The Golden Age in the United States has seen many important changes and is characterized by the era of the country’s development taking place in the 19th century. It brought many social changes, caused by industrialization, immigration and urbanization, and a complete change of lifestyle in America which affect the female part of the population. Further, women formed various reform movements aimed at improving the conditions of that time and expand its political, economic and civic participation.
One of the changes was that women began to adhere less to the established norms in the public, and most females began to enter higher education institutions, work and fight for the right to vote. All these initiatives contributed to the foundation of the basic concepts of the progressive era, where women took measures to promote the value of the female sphere of activity in society (White 104). An important movement for their rights was the Settlement House movement, which helped immigrants in a difficult situation, where they provided food, English lessons and gave knowledge about American culture.
Many authors like Kate Chopin, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson wrote about issues such as poor working conditions and the rise of women rights caused by industrialists and the government actions through their writing causing the shift in the literature. Moreover, many writers were initiating experimenting with it, or just used it for entertainment purposes while talking about such topics as religion, racism, or self identity. The Golden Age was marked by rapid growth, technological advances in transportation and manufacturing, which led to an increase in personal well-being, charity and immigration.
Work Cited
White, Richard. The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896. Oxford University Press, 2017.