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Industrialization After the Civil War

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Assignment 1.2: Industrialization after the Civil War Final Paper Belinda Scott History 105: Spring 2014 Prof. Michael Smith Industrialization after the Civil War After the Civil War the United States became a much more industrialized society. Between 1865 in 1920 industrialization and proved American life in many ways. However industrialization also created problems for American society. This paper will introduce my previously crafted thesis statement where I stated my opinion on how industrialization after the Civil War influenced US society, economy, and politics. This paper will also identify three major aspect of the industrialization…show more content…
The three major aspects of industrialization during 1865 and 1920 that influenced U.S. society, economy, and politics where; urbanization, working conditions, and a laissez- faire government. Industrialization and urbanization went hand in hand. Cities offered large numbers of workers for new factories, and as more factories were built, more workers, both native –born and immigrant, moved to cities looking for jobs. Cities provided transportation for raw materials and manufactured goods, as well as markets for the consumption of finished products. By 1930 more than half of all Americans; including one million African Americans that had moved from the rural South to Western and Northern cities in search of jobs and to escape Jim Crow laws, lived in cities. The shift from rural life to urban life had both positive and negative effects. Some of the negative effects of urbanization included crowded, unsanitary living conditions for workers, and corrupt municipal, or city politics. The construction of decent housing was far below the fast paced growth of city populations, the cities were not prepared for that. The city housing primarily consisted of multifamily buildings called tenements. These tenements were usually deteriorated, located in poor working class neighborhoods, severely overcrowded, and inundated with violent crime. Cities also lacked adequate sanitation and water facilities. Poor families that lived in the slums could not afford
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