Introduction
The Gilded Age is sandwiched between the Reconstruction Era, which took place post Civil War, and the Progressive Era that started the early 1900s. The Gilded Age took place from the year 1877-1896. The Progessive Era that followed went from 1896-1920 and was followed by WW1. There are many reasons why these eras are so popular. Some of the reasons contain medical advancements, assasinations, industrial advancements, corruption, and civil rights. But one of the biggest discussions held about the two eras is the similarities between each other that they present. So much of a similarity that some historians advocate that they are one era combined and not two different eras. This project will help show the presidents of these two distinct eras and help bring to light their upbringings and careers; all in efforts to show the differences of political realms the Gilded Age and Progressive Era had.
The Gilded Age took place from 1877-1896 and was known by many historians as the era of the Forgettable Presidents. The reason for this nickname is mainly due to the fact that most of them served only one term as president, but underlying reasons mainly have to do with how little they got done as presidents. A lot of their four year terms were geared towards paying back the people who got them into the big position, and because so much time and dedication went into repaying those people, very little work got done and they were voted out of office.
The Progressive Era on the other hand was known as a much more successful era for presidents. The era only saw three presidents, where as the Gilded Age saw seven presidents serve. The preogressive Era as you could probably guess was an era that gained a lot of attention for its new ideas that were labeled progressive and revolutionary. The main objective of the presidents was focused on social and economic reform that was meant to bring about a better society for all Americans. While now adays most progressives are known to associate closer to the Democratic Party; in the Progressive Era the Republican Party was the closest party to the new progressive movement.