In the United States of America, industrial development started in the 1800s and persisted even after the Civil War. Even though the industry sector had not expanded significantly by the end of the conflict, it was still necessary to use hand labor, which was still widely used, which limited the industries' ability to produce. However, the US industrial sector rapidly expanded, and machine labor replaced manual labor, increasing the industries' capacity for output. Later, as a result of the machines taking the place of manual work, the American people as a whole suffered greatly. (Gordon, 2017). The investors were lucky since they even supplied the businessmen who worked in the industries with large amounts of money. The rich continued being rich while the poor did not grow to be a bit richer. The significant changes that took place in America during that period shaped the lives of the people in the society, the political system of America was transformed, and finally, the economy of the nation was also affected. Thus the changes were on the businesses in America, the politics, economy and the lives of Americans (Goldfield, 2015). That means that by doing anything to make things easier, it must have a cost as I will discuss in this paper. In this paper, I am going to discuss the changes that took place in the lives of people, their politics, and economy due to the industrial revolution that took place. They were both positive and negative impacts that occurred, and they have shaped today's Americans lives, and I will tell into details all that changed.
Major aspects of industrialization between 1865 and 1920
The progress that came during industrialization led to great changes in the American society that was so drastic thus changing the lives of the citizens in the US. When the industrial revolution had not occurred most people resided in the rural areas since the depended on agriculture and the economy too of America relied most on agriculture, most of the people worked on the farms so that they could provide raw materials for the industries. But as time went on and advancements in technology came in the machines that were used on the farms, and they replaced human labor. More factories were even set up making the people who worked on farms to work in the factories. That led to the migration of people from the rural areas to urban areas where most industries were set up so they could work there (Gordon, 2017).The farms became even less as the factories increased since they could not all be supplied by the farms. Thus the agricultural economy led to the industrial economy.
The economy of US had a significant turn during this time since the technology of machines in the factories was a big significance in the increase in production of industrial products. There was also the growth of domestic market due to an uptick in goods production from their factories and Americans started to seek convenience, comfort, and cleanliness. The politics of US also changed, and there was a large spread of corruption (Gordon, 2017). People of the government began to use their positions for financial gain like Ulysses Grant who was the president from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, and corruption flourished in both local and state governments.
Major groups who were affected by industrialization
There were many groups affected by industrialization, and they include the farmers, entrepreneurs, children, women, and politicians. Both the low and middle-class people, Native Americans, immigrants, Africa Americans, and women were also affected. The first group was the middle and low-class people who were affected by the revolution in industrialization, and the low-class people were left jobless. The middle-class people grew and their class improved, and rates of employment increased thus making the low class being the main victims here after factories construction (Salisbury, 2017). For example, factories and technology in them left people jobless since the machines could make large productions in less time as compared to the human labor. Another example is labor groups that defended the workers since the employers viewed their employees as an increased cost of production.
The second group is the Native Americans that were affected by since industrialization cause expansion of railroads and due to upcoming towns made the Indians land to be reduced in size. Example, the Native Americans suffered negatively due to the changes since they were forced to move out of their areas to create space for the new towns and the building of factories that were constantly growing (Gordon, 2017). Another example is that the growth of other structures required for industries led to Native American to be moved from their tribes land.
The third group that has been affected greatly by industrialization is immigrants who came to most parts of the US from Europe due to the increased population growth. Example, the immigrants as newcomers found it hard for them to get employment since most came to America not knowing any English (Goldfield, 2015). Also, the immigrants had low levels of education, and they barely had any working skills.
Forth is African Americans who were affected negatively since they had no education and knew no English. They were brought to America as slaves thus were considered as the main victims of slavery though they had no work skills that they could use in the factories. The other group is women who were regarded as inferior. They were considered not to have any strength to work in the factories thus they found it hard to get employment. If any of them got a job, they worked under very low salaries (Salisbury, 2017). They suffered a lot due to lack of funds and food to feed their children too.
How Industrialization affected the life of the average working American during this period.
There are many and different ways that industrialization has affected the average working American lives. When technology came up and it was booming, there were thousands of jobs that became available. All that led to low rates of unemployment and an increased living standard. The average working Americans started working with women and blacks. Equalization began, and salaries were now paid according to an individual's qualifications, and thus that gave the Americans the opportunity for Americans learning opportunity so that they can get more work qualifications (Goldfield, 2015). The average working Americans also passed the law of Child labor in support of their children since a large number of them relied on their children for extra income due to the increased cost of living.
Conclusion
After industrialization life continued but everything that occurred during industrial revolution left many people homeless. After the civil war, there was a reconstruction of the industries that later led to improved transport and networks for communication (Andrews, 2015). There were also plans to reconstruct the plans to rebuild the South America.
References
Andrews, J. C. (2015). South Reports the Civil War. Princeton University Press.
Goldfield, D. (2015). Confederate cities: the urban south during the Civil War era. University of Chicago Press.
Gordon, R. J. (2017). The rise and fall of American growth: The US standard of living since the civil war. Princeton University Press.
Salisbury, L. (2017). Women's income and marriage markets in the United States: Evidence from the Civil War pension. The Journal of Economic History, 77(1), 1-38.
