"To them, government intervention was the savior that swooped in and rescued the United States from the horrors of capitalism during this period.
Objective analysis of this period, however, proves otherwise. In fact, the so-called Gilded Age was an era of unprecedented prosperity. The US went from an agrarian country to an industrialized country in a matter of decades. This growth was achieved with little to no government intervention.
Many of the present-day wonders we currently enjoy came from innovations that emerged during the Gilded Age โ electric lighting, public sanitation, railways, and telecommunications; just to name a few. Contrary to what the history books say, a gargantuan administrative state was not necessary to achieve all of this. US economic growth did not miss a beat. Economist Robert Higgs recounts how from 1869 to 1908 the US capital stock grew from $27 billion to $165 billion. Such increases in the capital stock allowed for improved worker productivity, thus making society wealthier. With time, the US would join countries like the United Kingdom as economic powerhouses and lead the way as an innovator during the Industrial Revolution.
Regardless of its flaws and shortcomings, the Gilded Age's enormous gains in incomes and standards of living showed what individuals were capable of creating when the government was shackled." @Anon365
