88-457: The Etowah River is a 164-mile-long (264 km) waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega , Georgia , north of Atlanta . On Matthew Carey's 1795 map the river was labeled "High Town River". On later maps, such as the 1839 Cass County map (Cass being the original name for Bartow County), it was referred to as "Hightower River", a name that was used in most early Cherokee records. The large Amicalola Creek (which flows over Amicalola Falls )
176-501: A designated period in American history. The term was adopted by literary and cultural critics as well as historians, including Van Wyck Brooks , Lewis Mumford , Charles Austin Beard , Mary Ritter Beard , Vernon Louis Parrington , and Matthew Josephson . For them, Gilded Age was a pejorative term for a time of materialistic excesses and widespread political corruption. The early half of
264-459: A gain of 48%. Economic historian Clarence D. Long estimates that (in terms of constant 1914 dollars), the average annual incomes of all American non-farm employees rose from $ 375 in 1870 to $ 395 in 1880, $ 519 in 1890 and $ 573 in 1900, a gain of 53% in 30 years. Australian historian Peter Shergold found that the standard of living for industrial workers was higher than in Europe. He compared wages and
352-564: A great communications network. Elisha Otis developed the elevator, allowing the construction of skyscrapers and the concentration of ever greater populations in urban centers. Thomas Edison , in addition to inventing hundreds of devices, established the first electrical lighting utility, basing it on direct current and an efficient incandescent lamp . Electric power delivery spread rapidly across Gilded Age cities. The streets were lit at night, and electric streetcars allowed for faster commuting to work and easier shopping. Petroleum launched
440-504: A hero while saving a child's life, is alternately known as the "Etowah River Swamp Rat" in the song. Reed, a native of Atlanta, took some liberties with Georgia geography in the song, including the non-existent "Appaloosa County" and "Ko-Ko Ridge" as part of the song narrative’s setting. 34°15′14″N 85°10′36″W / 34.25389°N 85.17667°W / 34.25389; -85.17667 Dahlonega, Georgia Dahlonega ( / d ə ˈ l ɒ n ɪ ɡ ə / də- LON -ig-ə )
528-415: A lifetime career for young men; women were rarely hired. A typical career path would see a young man hired at age 18 as a shop laborer and promoted to skilled mechanic at age 24, brakeman at 25, freight conductor at 27, and passenger conductor at age 57. White-collar career paths likewise were delineated. Educated young men started in clerical or statistical work and moved up to station agents or bureaucrats at
616-624: A long-distance outlet for wheat, cattle and hogs that reached all the way to Europe. Rural America became one giant market, as wholesalers bought the consumer products produced by the factories in the East and shipped them to local merchants in small stores nationwide. Shipping live animals was slow and expensive. It was more efficient to slaughter them in major packing centers such as Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati, and then ship dressed meat out in refrigerated freight cars. The cars were cooled by slabs of ice that had been harvested from
704-479: A new industry beginning with the Pennsylvania oil fields in the 1860s. The United States dominated the global industry into the 1950s. Kerosene replaced whale oil and candles for lighting homes. John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Company and monopolized the oil industry. It mostly produced kerosene before the automobile created a demand for gasoline in the 20th century. According to historian Henry Adams
792-500: A new middle class was rapidly growing, especially in northern cities. The nation became a world leader in applied technology. From 1860 to 1890, 500,000 patents were issued for new inventions—over ten times the number granted in the previous seventy years. George Westinghouse invented air brakes for trains (making them both safer and faster). Theodore Vail established the American Telephone & Telegraph Company and built
880-749: A peak membership in 1919. This period saw several financial crises and economic recessions—called "panics", notably the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893 . They lasted several years, with high urban unemployment, low incomes for farmers, low profits for business, slow overall growth, and reduced immigration. They generated political unrest. Gilded Age politics, called the Third Party System, featured intense competition between two major parties, with minor parties coming and going, especially on issues of concern to prohibitionists, to labor unions and to farmers. The Democrats and Republicans (the latter nicknamed
968-555: A time of materialistic excesses marked by widespread political corruption. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Western United States. As American wages grew much higher than those in Europe, especially for skilled workers, and industrialization demanded an increasingly skilled labor force, the period saw an influx of millions of European immigrants. The rapid expansion of industrialization led to real wage growth of 40% from 1860 to 1890 and spread across
