from during the Revolutionary War. Corporations, political machines, and sharecrop landlords had their claws deep into the government, and to this day retain, as corporations are still in an unending battle with unions and the working class.
Citations
Footnotes
- "Transcript of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)," Our Documents - Transcript of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868), accessed 1 Oct. 2015, http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=43&page=transcript.
- "What Is The Basis For Corporate Personhood?" NPR, NPR, accessed 01 Oct. 2015, http://www.npr.org/2011/10/24/141663195/what-is-the-basis-for-corporate-personhood.
- Katie Bacon, "The Dark Side of the Gilded Age," The Dark Side of the Gilded Age, The Atlantic, accessed 1 Oct. 2015, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/06/the-dark-side-of-the-gilded-age/306012/.
- George Tindall, and David Shi, America. A Narative History, 9th ed, Vol. 2. N.p.: WW Norton, 2012, 589-91, Print.
- United States, Census Office, 11th census, 1890, Census Bulletin, Issue 280.
- Steve Fraser, “The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power”, (Little, Brown, 2015).
- Devin Douglas-Bowers, "Debt Slavery: The Forgotten History of Sharecropping," Debt Slavery: The Forgotten History of Sharecropping | The Hampton Institute, The Hampton Institute, 7 Nov, 2013, Accessed 1 Oct. 2015, www.hamptoninstitution.org/sharecropping.html.
- Lawrence Glickman, “A Living Wage: American Workers and the Making of Consumer Society”, (Cornell University Press, 1999).
- Sheldon Richman, "The Tariff Is the Mother of Trusts," FEE Freeman Article, accessed 01 Oct. 2015, http://fee.org/freeman/the-tariff-is-the-mother-of-trusts/.
- Feross Aboukhadijeh, "Gilded Age Scandal and Corruption" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., accessed 1 Oct. 2015, https://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/gilded-age-scandal-and-corruption/.
- Shmoop Editorial Team, "History of Labor Unions Learning Guide: Citations,"Shmoop.com, Shmoop University, Inc, Accessed 1 Oct. 2015, http://www.shmoop.com/history-labor-unions/.
Bibliography
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Bacon, Katie. "The Dark Side of the Gilded Age." The Dark Side of the Gilded Age. The Atlantic. Accessed 1 Oct. 2015. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/06/the-dark-side-of-the-gilded-age/306012/.
Douglas-Bowers, Devin. "Debt Slavery: The Forgotten History of Sharecropping." Debt Slavery: The Forgotten
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Fraser, Steve. “The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power.” (Little, Brown, 2015).
Glickman, Lawrence. “A Living Wage: American Workers and the Making of Consumer Society.” (Cornell University Press, 1999).
Richman, Sheldon. "The Tariff Is the Mother of Trusts." FEE Freeman Article. Accessed 01 Oct. 2015. http://fee.org/freeman/the-tariff-is-the-mother-of-trusts/.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "History of Labor Unions Learning Guide: Citations."Shmoop.com. Shmoop University. Inc. Accessed 1 Oct. 2015. http://www.shmoop.com/history-labor-unions/.
Tindall, George, and Shi, David. America. A Narative History, 9th ed, Vol. 2. N.p.: WW Norton, 2012. 589-91. Print.
"Transcript of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)." Our Documents - Transcript of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868). Accessed 1 Oct. 2015. http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=43&page=transcript.
United States, Census Office. 11th census, 1890. Census Bulletin, Issue 280.
"What Is The Basis For Corporate Personhood?" NPR. NPR. Accessed 01 Oct. 2015. http://www.npr.org/2011/10/24/141663195/what-is-the-basis-for-corporate-personhood.