PJ O'Rourke said: “In any case, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we look for the source of our problems, we should not test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and the love of power.” When Mark Twain and Charles Dudley coined the phrase "golden age" to describe what they saw at the end of the 19th century, I'm sure they would have wholeheartedly agreed with O'Rourke. What does 'golden age' mean? Gilded means coating with a thin layer of gold, which I'm sure almost always covers a lower quality product. When you think of America one of the first thoughts that come to mind is the American dream. To achieve the impossible, to pull yourself out of the mud and reach a level of success and stature that you wouldn't have anywhere else. But how is success determined? Many believe it is through how much you have financially and what you can achieve. I think Mark Twain, Charles Dudley and PJ O'Rourke are saying that having money is of no use if those who have it don't use it to foster a better lifestyle for those around them. If America represents the possibility of coming out of nothing and gaining everything, then why try to cover it with gold? The late 19th century in America was a time of tremendous growth for the country. During this period, the United States economy grew at an astonishing rate, producing enormous levels of wealth. Railroads and telephone lines expanded across the country, which allowed the majority to purchase cheaper goods and entrepreneurs to seek wealth. All this grew rapidly for a nation of small farmers and artisans, who now had to deal with a society in which the gulf between haves and have-nots was widening... middle of paper... they don't need to be covered with gold or adorned with jewels. The idea can stand on its own. Works Cited Trachtenberg, Alan. 1982. The Incorporation of America: Culture and Society in the Gilded Age. New York: Hill and Wang.Goldberg, Jacob C. 2003. A Blow to Labor: The Homestead Strike of 1892. The Concord Review, Inc.Rogers, Donald W. 2011. “New Looks at Workers' Response to Industrialism” . The Journal of the Golden Age and Progressive Era 10:4 507 – 514Barreyre, Nicolas. 2011. “The Politics of Economic Crisis: The Panic of 1873, the End of Reconstruction, and the Realignment of American Politics.” The Journal of the Golden Age and Progressive Era 10:4 403 – 423SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era (1877-1917).” SparkNotes LLC. 2005. http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/gildedage/ (accessed October 18, 2011).