American society after the Civil War was characterized be massive industrialization in the North and an

astonishing growth in population. In a process comparable to the Industrial Revolution in Britain,

American industry became more highly mechanized. Machines were used in ever greater numbers and
businesses were able to charge lower prices for the range of new products available: the typewriter
(1867), the telephone (1876), the phonograph (1877) and the gasoline automobile (1885) made their
first appearance in this period.Business was booming and the role of business owners in the political
decision-making process was to become ever more important as time progressed.

By 1916 America’s population had more than doubled its 1870 level of 40 million to almost 100 million.
Immigration was a prime factor in the population growth: more than 25 million people entered America
between 1870 and 1920. Immigrants arriving in the “Promised Land” provided both cheap labour power
and a market of consumers. During what Mark Twain called “The Gilded Age”, many individuals amassed
huge fortunes and attempted to imitate the culture and manners of their upper-class European
counterparts. The growing ranks of America’s middle class also shared in the enormous quantity of
wealth generated by the boom. The working class, however, lived in great poverty in crowded slums and
tenement houses with little or no sanitation..

It was not until the 1890s that politicians truly set about solving the problems afflicting society at
that time. During what is frequently referred to as the “Progressive Era” (1890-1917), reformers
succeeded in bringing about many changes. During the 1890s writers (nicknamed “muckrakers”),
educators, churchmen and social workers gained much publicity for their causes, and the forces of the
establishment were soon compelled to make compromises in the wake of strikes and public concern at
corruption and exploitation. At local and state levels reforms were passed to assist the poor with regard
to both housing and education, and factory legislation was introduced to help workers. Under Sherman
Anti-Trust Act trusts and monopolies began to be regulated by federal legislation. Both President
Roosevelt (1901-1909) and his successor William Taft (1909-1913) sued businesses and companies
which were thought to be operating against the public interest.