1 févr. 1890 - Impact of Industrialization: The Concentration of Wealth; Horatio Alger myth

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The richest 10% of the country’s population controlled 90% of the nation’s wealth by the 1890s. Industrialization gave rise to a new class of millionaires, with many openly displaying by living in showy mansions, sailing large yachts, and hosting parties. The Vanderbilt’s in particular, had summer homes in Rhode Island that rivaled the villas of European royalty. With many Americans being oblivious to the growing gap between the rich and poor, they looked towards self-made men like Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and Horatio Alger Jr. Alger’s novel always portrayed a young man becoming wealthy through honesty and hard work with the assistance of luck. This became known as the Horatio Alger Myth, which many Americans believed. Andrew Carnegie’s rags to riches career was rare, however. The typical wealthy businessperson during that time fit in the categories of being white, Anglo Saxon, Protestant male who was born into an upper- or middle-class background with a father that was into business or banking. Wealthy people most likely grew up with a head start.

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