Post-Civil War Industrialization

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.

Before the Industrial revolution people knew very little about the world and were used to making whatever they needed with their hands. Life was quiet because there was no machinery to make any noise. No one traveled very far on a regular basis because there was no way for rapid transportation and there were no clocks, people just used the rise and setting of the sun. When the Industrial revolution started, the nine to five job life style emerged as well and life changed for everyone.

Three groups that were affected by the Industrialization were middle and lower class, African Americans, and women rights. Middle and lower class workers were affected by Industrialization because the growth of the middle class had expanded, and professional employment had increased, but the lower class was the victims of the industrialization because the assembly line took a lot of the jobs of a lot of workers (Gilder Lehrman Institute, 2009). Another example of the middle and lower class is Union labor groups defend workers because employers just viewed workers as cost of production then regular individuals. That’s when the

After the civil war, especially during the late 1800s, the US industrial economy has been thriving and booming which reflected on the numerous improvements that occurred in transportation through new railroad, in new markets for new invented goods and in the increased farm yield. However, most of this wealth has been captured by the capitalists, they looked down on the working poor class and expected them to submit to them. Also, they had control over the government seeking to maintain a system of monopoly to allow them to grow richer from others. Thus, they were controlling both political and economic conditions of the country.

Industrialization and urbanization that happened in America after the civil war, is a good manifestation that the country was moving along the right path. After the war, progress in terms of investments, industrialization and urbanization was inevitable. After the civil war in America, people from the south who had been displaced and the people who were free could now move to the west to work in the cattle drives, fight the Indians and also begin a new life as farmers. Social Darwinism philosophy was adopted, and everyone believed that the poor had the right to be rich. The paper will focus on the right path that the country followed in the feudalism period between 1865 and 1914 when the country became a feudal society based on the capital and not on the land.

During the Gilded Age America experienced the “Second Industrial Revolution”. Between the end of the Civil War and the early twentieth century, the United States underwent one of the most rapid and profound economic revolutions any country has ever experienced. There were numerous causes for this explosive economic growth. The country enjoyed abundant natural resources, a growing supply of labor, an expanding market for manufactured goods, and the availability of capital for investment. The uprising of big businesses, railroads, and factory transformed America from being based on small farm work into an industrial powerhouse. During the Second Industrial Revolution the role of “big business” in federal and state governments was a monumental turning point in the history of this country, setting a foundation which has come to play a big role in government policy today. In a time period where the American Government did not have a real system in place for becoming an elected official, a great portion of the government was “corrupted” by people put in place by owners of big businesses and in turn they agreed to pass laws or do other favors for their benefit. Moguls such as John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie played major roles big business. The rapid expansion of factory production, mining, and railroad construction in all parts of the country except the South signaled the transition from Lincoln’s America—a world centered on the small farm and artisan workshop—to a

During the Industrial Revolution everyone had to adapt to the massive work load that was created. Back then demands for products was so high, the only thought and concern the Business Man had was how he was going to keep the currency rolling in. They used Humans as machines, without care and regards to their health and well being. Once they were faced with consequence for their disregard for life, laws were put into place to protect the workers. This in turned probably caused them more money and slower production in obeying the law.

Had Abraham Lincoln lived, the Reconstruction period no doubt would have been far different. The first way that Reconstruction would have been different would have been as a result of Lincoln's famous sense of empathy. He no doubt would have exhibited a greater sense of empathy to the Southern states and would have sympathized more greatly with their rebuilding process, in all likelihood, attempting to make it easier for them (Lamb & Swain, 2008). As some have argued, the death of Lincoln only bolstered the sense of hatred and vengeance from those in the North onto the Southern states; had Lincoln lived, Radical Republicans of Congress would have not been able to push such inflammatory bills such as the Wade-Davis bill which just sought to punish southerners (Jensia, 2008). Such radicals would have had to follow a more diplomatic plan established by Lincoln. Many southerners believed in Lincoln's sense of justice and temperance, and they believed that if there was a leader who could bridge the sense of animosity and hostility between north and south, it was no doubt him (Jensia, 2008). Lincoln's death meant that Reconstruction for the south was a far more involved, debilitating process, characterized heavily by a sense of Northerners attempting to discipline the South.