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#17328442774621056-555: A year, which kept them mired in poverty. Workers had to put in roughly 60 hours a week to earn this much. Wage labor was widely condemned as 'wage slavery' in the working class press, and labor leaders almost always used the phrase in their speeches. As the shift towards wage labor gained momentum, working class organizations became more militant in their efforts to "strike down the whole system of wages for labor." In 1886, economist and New York Mayoral candidate Henry George , author of Progress and Poverty , stated "Chattel slavery
1144-655: Is (Dah-loe-nee-gee or Dah-lone-gay) in the Western Dialect of the Cherokee language. Da-lo-ni-ge'i does not mean gold but it simply means, Yellow. The city was named "Talonega" by the Georgia General Assembly on December 21, 1833. The name was changed from Talonega by the Georgia General Assembly on December 25, 1837, to "Dahlonega", from the Cherokee - language word Dalonige , meaning "yellow" or "gold". Due to
1232-614: Is a popular destination, with gift shops, restaurants, art galleries and studios, and wine-tasting rooms. In 2015, Senator Steve Gooch introduced Georgia Senate Resolution 125 officially recognizing Lumpkin County as the Wine Tasting Room Capital of Georgia. The city's local festivals draw many visitors. "Bear on the Square", an annual three-day festival held the third weekend in April, marks
1320-597: Is a primary tributary near the beginning of the river. The Etowah then flows west-southwest through Canton, Georgia , and soon forms Lake Allatoona . From the dam at the lake, it passes Cartersville and the Etowah Indian Mounds archaeological site. It then flows to Rome, Georgia , where it meets the Oostanaula River and forms the Coosa River at their confluence . The river is the northernmost portion of
1408-512: Is dead, but industrial slavery remains." The unequal distribution of wealth remained high during this period. From 1860 to 1900, the wealthiest 2% of American households owned more than a third of the nation's wealth, while the top 10% owned roughly three-quarters of it. The bottom 40% had no wealth at all. In terms of property, the wealthiest 1% owned 51%, while the bottom 44% claimed 1.1%. Historian Howard Zinn argues that this disparity along with precarious working and living conditions for
1496-584: Is generally given as the beginning of the Progressive Era in the 1890s (sometimes the United States presidential election of 1896 ). The Gilded Age was a period of economic growth as the United States jumped to the lead in industrialization ahead of Britain. The nation was rapidly expanding its economy into new areas, especially heavy industry like factories, railroads , and coal mining . In 1869,
1584-478: Is located in central Lumpkin County at 34°31′57″N 83°59′06″W / 34.53250°N 83.98500°W / 34.53250; -83.98500 (34.5325, −83.9850). U.S. Route 19 passes through the east side of the city, leading north 34 mi (55 km) to Blairsville and south 65 mi (105 km) to Atlanta . Georgia State Route 400 , a freeway which runs concurrently with US-19 to Atlanta, has its northern terminus 5 mi (8 km) south of
1672-411: Is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia , United States. As of the 2010 census , the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of Georgia highway 400 , a freeway which connects Dahlonega to Atlanta . Dahlonega was named as one of the best places to retire by the publication Real Estate Scorecard . Dahlonega
1760-634: Is topped with a spire covered with gold leaf from the town. The rotunda dome of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta is also covered with Dahlonega gold. There is a Dahlonega Mine Train roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia. Corey Smith has a song titled "Dahlonega", in reference to the town and its landmarks, on his album While the Gettin' Is Good , released on June 23, 2015. Country music recording artist Ashley McBryde directly references
1848-689: The American Civil War ; the region's economy became increasingly tied to commodities like food and building materials, cotton for thread and fabrics, and tobacco production, all of which suffered from low prices. With the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the rise of Jim Crow laws , African American (more generally termed Black, referring to darker skin color) people in the South were stripped of political power and voting rights, and were left severely economically disadvantaged. The political landscape
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#17328442774621936-586: The Etowah-Coosa-Alabama-Mobile Waterway , stretching from the mountains of north Georgia to Mobile Bay in Alabama . The Little River is the largest tributary of the Etowah, their confluence now flooded by Lake Allatoona. Allatoona Creek is another major tributary, flowing north from Cobb County and forming the other major arm of the lake. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially named
