The "Gilded Age" (jan 1, 1870 – jan 10, 1900)

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A term coined, satirically, by Mark Twain. Industrialization and rapid economic growth encouraged a huge influx immigrants, looking to escape a more economically stagnant Europe. A formative era in American development, this is the era of railroads and increased industiral capacity.

However, at the same time, inequality increased, with a large portion of the wealth being held by "Robber Barons," wealthy industrialists who used their monopoly position to secure their social and economic positions. This is the era of John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P.Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt - names associated with enormous wealth, and ruthless political positioning.

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