Reagan’s conservative views influenced his economic decision to cut taxes on the wealthy in an effort to save the falling economy at the time and return the economy back to the prosperous lively American economy admired in the past. “Cutting taxes, Reagan insisted, would stimulate economic growth much more effectively than the traditional liberal approach of increasing government spending.” Although it did take time for Reagan’s tax plan to begin to take effect, it did in fact impact stimulate the economy. Once the wealthy were able to hold onto their money they began to invest more into the economy. The influx in jobs allowed for the nations economy to start to move back to normalcy and become prosperous again. The “Trickle Down Effect” was the main reason for the rapid turnaround in the economy. “In a successful attempt to lower the unemployment rate Reagan loosened grips on the business in the county in order to stimulate growth. It worked and led to a significant decrease in the unemployment rate of the country.” (S Robert Teitelman) Reagan’s move to loosen grips on the large businesses was part of the “Trickle Down Scheme” in hope to ease the panicked citizens who feared that the diminishing economy meant doom for the nation. Through cutting taxes on the powerful corporations the money they were saving would be put right back into the economy allowing the flow of wealth to “trickle down” to the average citizen not just the extremely rich. Once the plan was implemented and the economy took a turn for the good the nation was relieved and the country took another step towards normalcy. Reagan also attempted to help the nations failing economy by cutting spending on internal government run programs. The

As Ronald Reagan Ascended in the 1980’s he reinvented Republican policies that favored deregulation and the growth of business in America. These Ideas markedly opposed the views of the governmental interventionist policies of the 1960’s and 70’s with these ideas Reagan hoped to decrease government Involvement and heavy taxes. With these tax cuts Reagan’s thinking was that many new businesses would spawn and that it would have a trickledown effect by not only empowering businesses to grow and hire more people which in the end would benefit all from those on top in the corporate world all the way down to the lowest person in the company in which

After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.

Before the civil war there were different remarkable diversities between the Northern and southern states in terms of population tally, occupational occasions, income potential and many other business classes and also financial classes, including production choices, and sociopolitical.

In 19th century America there were many changes in industrialization and capitalism which impacted the working class. One such change was the rise of unskilled labor; before the industrial revolution most people if not employed in agriculture relied on skilled trade. Meaning people had to have training and skill in order to create merchandise of a higher quality. However, with the rise of industrialization large factories began to take over the production of goods. These big businesses also began to turn to unskilled labor due to the fact that it was easier than hiring skilled laborers. Factories employed unskilled laborers because they were cheap and easily replaceable. This allowed factories to significantly grow in size and dominate the market. Such domination of the market forced the majority of smaller business to close their doors due to the fact that the factories could produce a higher quantity of goods for a smaller price. This affected the working class because their options for employment quickly decreased to the extent that their only option was to work for these big businesses. Due to the fact that unskilled laborers were easily disposable, large factories began to take advantage of their employees. Big businesses would take advantage of their workers by forcing them to work in unsanitary, unhealthy, and even dangerous conditions for very little pay. The life of a working class citizen was a difficult one, and the lives of these workers are reflected in the

The decades after the Civil War rapidly changed the face of the United States. The rapid industrialization of the nation changed us from generally agrarian to the top industrial power in the world. Business tycoons thrived during this time, forging great business empires with the use of trusts and pools. Farmers moved to the cities and into the factories, living off wages and changing the face of the workforce. This rapid industrialization created wide gaps in society, and the government, which had originally taken a hands off approach to business, was forced to step in.

America has been expanding and growing since its birth out of Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution has been an influence in the American life since it first in the 1700s. “Most families did not have enough to sell at the market- they had just enough for their own needs.” Up until the factories started booming and employment rates skyrocketed, people really couldn’t become wealthy and live a decent life. As the ways of farming grew the English at the time began to use up more and more land efficiently. “Unusable swamplands could be drained and used for crops.” That’s absolutely amazing that in this era they could turn swamps into areas to raise more crops so they can naturally make more money at the markets and become a bit wealthier. Farming is one of the most important lively hoods of mankind; no matter what argument anyone tries to make. If we didn’t have farming and agricultural production we wouldn’t have all the different sorts of food products we do, nor would they be as abundant. Life would be like it was before the Industrial Revolution came about and most of us would still be growing our own food and barely scraping by in life. With all this agricultural expansion of the time population in England start expanding drastically as well. Thanks to population growth people started to worry more about new inventions and producing stuff for us to make our day to day lives easier than we could have ever before. With all the technological advancements leading up to