The Great Boom Of Industrialization

The Gilded Age after the Civil War caused the American economy to grow drastically during the 1870s. Due to the manufacturing business spreading across the nation, entrepreneurs such as Andrew Carnegie, J.P Morgan and John D. Rockefeller were considered the “captains of industry” who helped grow the economy. But, there were some who believed these entrepreneurs were “robber barons,” as people who worked in the manufacturing business were treated badly, underpaid, and forced to work long hours in dangerous circumstances. Although these so called “captains of industries” may have helped the economy when it needed them the most, they perfectly represented the term given to their era, the Gilded Age, where their monopolies and gold exterior came from their dangerous and “robber baron” factory working.

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, labor was anything but easy. Factory workers faced long hours, low pay, high unemployment fears, and poor working conditions during this time. Life today is much easier in comparison to the late 1800s. Americans have shorter days, bigger pay and easier working conditions. Not comparable to how life is today, many riots sparked, and citizens began to fight for equal treatment. Along with other important events, the Haymarket Riot, the Pullman Strike, and the Homestead strike all play a vital role in illustrating labor’s struggle to gain fair and equitable treatment during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

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

During the rise of industrialization, the United States had just ended the Civil War and was starting to move on. People had an aspiration at this time to make a more than decent living for themselves, and the economy was at the right spot for this to be possible. This time period in American History is referred to as the Gilded Age, termed by the famous author Mark Twain, which simply means covered in gold; however, Twain did not necessarily mean this in a good way. He believed right under the surface of this gold plating was still problems with the American society that didn’t look so appealing. This essay will discuss how practices during the rise of industrialization during the Gilded Age shaped the American work and labor force.

Whether Robber Barons or Captains of Industry, the men who shaped the U.S. industrial age left their mark in both business and philanthropy.

The industrial revolution introduced many new technology and improved our economic system. There have been a large increase in manufacture and machine tools since then. This led to better transportation, steam powered factories, consumer goods, a large workforce, and labour conditions. During the 1870’s , many financial issues had arise in the United States of America and in many European countries. Due to the financial crises that arise , it led to a major depressing era in history that is called the Panic of 1873. In “Standing at Armageddon” written by Nell Irvin Painter, the author discusses the progressive era and the United States economic crisis , as well as, social status during the ninetheeth century. Painter explains on how the high class white people owned most of the United States industry and due to their wealth, they owned fifty-one percent of the properties in America. They were the wealthiest one percent of the United States. There were different layers of wealth and social status which also integrates with race and ethnicity. Those who were wealthy in America weren’t the ones working hard and getting their hands dirty. Many low class were immigrants, women and blacks who worked in factories and were receiving low wages and poor work conditions. The low class owned only 1.2 percent of the properties in America. This caused major issues in the united states because the workers formed

A period of Imperialism depicted how the United States would brand itself as a world power. As industrialization began to spread and new businesses were formed, America began to rely heavily on the exportation of agricultural goods. In the midst and dependence on agricultural labor, African Americans faced new obstacles as they struggled to “elevate [their] race,” considering many were forced to work in the fields, taking much of their opportunity to attain an education. As mentioned in Steven Hanh’s book, a key point in the increase in demand for plantation workers in addition to the stringent conditions set upon them, is the creation of many labor groups. These groups, the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and the Knights of Labor, to mention a few,

More often than not, America’s antebellum capitalists are accused of being the “robber barons” of industrial America. The misconception is that these men took advantage of a naïve and growing economy and reaped its benefits without giving anything in return. True, the majority of America was poor in comparison to the few elites, but the philanthropist efforts and contributions of these men can not be denied. If not for these men and their efforts, there would have been no one to pave the road to America’s industrial domination.

