Government Contribution To The Industrial Revolution During The Progressive Era

During the post Civil War period many capitalists took over and ramped up industry. There were also individuals who took industries and monopolized them. Many historians who look back at these capitalists who shaped the post Civil War industry argue about whether they should be viewed as captains of industry who developed large industry, or as robber barons who used industry and monopolies to achieve wealth and take advantage of the working class. This essay will show why they were captains of industry.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, during the climax of the American Industrial Revolution, there was a small group of men who owned the major businesses and were leaders of their industries. They owned factories, railroads, banks, and even created company towns for the sole purpose of housing their workers. Due to the efforts of these few men, the U.S. economy became the envy of the world, and America became a leading world power. They provided the public with products that were in high demand for reasonable prices, and opened their markets to countries overseas. Although many people believe the early industrialists were Robber Barons who exploited the poor, these great men were truly Captains of Industry who created new ways of doing

After the Civil war, large businesses ruled America. Prior to the industrial revolution, the government upheld a hands-off approach towards business. Under the laissez-faire principle, free, unregulated markets led to competition, yet this system suffered under the wrath of growing corporations. The impact of big business on the economy and politics was immense during 1870 to 1899. Corporations were growing significantly in number and size, which had a domineering affect on American economy and defined American life.

The Industrial Revolution was of great importance to the economic development of the United States. The new era of mass production kindled in the United States because of technological innovations, a patent system, new forms of factory corporations, a huge supply of natural resources, and foreign investment. The growth of large-scale industry in America had countless positive results, but also negative results as well. Industrialization after the Civil War affected the United States in several ways including poverty, poor labor laws, and the condition of the people.

Near the last decades of the 19th century, America’s industrial economy skyrocketed. As these industrial leaders like Carnegie and Rockefeller not only lead the expansion through their respective industries, but revolutionized businesses while crushing free-market competition in the process. As

The late nineteenth century was an era of growth in the USA. It introduced railroads, telephone lines, opportunities for entrepreneurs, and cheap goods for consumers. Mark Twain dubbed this time period the Gilded Age; the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. Between 1870 and 1900, corporations grew significantly across the board in number, size, and influence. The newfound efficiency of resources and mass production resulted in an increase in the production of American goods and the amount of unskilled laborers but also created a wide divide between classes and a maldistribution of power. The American people responded to these impacts through both an increased participation in consumerism and the formation of both

The Industrial Revolution in the United States took place during the 18th and 19th centuries. This revolution was one of the most prominent turning points of American history as it modernized the workforce, developed American economics, and impacted the way people lived their lives. Before it began, America was mostly a rural society, people farmer to make a living and all work was done at home (“Industrial Revolution”). Afterwards, individuals began to become depend on factories to produce the products they once hand-made.

Following the war, congress pushed transformation into an agriculture and industrial powerhouse as well as commercial development and western expansion. Because of advances in transportation and communications including, continental railroads and transatlantic telegraph systems, huge corporations began to control the economy. As William Graham Sumner said, “the process of industrial revolution development, controls us all because we are all in it. It creates the conditions of our own existence, sets the limits of our social activity, and regulates the bonds of our social relations”. Many businesses grew exponentially in size and power because of business men by the name of John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J. Pierpont Morgan. They controlled standard oil and Carnegie steel and monopolized all other competition. Morgan, helped Carnegie and Rockefeller monopolize competitors thru his investment bank, J. Pierpont Morgan and company. As big business’s grew, farm owners struggled, forcing them to become wage earning laborers.

The very famous Theodore Roosevelt once said, “A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy.” From 1900 to 1918 the progressive era took America by storm. This era progresses reform and try to change the social activist way of thinking. We see how this era main goal was to eliminate corruption to make society whole. However, the first closest related factors-industrial, imperialism, and nationalism were being combined for a change in American history. People party was being formed, Wealth became a major issue, and equality was trying to be achieved. These major choices from the progressive era affected the Second Industrial Revolution in more ways than one.

Industrial Revolution. Many progressives desired a limitation on the power of big businesses, an improvement on the democracy of the people, and an increase in social equality among the people. The progressive era was a time of enlightenment and reform for the United State, in that it improved the quality of life through government regulation, muckraking, and conservation.

As the age of Reconstruction ended, the Gilded Age of big businesses began in the United States and with it came new jobs and goods for Americans. When new corporations became more successful, it made an immense impact on the economy, the political system and the lives of citizens. Economically, the cost of food and living went down significantly as well as a surplus of jobs. Political leaders were corrupted by big business as their decisions and laws were influenced by the wealthy class’ bribes and stealing from the common man. Though mass production allowed goods to be made quicker and in greater quantity, the workers’ horrible working conditions and remarkably long hours caused the creation of unions and strikes. Despite the great effect big business had on the economy in the Gilded Age through the decline in the cost of food and fuel, the daily lives of average working-class citizens were negatively impacted by long hours, horrid working conditions leading to unions and a corrupted political system.

The market mechanism of the Gilded Age was laissez-faire capitalism, an economic system based solely on the law of supply and demand, driven single-handedly by the motivation of entrepreneurs to generate profit, regulated purely by the ruthless competition between companies and owners. Such an economic environment inevitably resulted in monopoly and encouraged illegal business practices to get ahead due to the lack of government intervention. In this free-market capitalism, large companies were able to lobby the government and hurt, or even prevent other businesses from kickstarting and competing, by controlling the nation’s political outcomes through financing its politicians. These robber barons running these billion-dollar companies extracted the maximum profits from labor by bitterly preventing their employees from organizing unions. Ultimately left with a monopoly, these companies were able to deceive their consumers about their products and were to set skyrocket prices without any competition for customers to turn to for cheaper alternatives.

As the Industrial Revolution started in the early 1800s, the US gave investors many opportunities which allowed the nation to change towards an industrial economy. Events such as the War of 1812 and people such as Henry Clay pushed towards industrial growth after the Embargo Act was passed by Jefferson. The US experienced the start of an industrial revolution which allowed more involvement of the people, technological growth, and many other factors. First, the government eliminated foreign competition, allowing domestic industries to thrive. Second, the readily available labor force created by a large number of jobless immigrants allowed factories to function efficiently and achieve full production. Lastly, the creation of the Bank of the United

“As the growth of industrial development increased so did the accumulation of massive industries and corporations”. This had changed The United States of America into being urbanized instead of being a rural area. Then many businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt had big industrial tycoons which had a massive benefit for them and for their society because they had an increase in mass production which ultimately changed the face of the United States of America from being a rural society into being an urban society.

Industries have been a prime focus ever since the country achieved its independence, as industrial development has always been associated with a progressive nation. The legislative history of industrial disputes can be traced from the year 1890. Even though there were acts like Merchant Shipping Act of 1859, Workmen 's Breach of Contract, 1860, the actual development and growth of central legislative measures to govern industrial legislation in India can be examined and studied from Workmen 's Dispute Act, 1860, to the present Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 which is the Act that is being followed right now. In due course of time, the Trade Disputes Act, 1926, came into force, which was subsequently amended in the years 1929, 1932, 1934, and 1937. Since the World War II brought about numerous rapid changes in the whole economic structure and also in the field of industrial relations, the necessity of keeping production at the highest level without interruption and the clamour of the workers to have their share in the abnormal war profits, led the Government to introduce the Defence of India Rules in January 1942 . After the World War II ended, the need of the hour was to bring economic justice and industrial peace in the country by stabilising the economic system. For achieving this purpose, some legislation were brought to life with the main aim of prohibiting unfair labour practices and setting up a fair adjudication system which would be impartial and help with the plight