The Glade 4.0

I'm curious how folks here think of the American economy in the mid- to late-19th century. I'm not really looking for quantitative analysis, but more of a "gut reaction" or narrative description.

Personally, my impression is that it was a period of contrasts - rapid overall growth and innovation, but marked by sharp and painful economic shocks; increasing wealth for all, but also increasing gaps between rich and poor; greater opportunities for social/economic mobility, but terrible working conditions and cycles of poverty for many in the working class; massive shifts to urbanization and manufacturing, but expansion in the only semi-settled west too; laissez-faire political/economic philosophy, but collusive or corrupt relationships between government and big business interests in practice; etc. Essentially, both the best and the worst features of an economic free-for-all being played out.

Dude, you sound like you're writing a term paper for class or answering an essay question.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I would say that the driving force of change in the economy through that period was the Civil War: The surge in industrial production in the North and the need to rebuild the economy in the South. Combined with major technological advances, the economy changed in nature faster than society could adjust to it. Hence the excesses.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I would argue that there were two entirely different economies, divided by the Mason-Dixon.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

When I think of that time period, the three things that come to mind are the Civil War and Reconstruction, The Gilded Age, and The Progressive Era. As you've both mentioned, DE and RD, it appears to me that each "period" built upon or tried to rectify the wrongs of the previous. The Civil War/Reconstruction period greatly increased the US industrial capacity, then proceeded to use it, and that utilization continued through Reconstruction. The Gilded Age, with its industrialists, inventors and tycoons, streamlined and, again, increased the impact of the US industrial might. The route of least resistance was often taken, and the pendulum swung hard the other direction with the Progressive Era.

The Progressive Era has always piqued my interest because I see so many dichotomies in action. The pure of heart doing good works that were manipulated by those who "knew best", or had "the latest science" to back up their claims, and the "righting" of social injustices that led to generations of those who were sapped of their personal initiative are two of those unintended consequences we hear so much about. The excess of The Gilded Age were turned on their heads and packaged in populist terns, but were no less excessive.

LK, I'm pretty sure I wrote a paper with parameters much like this at one point or another.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

It was the Industrial Revolution. Tremendous leaps in productivity gains. Which lead to excesses that led to corrections. I'd say its very comparable to the 80-present economy. Telecom surge, dot-com surge, real-estate surge. Each followed by a bust as people tried to squeeze every last penny out of the bubble beyond reason.

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*chuckle* I know, right? "______ was a period of contrasts" does sound like a classic intro from a high school or college student who's trying to b.s. his way through an essay he has no idea how to answer.

Sounds more like an intro to a 30-minute movie or a chapter about the period made by some nitwit who is going to try to cram a meaningful overview into some absurdly short format.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."