2024-754: The Senior Military College of Georgia and the second oldest public university in the State of Georgia. The University of North Georgia is one of six senior military colleges (along with the Public Campuses of Texas A&M University, the Citadel, the Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech, and the Private Campus of Norwich University). The campus' administration building, Price Memorial Hall,
2112-602: The economic depression of the 1870s and became known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 , which was, according to historian Jack Beatty , "the largest strike anywhere in the world in the 19th century." This strike did not involve labor unions, but rather uncoordinated outbursts in numerous cities. The strike and associated riots lasted 45 days and resulted in the deaths of several hundred participants (no police or soldiers were killed), several hundred more injuries, and millions in damages to railroad property. The unrest
2200-468: The eight-hour working day , and the abolition of child labor ; middle-class reformers demanded civil service reform, prohibition of liquor and beer, and women's suffrage . Local governments across the North and West built public schools chiefly at the elementary level; public high schools started to emerge. The numerous religious denominations were growing in membership and wealth, with Catholicism becoming
2288-468: The first transcontinental railroad opened up the far-west mining and ranching regions. Travel from New York to San Francisco then took six days instead of six months. Railroad track mileage tripled from 1860 to 1880, and then doubled again by 1920. The new track linked formerly isolated areas with larger markets and allowed for the rise of commercial farming, ranching, and mining, creating a truly national marketplace. American steel production rose to surpass
2376-440: The "Grand Old Party", GOP) fought over control of offices, which were the rewards for party activists, as well as over major economic issues. Very high voter turnout typically exceeded 80% or even 90% in some Northern states as the parties ran strong campaigns. Turnout in the South was lower. Average presidential turnout 1872 to 1900 was 83% in the North and 62% in the South. Competition was intense and elections were very close. In
2464-530: The Civil War in 1865, the Dahlonega Branch mint remained closed. The building served as a barracks for US troops garrisoned here, and as a school for freed black students. In 1871, Hon. William P. Price, who had been elected to Congress from Dahlonega, petitioned the government to re-purpose the vacant mint building into a college. In 1873, the newly founded North Georgia Agricultural College, opened its doors from
2552-516: The Democrats and Republicans. Gilded age politicians are somewhat infamous among historians for having few actual policies and doing very little of importance in office. Gilded age presidents are frequently called the "forgotten presidents" because of their mediocre presidencies where they did very little. The major metropolitan centers underwent rapid population growth and as a result had many lucrative contracts and jobs to award. To take advantage of
2640-721: The Gilded Age roughly coincided with the middle portion of the Victorian Era in Britain and the Belle Époque in France. With respect to eras of American history, historical views vary as to when the Gilded Age began, ranging from starting right after the Civil War ended in 1865, or 1873, or as the Reconstruction Era ended in 1877. The date marking the end of the Gilded Age also varies. The ending
2728-498: The Knights claimed 700,000 members. By 1890, membership had plummeted to fewer than 100,000, then faded away. Strikes organized by labor unions became routine events by the 1880s as the gap between the rich and the poor widened. There were 37,000 strikes from 1881 to 1905. By far the largest number were in the building trades, followed far behind by coal miners. The main goal was control of working conditions and settling which rival union
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2816-410: The United States led the world. Kennedy reports that "U.S. national income, in absolute figures in per capita, was so far above everybody else's by 1914." Per capita income in the United States was $ 377 in 1914 compared to Britain in second place at $ 244, Germany at $ 184, France at $ 153, and Italy at $ 108, while Russia and Japan trailed far behind at $ 41 and $ 36. London remained the financial center of
2904-767: The abundance of gold which was discovered in North Georgia, the United States Treasury Department decided to build a branch mint in Dahlonega. This allowed local miners a place to bring their gold deposits in exchange for hard currency. The Dahlonega branch mint was built in 1838 and operated from 1838 to 1861. The Dahlonega Mint , like the one also established in 1838 in Charlotte, North Carolina , minted only gold coins, in denominations of $ 1.00, $ 2.50 ( quarter eagle ), $ 3.00 (1854 only) and $ 5.00 ( half eagle ). It
