HIST 2600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Ida Tarbell, Horizontal Integration, Gilded Age
Document Summary
In the late 19th century, mark twain wrote a novel called the golden age, which emphasized money and money making, and the lavish lifestyles of the elite seemed to highlight the craft materialism in this time. The families used their mansions to entertain the 400 which was an exclusive social register of the richest americans. Thus, they were called robber barons by the poorer people. The first major contributing factor was the discovery of large coal deposits. This was important, as it enabled a cheap source of energy. There appeared more and more rapidly; from the telegraph to the sewing machine, it changed how people lead their lives, creating a cycle of more demand for innovation and consumer goods. These large factories took advantage of the cheap labour provided by a growing number of immigrants. Things were getting cheaper, because manufacturing processes also became cheaper. Price cutting forced weaker firms out of business, and drove big business.
