America’s New Gilded Age

The country’s current conditions closely resemble a period in history from over 140 years ago

Ultra-wealthy of the first Gilded Age. Left: Andrew Carnegie. Theodore C. Marceau, photographer. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Center: J. P. Morgan Sr.. Library of Congress. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Right: John D. Rockefeller Sr.. Cleveland Public Library. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The “Gilded Age,” a period from about 1870 to 1900, conjures up images of a time when the United States experienced industrial growth, economic expansion and giddy consumption by exceptionally wealthy individuals. But “gilded” implied nothing more than a shiny coated surface; underneath was wealth inequality, poverty and unrest.

Stunning similarities between today and that time period, over 140 years ago, have caused some pundits to suggest America is experiencing a second Gilded Age. Current conditions in the country strongly support this belief.

The first Gilded Age

Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s summer home in Newport, RI, The Breakers, ca. 2009. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In Newport, Rhode Island, conspicuously extravagant mansions still stand as a testament to the Gilded Age. These “summer cottages” were built by the ultra-rich of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

How did the “captains of industry” of their time accumulate such wealth?

In late 1800s America, industry was booming. Factories were churning out products, coal mining was…