2992-554: The agricultural and technical ("Ag & Tech") fields. Railroads, which had previously invented railroad time to standardize time zones, production, and lifestyles, created modern management, with clear chains of command, statistical reporting, and complex bureaucratic systems. They systematized the roles of middle managers and set up explicit career tracks for both skilled blue-collar jobs and for white-collar managers. These advances spread from railroads into finance, manufacturing, and trade. Together with rapid growth of small business,
3080-663: The ashes of the original Dahlonega Branch Mint. Over the years as the college grew, the names have changed from the original North Georgia Agricultural College, North Georgia College, North Georgia College and State University and the current designation as the University of North Georgia. In recent years, Dahlonega and Lumpkin County have been recognized as "the heart of the North Georgia Wine Country". The county features multiple vineyards and five licensed wineries that attract many tourists. The historic Dahlonega Square
3168-486: The author Mark Twain, also heard of Stephenson's phrase. Twain was so enthralled by the phrase "There's Millions In It," that he used it frequently in his book The Gilded Age . Over time, the phrase has been misquoted to the better-known "Thar's gold in them thar hills." In 1829, the first documented discovery of gold was made in Georgia. As news of the discovery spread, thousands of would be get rich quick men flooded into
3256-514: The book, whereby an increasingly complex set of rules dictated to everyone exactly what should be done in every circumstance, and exactly what their rank and pay would be. By the 1880s the career railroaders were retiring, and pension systems were invented to provide for them. America developed a love-hate relationship with railroads. Boosters in every city worked feverishly to make sure the railroad came through, knowing their urban dreams depended upon it. The mechanical size, scope, and efficiency of
3344-492: The center of Dahlonega. State Routes 9 and 52 run concurrently around the south side of Dahlonega, joining US 19 on the southeast side. State Route 9 leads southwest 14 mi (23 km) to Dawsonville , while State Route 52 leads west 18 mi (29 km) to Amicalola Falls State Park . To the east State Route 52 leads 16 mi (26 km) to Clermont . According to the United States Census Bureau ,
3432-532: The city has a total area of 8.8 sq mi (22.9 km ), of which 0.05 sq mi (0.14 km ), or 0.60%, are water. The city is centered on a low ridge, with the west side draining to Cane Creek and the east side to Yahoola Creek . Both creeks flow south to the Chestatee River , part of the Chattahoochee River watershed. 1,720 ft (520 m) Crown Mountain is in the southern part of
3520-593: The city. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 7,537 people, 1,873 households, and 1,086 families residing in the city. The Lumpkin County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 215 full-time teachers and over 3,511 students. Dahlonega is home to University of North Georgia (formerly named North Georgia College and State University), North Georgia College and North Georgia Agricultural College,
3608-558: The combined totals of Britain, Germany, and France. Investors in London and Paris poured money into the railroads through the American financial market centered in Wall Street . By 1900, the process of economic concentration had extended into most branches of industry—a few large corporations, called " trusts ", dominated in steel, oil, sugar, meat, and farm machinery. Through vertical integration these trusts were able to control each aspect of
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3696-437: The competitive sectors. Increased mechanization of industry is a major mark of the Gilded Age's search for cheaper ways to create more product. Frederick Winslow Taylor observed that worker efficiency in steel could be improved through the use of very close observations with a stop watch to eliminate wasted effort. Mechanization made some factories an assemblage of unskilled laborers performing simple and repetitive tasks under
3784-411: The courthouse balcony and pointing at the distant Findley Ridge, Dr. Stephenson was recalled in his speech as saying: "Why go to California? In yonder hill lies more riches than anyone ever dreamed of. There's millions in it," This phrase was repeated by those miners who did make the journey to California and was shared in the mining camps of the west. Years later, the young Samuel Clemens, better known as
3872-660: The day that a black bear wandered onto the square. It features bluegrass and old-time music. "Gold Rush Days", an annual two-day event the third weekend in October, attracts over 200,000 people. Dahlonega is home to the Holly Theatre . Dockery Lake Recreation Area is located 12 miles North of Dahlonega, a US Forest Service campground on a man-made lake stocked with trout. Located at 384 Mountain Drive, WPA Historical Marker 19 B-7 explains: This court house, built in 1836, replaced
3960-481: The direction of skilled foremen and engineers. Machine shops grew rapidly, and they comprised highly skilled workers and engineers. Both the number of unskilled and skilled workers increased, as their wage rates grew. Engineering colleges were established to feed the enormous demand for expertise, many through the Federal government sponsored Morrill Land-Grant Acts passed to stimulate public education, particularly in
