Mark Twain called the late 19th century the “Gilded Age.” By this, he meant glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In the popular view, it was a period of greed and guile: Robber Barons, unscrupulous speculators, and corporate buccaneers, scandal-plagued politics, and vulgar display. An era of corruption, conspicuous consumption, and unfettered capitalism. The late 19th century saw the creation of a modern industrial economy. And lighting the business and technological revolution was the electric light. On New Years’ Eve 1879 Thomas Edison invited the world to see the new invention.
The Gilded Age was an era of rapid economic growth. In one generation a nation of farms, workshops, and small towns had become a society of cities, factories, and intricate social and economic organizations. As wages grew much higher than in Europe, there was a huge influx of immigrants. During a time when other cities saw their foreign-born populations skyrocket, Washington’s immigrant population remained comparatively small. In 1900, Washington’s population was only 7 percent foreign-born, compared to Boston’s population of 35 percent foreign-born, New York’s was 37 percent, and Philadelphia’s was 23 percent. Congress supported the efforts of businesses to attract people to the United States. The film below was among the world’s first ‘recruitment’ videos. It’s an engaging eight minutes.
The Gilded Age was also an era of reform. The Civil Service Act sought to curb government corruption. The Interstate Commerce Act sought to end discrimination by railroads against small shippers and the Sherman Antitrust Act outlawed business monopolies. Progress brought with it numerous setbacks. One of the most significant physical setbacks was a huge fire in 1897 that threatened to engulf much of DC.
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