Joanna Shupe

@joannashupe.bsky.social

2157 Followers 793 Following

USA Today bestselling historical author. Upcoming --> The Gilded Heiress, August 26, 2025 www.joannashupe.com

A navy background with a book cover on top, text reading The Gilded Rose over illustration of roses and leaves
An image with text Divorced in the 19th Century, Fault-based Divorce
An iPad, an iPhone, and a paperback image of The Gilded Heiress
Paperback of the gilded heiress by Joanna Shupe. On sale 08.26.25
The First Federal Income Tax. Before Federal Income Tax. As I've discussed before, there were a few attempts to create an income tax in the U.S. Once was during the Civil War, to help fund the war efforts, but was repealed immediately after the war ended. The second was in 1894, when wealth inequality was out of control. Grover Cleveland's income tax hit only the rich, imposing a 2% tax on incomes above $4,000. (In todav's money $4,000 = $148,743.) Less than 1% of the U.S. population qualified for this tax. In 1895 the Supreme Court ruled this income tax unconstitutional. Not on principle, but rather the manner in which the tax was applied to rents, dividends and interest.
Child Labor: Welcome to the Jungle Child Labor In the 19th-century most children were required to earn their keep. Unless you were of the wealthy class, your family didn't have enough money to feed and cloth you without assistance. Many children held positions in all types of businesses, from manufacturing plants and newsies, to mills and coal mines. "By 1900, more than 1.75 million American children under the age of 15 worked for wages in industrial jobs. Ten years later, the total surpassed 2 million. That was more than 1 in 5 children under the age of 15." These numbers didn't include children working in the home or on the family farm.
The Spoils System "To the Victor Belong the Spoils" Do you have friends and relatives? Would you like to work with them? Yeah, me too. But when it comes to government, your friends usually aren't the most qualified for a particular job. (No offense. I'm sure they're all brilliant.) In the early days of the U.S., this is what happened. Government jobs were given to friends or relatives as perks or rewards. In exchange for promises kept. *wink wink* There was little to no effort to base the decision on who might actually do the job, you know, competently. This was called the Spoils System, with the name derived from the phrase "to the victor belong the spoils" said by New York Senator William L. Marcy in reference to the 1828 victory of Andrew Jackson. Jackson didn't start the Spoils System—Washington, Jefferson and Adams all did this to some degree—but he definitely perfected it.
Paperback of The Gilded Heiress with the text: Barnes & Noble 25% off Preorders, february 5-7 online only. Code: Preorder25
Three book covers by Joanna Shupe, The Heiress Hunt, The Lady Gets Lucky, The Devil of Downtown--and all three eBooks are on sale for 1.99
With all the uncertainty surrounding social media, the best way to stay connected to me is through my newsletter: joannashupe.com/newsletter. You'll get a bonus story upon signing up. After that, you'll get my weekly historical newsletter, Our Wicked Folly, exploring and contrasting the Gilded Age to today.