4048-404: The divisional or central headquarters. At each level they had more and more knowledge, experience, and human capital . They were very hard to replace and were virtually guaranteed permanent jobs and provided with insurance and medical care. Hiring, firing, and wage rates were set not by foremen, but by central administrators, to minimize favoritism and personality conflicts. Everything was done by
4136-424: The era by 1920s historians who took the term from one of Mark Twain 's lesser-known novels, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873). The book (co-written with Charles Dudley Warner ) satirized the promised " golden age " after the Civil War, portrayed as an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding of economic expansion. In the 1920s, and 1930s, the metaphor "Gilded Age" began to be applied to
4224-463: The era, the bottom 25% owned 0.32% of the wealth while the top 0.1% owned 9.4%, which would mean the period had the lowest wealth gap in recorded history. He attributes this to the lack of government interference. There was a significant human cost attached to this period of economic growth, as American industry had the highest rate of accidents in the world. In 1889, railroads employed 704,000 men, of whom 20,000 were injured and 1,972 were killed on
4312-880: The expense of the working class, by chicanery and a betrayal of democracy. Their admirers argued that they were "Captains of Industry" who built the core America industrial economy and also the non-profit sector through acts of philanthropy. For instance, Andrew Carnegie donated over 90% of his wealth and said that philanthropy was their duty—the " Gospel of Wealth ". Private money endowed thousands of colleges, hospitals, museums, academies, schools, opera houses, public libraries, and charities. John D. Rockefeller donated over $ 500 million to various charities, slightly over half his entire net worth. Reflecting this, many business leaders were influenced by Herbert Spencer 's theory of social Darwinism , which justified laissez-faire capitalism, competition and social stratification . This emerging industrial economy quickly expanded to meet
4400-565: The facility. By then, the U.S. government had established a mint in San Francisco . Given the large amount of gold discovered in California from the late 1840s on, the San Francisco and Philadelphia mints handled the national needs of coin minting. As a result, surviving Dahlonega coinage is today highly prized in American numismatics . The University of North Georgia After the end of
4488-537: The gold miners from the nation. By 1831, Governor Gilmer (and later Wilson Lumpkin) of Georgia realized that it was impossible to remove the thousands of miners who had intruded into the Cherokee Nation. Gilmer saw an opportunity to claim the remaining Cherokee lands as part of Georgia. In 1832, the Georgia legislature voted to create ten new counties out of the former Cherokee Nation without regard to their sovereignty. Lumpkin County named after Governor Wilson Lumpkin,
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#17328442774624576-467: The increasing labor force. The average annual wage per industrial worker (including men, women, and children) rose from $ 380 in 1880 ($ 11,998 in 2023 dollars ) to $ 584 in 1890 ($ 19,126 in 2023 dollars ), a gain of 59%. The Gilded Age was also an era of poverty, especially in the South, and growing inequality, as millions of immigrants poured into the United States, and the high concentration of wealth became more visible and contentious. Railroads were
4664-741: The job. The U.S. was also the only industrial power to have no workman's compensation program in place to support injured workers. Craft-oriented labor unions, such as carpenters, printers, shoemakers and cigar makers, grew steadily in the industrial cities after 1870. These unions used frequent short strikes as a method to attain control over the labor market and fight off competing unions. They generally blocked women, blacks, and Chinese from union membership, but welcomed most European immigrants. The railroads had their own separate unions. An especially large episode of unrest (estimated at eighty thousand railroad workers and several hundred thousand other Americans, both employed and unemployed) broke out during
4752-399: The largest. They all expanded their missionary activity to the world arena. Catholics, Lutherans , and Episcopalians set up religious schools, and the largest of those schools set up numerous colleges, hospitals, and charities. Many of the problems faced by society, especially the poor, gave rise to attempted reforms in the subsequent Progressive Era . The term Gilded Age was applied to
4840-666: The local factory owner who could patrol every part of his own factory in a matter of hours. Civil engineers became the senior management of railroads. The leading innovators were the Western Railroad of Massachusetts and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1840s, the Erie in the 1850s, and the Pennsylvania in the 1860s. The railroads invented the career path in the private sector for both blue- and white-collar workers. Railroading became
