Wis.
State Historical SocietyVisual
Materials CollectionNeg #WHi (x3) 76973
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| Wis.
State Historical SocietyVisual
Materials Collection Neg #WHi (x3) 76973 |
The Gilded Age
In 1869, the just-completed transcontinental railroad connected the West to the East.
With North and
South no longer at war, the nation moved solidly in the direction of commerce.
The railroad united new industries and vast fortunes were made in steel, oil,
and banking.
While some tycoons, like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, would become
legendary philanthropists, so-called "robber-barons" viewed the world
exclusively as a competitive arena where every possible advantage should be
exploited.
These "Social
Darwinists" extrapolated the "Survival of the Fittest" theories
of Charles Darwin to mean the pursuit of individual wealth was natural and right.
Darwin's work challenged prevailing religious views about Man's origins. Just as some religious interpretation had led to acceptance of a permanent underclass, this interpretation of Darwin's work served the purpose of the wealthy.
