A new kind of gold rush changed the lives of Americans at the end of the 19th century. It was a mixture of the mystical belief in the power of money among ordinary people, and the cynical use of resources by speculators, the so-called ‘confident men.’ It was also a time when new values and roles of men and women appeared. This paper aims to describe the challenges and concerns of people living in various class positions in the gilded age.
In theory, anyone could become a ‘confident man,’ but in fact, enrichment on the purchase and sale of stocks, bonds, and futures required individual start-up capital. Therefore, the entrance to Wall Street was closed to the American populace (Lears 55). Wherein, the time of the stock market emergence was the time of the ongoing “carnival,” where the mystical power of money transferred to miraculous products and medicines and compelling advertisements (Lears 56). In contrast to the mass madness, the Protestant concept of a hard-working ‘self-made man’ appeared.
The railroad stock market crashed in 1873, bringing five years of terrible depression. Thousands of men remained unemployed; the rest faced severe wage cuts. This situation provoked hostility towards the recently worshiped capitalists, who supposedly possessed the secrets of turning one dollar into a hundred, and arose sympathy for the industrial market ‘giants’ (Lears 57). The most prominent ‘giants’ from the upper class were Andrew Carnegie, the owner of Carnegie Steel, and Rockefellers, who owned Standard Oil (Lears 61). However, the bloom of industry did not bring prosperity to the lower classes, since the capital of industrialists was built on low wages and long working hours.
However, the ‘giants’ and their approach to capital appreciation became a role model for middle-class men. Carnegie was more broker than industrialist, while Rockefeller Jr. became a model of restraint, frugality, and stubborn progress towards the settled goals (Lears 64). In books on capital-building, the concept of ideal man implied ‘self-possession’ or the ability to resist the passion for instant enrichment, and frugality. Relationships in Victorian families of the time were uneasy as the family was a place of rest from market-driven behavior, a place for the expression of the real feelings and a podium for status demonstration (Lears 65). Wives from middle classes had to protect their husbands from gambling and lottery; no less expensive were the costs of fashionable outfits. The obsession with stylish clothing became an indicator of transition to a fluid and mobile society.
American society was infected with the idea of quick enrichment through the proper self-presentation. Moreover, the purpose of consumption has changed – now its meaning became “multiple, idiosyncratic, and personal” (Lears 66). The phenomenon of downtown also appeared in the 1890s, when women from the upper and middle classes started to spend their free time in the city center shopping and dining in the cafes (Lears 67). In this way, the commercial culture of fashionable consumption began to manifest itself more openly. Expensive clothing and leisure indicated not the status, but the desire for status and a means to gain it. The longing for money distorted the family life of the middle class and caused many brain-workers to die early.
Therefore, the ideas of “mental health” soon became popular in American society. Psychologists promoted the concept of reducing bloated desires to cope with exhaustion, but unsuccessfully. Most middle-class men and women continued to see life as an endless race for success, scattered by periodic break-downs (Lears 69). Thus, “the manic-depressive psychology of the business class mimicked the lurching ups and downs of the business cycle” (Lears 70). At the same time, bankers from the upper class tried to take control of the power of money by tying it to the gold standard. Thus, there was a struggle with a deficit of finance and mental resources in the middle and upper classes.
And for Americans of lower classes, the deficit was more tangible. The prices for small and inadequately furnished rental apartments affected the hard life of the urban poor. The situation was compounded by the fact that the inability for the “disciplined labor” was still considered immoral, and moralists defined poverty as a “labor problem” (Lears 73). Workers began to look for safety in solidarity and found that they could oppose something to inhuman working conditions – they began to work more slowly; thus, the craft became a source of resistance.
At the same time, the workers were proud that they produced a real economic product, unlike the bourgeois, who manipulated the money supply (Lears 74). But, despite numerous strikes, the workers’ revolution in America never took place, as workers came from all over the world, and it was not easy for them to find common ground (Lears 84). Besides, they had to move constantly due to labor market instability (Lears 76). Working-class women dreamed of their own houses and pulled hard for it (Lears 78). And the house itself became both a refuge and a stepping stone, providing an opportunity to improve social status (Lears 80).
Thus, the challenges and concerns of people living in various class positions in the gilded age were described. The main challenge for the middle-class people was neurasthenia, associated with attempts to live beyond their means. The workers fought against inhumane working conditions through the strikes, while also opposing the ideas of partnership to the concepts of bourgeois individualism. The upper-class men were involved in market manipulations, working with the ‘magical’ power of money. They were forced to continue as their industrial businesses were reliant on the stock games.
Work Cited
Lears, Jackson. Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920. Harper Collins, 2009.