The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age was a difficult time for families to make a living.  The hours were long since there was not yet an eight hour workday.  Low wages was also a common theme as owners could find cheap work as immigration continued to rise.  This was still a time where unions lacked sufficient organization to help these conditions.  Without unions, workers were subjected to long hours during a time where overtime pay did not exist.  In many places, such as coal mines or the Pullman Palace Car Company, workers were paid in company script, lived in company houses, and were forced to shop at company stores.  With limited options workers and their families were stuck with their jobs and little hope of escaping.