The federal government follows the economic principle of laissez faire when it

The economic principle of laissez-faire means the government has little to no interference in the economy. At its peak, the Gilded Age demonstrated the most pure of laissez-faire economics in the US. The government had no regulations for monopolies, trusts, the stock market, wages, or prices. Essentially the government is to help businesses by allowing businesses to thrive under a competitive, unregulated environment. 

Where people were very broke no jobs were available and everyone was struggling