ABSTRACT
The period from 1865 to 1900 was dynamic. Often criticized as a Gilded Age marred by greed and corruption, it was also a period of phenomenal economic growth and exciting change. Industrialization, urbanization and immigration redefined the nation and by 1900 had made the United States the world’s richest country-a land of opportunity and wealth on a scale never imagined before. As America’s primary port of entry as well as a hub of agriculture, industry and commerce, New York State was central to these changes.
