American History

Industrial Expansion and the Gilded Age, 1870–99

The Gilded Age, the period between 1870 and 1899 in the United States, was marked by tremendous industrial and agricultural expansion, as well as the spread of settlements across the continent. The U.S. population more than doubled during this period. Most of the economic growth was concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest, and Great Plains states. For at least two generations after the Civil War (1861–65), the South remained predominantly agricultural and was largely outside the industrial expansion of the national economy. Its total industrial production totaled about half of that of New York State. As a result, the Northeast emerged as the industrial core of the nation. Home to 85 percent of the nation's manufacturing, the region thrived by processing raw materials from the South, Midwest, and West. During this time the United States emerged as one of the major economies in the world. The country's growth rate, vast reserves of natural resources, and stable political system positioned it well for continuing growth in the twentieth century.

The foundation for the rapid economic expansion was laid in the early 1860s, when the start of the Civil War enabled Republicans from the North to gain control of Congress. For several decades prior to the war, the North was forced to delay or compromise many of its policies because of opposition from Southern Democrats. As soon as the Southern states seceded (left the Union), the Republicans were free to advance their legislative agenda, most notably the reestablishment of protective tariffs (taxes on imported goods). For example, the Morrill Tariff of 1861 ended more than 30 years of declining tariffs by raising duties on imports an average of 20 percent. Continued Northern control of Congress after the war led to progressively higher tariffs, with rates hitting an average of 47 percent upon the passage of the Dingley Tariff Act of 1897. Other legislation from the early 1860s included the Morrill Land Grant Act (1862), which established agricultural and mechanical colleges by allotting each state that remained in the Union 30,000 acres of land for each member of Congress. The Homestead Act (1862) provided 160 acres in Western territories free to anyone who settled on it for five years and declared their intention to become a citizen. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 allocated funding for the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Each of these policies profoundly shaped the development of the U.S. economy for the rest of the century. Read more .. 

From CREDO Industrial Expansion and the Gilded Age, 1870–99 in Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History

Image: Wall St. and Trinity Church, New York, N.Y., 1903 (b/w photo), From Bridgeman Images: The Bridgeman Art Library

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