Essay #3 – Class and Labor The “Gilded Age was a time of tremendous growth and change in the face of America and its history. Commencing right after the Civil War, this age brought about an onslaught of immigrants from the European nations including; Russia, Poland, and Italy with the hopes and dreams of being a part of this bustling time of urbanization and industrial boom. These immigrants believed for their skilled and unskilled labor alike they too could be the next Carnegie, an immigrant from Scotland who moved to the US and after working several jobs on the railroad systems made a few very smart investments and ended up owning the Carnegie Steel Corporation, the largest steel corporation in the world. Why would these immigrants believe

There are many factors that caused America in the late 1800s to push forward and be one of the leading countries in industry and jobs, but the main factor that caused the U.S. to become one of the powerhouses of the world is the construction of the railroad. The railroad provided thousands of jobs across the country and the new railroads allowed industries to transport products in a more efficient and cost productive way. Although without the hard work ethic of the American citizens, the monumental task of laying down all the railroads would not have succeeded. One of the many examples of the hard working Americans is a man named William Jackson McGahey. William started working as railroad laborer in Pickens County, Alabama in his late teens and stayed working as a laborer well into his twenties.

In the early 1800’s the Industrial revolution changed the economy and lifestyles of the North and South immensely and created the first of the many differences to come between the North and South. During the time period of the Industrial Revolution, the North took its shape of the way we know it to be today, with factories and laborers working long hard days. In these factories, the workers were not slaves they were laborers and immigrants. Likewise, in the South, the industrial revolution changed its economy, however in a much more subtle way than in the North. The South was introduced to the cotton gin, mechanical reaper, and many more

Following the end of the American Civil war, the Industrial Revolution came rushing in and brought with it tremendous changes – the mechanization of agriculture, the invention of steam and electricity used machinery led to mass production factories, and the emergence of a massive railroad system. Change in the economy and society brought great wealth to the United States. Consequently, it was a giant magnet for immigrations. However, the distribution of wealth across the population was not even. The American working class in the last half of nineteenth century suffered from poverty and oppression. Several documentations and stories were written in response to the people suffering. Two of them - “Child Labor in The Canning Industry of Maryland” by Lewis W. Hine and “Maggie: A Girl of The Streets” by Stephen Crane - vividly described the living and working conditions for the working poor.

Studying about the Gilded Age, I found it remarkable all of the inventions and machinery invented to aid progression of the society, and the vast improvements the country accomplished in such a short time. This made the work easier, faster, thus, salaries were raised for those in the working class. Second, the fact that then, the myth of climbing out of the poverty cycle was impossible, but today, with determination and hard work, taking a step at a time, anyone’s goals can be reached. Another interesting point was knowing that the general wages of average workers slightly decreased as a result of having many workers, most of whom were immigrants who had largely moved to America. Fourth, the numerous riots and rebellions which resulted from

In the late nineteenth century, America was a country in its prime of industrialization and immigration influx. Known as the Gilded Age, this period defined the United States as the bustling powerhouse it is today, but at the cost of many social and political injustices that lay underneath the guise of the “American dream”. Among the urbanization and booming industry, there was national and racial discrimination, gender inequality, child exploitation and labor,

The Industrial Revolution was the quintessence of capitalistic ideals; it bred controversy that led to Karl Marx’s idea of communism as a massive grass roots reaction to the revolution’s social abuses. Firstly, the Industrial Revolution featured the construction of machines, systems and factories that allowed goods to be manufactured at a faster rate with a lower cost. The seed drill made it so there could be “a semi-automated, controlled distribution and plantation of wheat seed”(Jones 2013). Secondly, there was a great social and economic divide between the wealthy owners and the poor workers, which gave rise to the mass’s vulnerability to the advent of extreme socialism. Figures of authority severely oppressed their employees by giving them insufficient pay, a treacherous work environment, and even making some children work more than 12 hours per day (Cranny 150). Finally, far right capitalism created a brutal boom and bust cycle of economics that made, for the multitude at the bottom, a perpetual nightmare of poverty and death. People responded to this social situation by taking part in violent protests; oppression sires rebellion. The Industrial Revolution was the chassis of great imagination and progress of political, economic, and social force that still affects this world today.