the gilded age
The Gilded Age lasted from 1877-1900. It was interesting period because it was a time with rapid growth in the economy but there was also a lot of social conflict. "Gilded" means covered with a thing layer of gold. The Gilded Age is remembered for the good and for the bad. The good things during this time were great american advancements, westward expansion, and inventions (telephone, electricity advances, etc.).The bad things were that there was poverty and corruption. Since businesses were starting to grow, corruption became a big deal. Industrial giants like Andrew Carnegie (Steel) and John Rockefeller (Oil) used this idea of corruption. They were referred to as "robber barons". But, the biggest "robber baron" of them all was a guy named Boss Tweed. He carried corruption to new extremes. He worked for Tammany Hall in New York. What he did was steal the money from the city's debts. He was caught and was given a 12 year sentence. We can see that the Gilded Age was an interesting time period.