55 pages • 1 hour read
Anderson Cooper, Katherine HoweA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In normal circumstances, a woman whose husband dies inherits part of his estate (her “dower”) or at least has use of it during her remaining lifetime. Beginning in the early 1800s, the Astor family safeguarded its fortune by generally demanding that women renounce their dower rights before marrying into the family.
Samuel McAllister, the confidante of Caroline Astor (“Mrs. Astor”) claimed that only 400 people in New York were fit for high society. The term became shorthand for the social elite.
Historians call the period from roughly the 1870s to the 1890s the “Gilded Age.” Gilded means covered in a thin layer of gold and is meant to imply that this period looked like a Golden Age of prosperity. However, in reality, only a thin top layer of society benefited. During this era, a dramatic gap emerged between superrich businessmen benefiting from new industrialization and the disadvantaged workers in the factories and mines. The Astor family exemplified a Gilded Age fortune.
By these authors
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books on U.S. History
View Collection
Business & Economics
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Equality
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Nation & Nationalism
View Collection
Politics & Government
View Collection
Power
View Collection
The Past
View Collection
The Power & Perils of Fame
View Collection