Ragtime
The birth of the 20th century brought forth many industrial and social innovations. With these innovations came many racial and economical inequalities. Race has always been an issue throughout the history of our nation, but it was enlarged with the huge wave of European immigrants. Wealth was not an issue because it was usually passed through families, but with the rise of the Industrial Age, it was now possible for the average man to accumulate wealth on his own. In Ragtime, E. L. Doctorow accurately depicted life in the early 20th century by emphasizing first that entrepreneurs believed it they were part of an elite class that were to provide the tools for mankind to progress and secondly the racial inequalities that existed in society. The accumulation of wealth was always thought to be impossible. Wealthy people usually inherited their fortune through family members. Prior to the Industrial Age, it was nearly impossible to build your own fortune especially if you were a regular worker. There were many famous entrepreneurs in the 20th century like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Stanford White, and J.P. Morgan. Andrew Carnegie, although not mentioned in Ragtime, represented
The friction of employer and employee paralleled the friction between the wealthy and poor. New York: Longman Publishers USA, 1999. The average man of the 20th century had luxuries that only the wealthy could afford a few generations before. In Ragtime, Doctorow mixes all the social and economic problems that existed in early 20th century America. Carnegie believed that since he rose from the working class to wealthy elite, it was possible for the average man to do the same. The North was supposed to be a land of freedom but African Americans were still treated as if they were sub-human. Carnegie believed that the law of competition ensured that the human race would progress. According the map African American Immigration, many African Americans moved to the North because of better economic opportunity. African American were still seen as an inferior race although many became educated and well mannered. He argues that, "under the law of competition, the employer of thousands is forced into the strictest economies. Carnegie thought it was possible for the average man to build up a fortune because the average man was better off than Carnegie was 20 year ago. Carnegie views on wealth reflected those ideas of J.
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