Future historians called it “The Gilded Age.” From the 1870s to around 1900, technology and manufacturing exploded in the United States, and the face of America changed forever. Men like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie were building industrial empires, railroads crossed the country, and men and women left small towns and farms in droves to work in cities alongside the immigrants pouring into the country. Hand in hand with these changes came widespread political corruption, both in the federal government and in political machines in the larger cities. Greed and a lust for power drove this double-dealing. It was a time, too, of social reforms. Often founded and directed by a variety of religious denominations, charities sought to help the poor and the infirm. They built hospitals, lobbied for better sanitary conditions in the burgeoning cities, and improved safety in the workplace. Some journalists joined in these …
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