Rectangle 1

The Gilded Age

In 1873, Mark Twain and Charles Warner co-authored a book in which they referred to the period after the Civil War as a "gilded age". Used in jest, the term refers to the thin layer of gold (or wealth) that disguised the rampant corruption and problems of the time period. On the surface, life appeared pleasant and promising. New factories were constructed, cities exploded in growth, and the west boomed with hopeful homesteaders. However, a look beneath the surface exposed great greed, political corruption, and pain; a life not truly golden for many Americans.