6.6 Labor in the Gilded Age

The industrial economy of the Gilded Age produced both prosperity and profound social conflict. As factories multiplied and corporations expanded, the demand for labor surged, drawing millions of workers into industrial centers. Immigrants from Europe and Asia joined rural migrants and freedpeople in the growing industrial workforce. Yet this new labor system was marked by long hours, dangerous conditions, and low wages. Workers had little control over production and faced exploitation from employers who viewed labor as a commodity. The rise of wage labor eroded the older ideal of artisan independence, replacing it with a system of impersonal industrial discipline.