4928-621: The major growth industry, with the factory system, oil, mining, and finance increasing in importance. Immigration from Europe and the Eastern United States led to the rapid growth of the West based on farming, ranching, and mining. Labor unions became increasingly important in the rapidly growing industrial cities. Two major nationwide depressions—the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893 —interrupted growth and caused social and political upheavals. The South remained economically devastated after
5016-548: The most hated railroad men in the country was Collis P. Huntington (1821–1900), the president of the Southern Pacific Railroad , who dominated California's economy and politics. One textbook argues: "Huntington came to symbolize the greed and corruption of late-nineteenth-century business. Business rivals and political reformers accused him of every conceivable evil. Journalists and cartoonists made their reputations by pillorying him.... Historians have cast Huntington as
5104-540: The mountains looking for the yellow metal in the creeks and rivers. At that time in history, the frontier of Georgia bordered the Cherokee Nation. During the winter of 1829–1830, white gold prospectors began illegally crossing the Chestatee River into the Cherokee Nation in search of gold. After objections were made to the Federal Indian Agent in the territory, United States troops were sent in to forcibly remove
5192-497: The natural resources and virgin lands that were available in America acted as a safety valve for poorer workers, hence, employers had to pay higher wages to hire labor. According to Shergold the American advantage grew over time from 1890 to 1914, and the perceived higher American wage led to a heavy steady flow of skilled workers from Britain to industrial America. According to historian Steve Fraser, workers generally earned less than $ 800
5280-557: The new market demands. From 1869 to 1879, the U.S. economy grew at a rate of 6.8% for NNP (GDP minus capital depreciation) and 4.5% for NNP per capita. The economy repeated this period of growth in the 1880s, in which the wealth of the nation grew at an annual rate of 3.8%, while the GDP was also doubled. Libertarian economist Milton Friedman states that for the 1880s, "The highest decadal rate [of growth of real reproducible, tangible wealth per head from 1805 to 1950] for periods of about ten years
5368-399: The northern lakes in wintertime and stored for summer and fall usage. Chicago, the main railroad center, benefited enormously, with Kansas City a distant second. Historian William Cronon concludes: During the 1870s and 1880s, the U.S. economy rose at the fastest rate in its history, with real wages, wealth, GDP, and capital formation all increasing rapidly. For example, from 1865 to 1898,
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#17328442774625456-413: The output of wheat increased by 256%, corn by 222%, coal by 800%, and miles of railway track by 567%. Thick national networks for transportation and communication were created. The corporation became the dominant form of business organization, and a scientific management revolution transformed business operations. By the beginning of the 20th century, gross domestic product and industrial production in
5544-405: The policemen dispersing a meeting. Police then randomly fired into the crowd, killing and wounding a number of people, including other police, and arbitrarily rounded up anarchists, including leaders of the movement. Seven anarchists went on trial; four were hanged even though no evidence directly linked them to the bombing. One had in his possession a Knights of Labor membership card. At its peak,
5632-427: The production of a specific good, ensuring that the profits made on the finished product were maximized and prices minimized, and by controlling access to the raw materials, prevented other companies from being able to compete in the marketplace. Several monopolies—most famously Standard Oil —came to dominate their markets by keeping prices low when competitors appeared; they grew at a rate four times faster than that of
5720-403: The railroads made a profound impression; people dressed in their Sunday best to go down to the terminal to watch the train come in. Travel became much easier, cheaper, and more common. Shoppers from small towns could make day trips to big city stores. Hotels, resorts, and tourist attractions were built to accommodate the demand. The realization that anyone could buy a ticket for a thousand-mile trip
5808-497: The river in 1897. The river ends at 571 feet (174 m) above mean sea level . The river is home to the Cherokee darter and Etowah darter , which are listed on the Endangered Species List . Country singer-songwriter Jerry Reed made the Etowah the home of the wild, misunderstood swamp dweller Ko-Ko Joe in the 1971 song " Ko-Ko Joe ". The fictional character, who is reviled by respectable people but apparently dies
