“The late nineteenth century must have been a great time to be alive,” declared an unemployed historian. “Business and agriculture were booming, government stayed off your back, and there was plenty of opportunity for anyone willing to work for it.” Assess the accuracy of this statement by describing the urban and rural conditions of late nineteenth-century America. How did business and agriculture develop after the Civil War and how much opportunity was there for ordinary Americans? What were working conditions like for industrial workers and farmers? Is the historian correct? Why or why not?
