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Immigration Dbq Essay

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After the Civil War, people started migrating West and more immigrants started coming. The country went through several major changes between 1865 and 1880 that resulted in significant changes in labor and industrialization. The majority of the country owed war debts and there were money issues that caused people to lose money, but the country was quickly industrializing and urbanizing to improve agricultural life. While the North was thriving from new inventions and methods, the South was trying to recover from the affects of the end of slavery. When the war ended the South was suffering from financial problems and was still relying on “King Cotton” (Nash 426) to be its main source of income. The South was the most affected by the war ending …show more content…

Although blacks became sharecroppers, the land owners ensured that the blacks would always be indebted to them (Kennedy 8). They were paid the bare minimum, and they experienced similar sufferings of being a slave. Because the Civil War caused many to become poor, they could barely pay to hire people they used to be able to receive free labor from. In other parts of the country, more immigrants were being hired because they were willing to work for lower wages than others (Batchelor, Immigrants). While the big businesses were making more money from paying them less, most people had a hard time finding decent paying jobs. More labor unions, like the Knights of Labor, AFL, and National Labor Union (Batchelor, Organized), were formed to protect workers’ rights because they were not being paid enough and had to work in horrible conditions for long hours. They usually caused strikes to make the bosses pay them better and refused to work. In retaliation, the bosses would simply hire others desperate for a job and fire the ones on strike. Since the government supported businesses more, they did nothing to help the workers. The big businesses were thriving from paying their workers less and it was easier to find …show more content…

Consumers could get products cheaper and manufacturers made more money from mass production, but more machines like the Bessemer Converter and electric sewing machine (Inventions) meant less manual labor was needed. Manufacturers did not need to hire as many workers since the machines would be able to do it faster. Although machines made everything more efficient, most people could not afford to buy them because they were too expensive, so usually the rich profited from new technology. Instead of concentrating on agricultural goods, the country turned to heavy industry. The steel, oil and other industries were connected by railroads (Batchelor, Industrialization). Banks provided capital for the industries. When people started forming monopolies, they made everything more expensive than they needed it to be and controlled most necessities. The working class had troubles trying to support their families with it, but they couldn’t rely on the corrupt government for help. Because everything could be made so quickly with machines, it made it easier for investors and businesses to earn money quickly. More people were able to get rich. The North was flourishing and the government was investing more. They raised taxes; funded libraries, roads, and schools; and they started investing on railroads. This caused the government to be in more debt than they already were from the Civil

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