5896-553: The small structure used since the establishment of Lumpkin County in 1832. The town was named Dahlonega in October, 1833, for the Cherokee word Talonega meaning "golden." From its steps in 1849, Dr. M.F. Stephenson, assayer at the Mint, attempted to dissuade Georgia miners from leaving to join the California Gold Rush . His oration gave rise to the sayings: "There's millions in it," and "Thar's gold in them thar hills." Dahlonega
5984-488: The solution. The AFL was a coalition of unions, each based on strong local chapters; the AFL coordinated their work in cities and prevented jurisdictional battles. Gompers repudiated socialism and abandoned the violent nature of the earlier unions. The AFL worked to control the local labor market, thereby empowering its locals to obtain higher wages and more control over hiring. As a result, the AFL unions spread to most cities, reaching
6072-490: The southern states, lingering resentment over the Civil War remained and meant that much of the South would vote Democratic. After the end of Reconstruction in 1877, competition in the South took place mainly inside the Democratic Party. Nationwide, turnout fell sharply after 1900. Despite the high voter turnout, aggressive political campaigning, and frequently nasty elections, there were few real policy differences between
6160-534: The standard of living in Pittsburgh with Birmingham, England, one of the richest industrial cities of Europe. After taking account of the cost of living (which was 65% higher in the U.S.), he found the standard of living of unskilled workers was about the same in the two cities, while skilled workers in Pittsburgh had about 50% to 100% higher standard of living as those in Birmingham, England. Warren B. Catlin proposed that
6248-418: The state's most despicable villain." However Huntington defended himself: "The motives back of my actions have been honest ones and the results have redounded far more to the benefit of California than they have to my own." The growth of railroads from 1850s to 1880s made commercial farming much more feasible and profitable. Millions of acres were opened to settlement once the railroad was nearby, and provided
6336-448: The system of railroads needed: The impact can be examined through five aspects: shipping, finance, management, careers, and popular reaction. Railroads provided a highly efficient network for shipping freight and passengers throughout the U.S., spurring the evolution of a large national market. This had a transformative impact on most sectors of the economy including manufacturing, retail and wholesale, agriculture, and finance. The result
6424-523: The town in her debut single " A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega ", which was released in October 2017. Dahlonega is twinned with: The Gilded Age In United States history , the Gilded Age is described as the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction Era and the Progressive Era . It was named by 1920s historians after an 1873 Mark Twain novel . Historians saw late 19th-century economic expansion as
6512-451: The working classes prompted the rise of populist , anarchist , and socialist movements. French economist Thomas Piketty notes that economists during this time, such as Willford I. King , were concerned that the United States was becoming increasingly inegalitarian to the point of becoming like old Europe, and "further and further away from its original pioneering ideal." According to economist Richard Sutch in an alternative view of
6600-918: The world until 1914, yet the United States' growth caused foreigners to ask, as British author W. T. Stead wrote in 1901, "What is the secret of American success?" The businessmen of the Second Industrial Revolution created industrial towns and cities in the Northeast with new factories, and hired an ethnically diverse industrial working class, many of them new immigrants from Europe. Wealthy industrialists and financiers such as John D. Rockefeller , Jay Gould , Henry Clay Frick , Andrew Mellon , Andrew Carnegie , Henry Flagler , Henry Huttleston Rogers , J. P. Morgan , Leland Stanford , Meyer Guggenheim , Jacob Schiff , Charles Crocker , and Cornelius Vanderbilt would sometimes be labeled " robber barons " by their critics, who argue their fortunes were made at
6688-484: Was $ 1.8 billion; 1897, it reached $ 10.6 billion (compared to a total national debt of $ 1.2 billion). Funding came primarily from private finance throughout the Northeast, and from Europe, especially Britain, with about 10 percent coming from the Federal government, especially in the form of land grants that could be realized when a certain amount of trackage was opened. The emerging American financial system
6776-481: Was also a dark side. By the 1870s railroads were vilified by Western farmers who absorbed the Granger movement theme that monopolistic carriers controlled too much pricing power, and that the state legislatures had to regulate maximum prices. Local merchants and shippers supported the demand and got some " Granger Laws " passed. Anti-railroad complaints were loudly repeated in late 19th century political rhetoric. One of
6864-406: Was an integrated market practically the size of Europe's, with no internal barriers, tariffs, or language barriers to hamper it, and a common financial and legal system to support it. Railroad financing provided the basis for a dramatic expansion of the private financial system. Construction of railroads was far more expensive than factories. In 1860, the combined total of railroad stocks and bonds
6952-511: Was apparently reached in the eighties with approximately 3.8 percent." The rapid expansion of industrialization led to real wage growth of 60% from 1860 to 1890, spread across the increasing labor force. Real wages (adjusting for inflation) rose steadily, with the exact percentage increase depending on the dates and the specific work force. The Census Bureau reported in 1892, that the average annual wage per industrial worker (including men, women, and children) rose from $ 380 in 1880 to $ 564 in 1890,
7040-454: Was based on railroad bonds. By 1860, New York was the dominant financial market. The British invested heavily in railroads around the world, but nowhere more so than the United States; The total came to about $ 3 billion by 1914. In 1914–1917, they liquidated their American assets to pay for war supplies. Railroad management designed complex systems that could handle far more complicated simultaneous relationships than could be dreamed of by
7128-521: Was cost-effective in consideration of the economics, time, and risk of shipping gold to the main mint in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. The Dahlonega Mint was a small operation, usually accounting for only a small fraction of the gold coinage minted annually in the US. In 1861, when the Civil War began, the mint closed due to lack of materials and manpower. After the war the U.S. government decided against re-opening
7216-461: Was created in December 1832. A year later the town of Taloneka or Talonega was named as the new county seat on December 21, 1833. The spelling was later changed to Dahlonega, derived from the Cherokee word meaning "yellow." The spelling of the Cherokee word Da-lo-ni-ge-i was disputed by early correspondents; Featherstonhough, for example, wrote it as "Tahlonekay". The proper pronunciation of Dahlonega
7304-681: Was deemed severe enough by the government that President Rutherford B. Hayes intervened with federal troops. Starting in the mid-1880s a new group, the Knights of Labor , grew too rapidly, and it spun out of control and failed to handle the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 . The Knights avoided violence, but their reputation collapsed in the wake of the Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago in 1886 , when anarchists allegedly bombed
7392-667: Was empowering. Historians Gary Cross and Rick Szostak argue: The civil and mechanical engineers became model citizens, bringing their can-do spirit and their systematic work effort to all phases of the economy as well as local and national government. By 1910, major cities were building magnificent palatial railroad stations, such as the Pennsylvania Station in New York City, and the Union Station in Washington, D.C. But there
7480-420: Was in control. Most were of very short duration. In times of depression strikes were more violent but less successful, because the company was losing money anyway. They were successful in times of prosperity when the company was losing profits and wanted to settle quickly. The largest and most dramatic strike was the 1894 Pullman Strike , a coordinated effort to shut down the national railroad system. The strike
7568-438: Was led by the upstart American Railway Union led by Eugene V. Debs and was not supported by the established brotherhoods. The union defied federal court orders to stop blocking the mail trains, so President Cleveland used the U.S. Army to get the trains moving again. The ARU vanished and the traditional railroad brotherhoods survived but avoided strikes. The new American Federation of Labor , headed by Samuel Gompers , found
7656-600: Was notable in that despite rampant corruption, election turnout was comparatively high among all classes (though the extent of the franchise was generally limited to men), and national elections featured two similarly sized parties. The dominant issues were cultural (especially regarding prohibition , education, and ethnic or racial groups) and economic (tariffs and money supply). Urban politics were tied to rapidly growing industrial cities, which increasingly fell under control of political machines . In business, powerful nationwide trusts formed in some industries. Unions crusaded for
7744-667: Was the site of the first major Gold Rush in the United States beginning in 1829. The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site which is located in the middle of the public square, was originally built in 1836 as the Lumpkin County Courthouse. In 1849, when local gold miners were considering heading west to join the California Gold Rush, Dr. Matthew Fleming Stephenson, the assayer at the Dahlonega Branch Mint , tried to persuade miners to stay in Dahlonega. Standing on
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