Industrialization After the Civil War Final Paper

Thesis: The United States went through a prolonged period of civil war that proceeded industrialization. The Americans became more resilient and focused on building their nation through industrialization. However, much as the industrialization process took too long to be pursued, it changed the political, economic and social status of the American society.

I. Three Major Aspects of Industrialization between 1865 and 1920.

a) Society

1) Enormous amounts of rural to urban migration occurred due employment because of the creation of organizations and companies.

b) Economy

1) Many individuals were employed in the many different respective job fields while earning income and making it feasible for the pay back of taxes ultimately resulting in higher revenue for the government.

c) Politics

1) State and federal government gave large portions of land, government tenders and contracts to their families, close friends, and supporters in return to political favors, ultimately given them political reign throughout that time.

II. 5 Groups affected by industrialization and two examples for each.

a) Lower Class

1) Many were replaced in factories by machines.

2) Housing had unsanitary features which led to diseases.

b) African Americans

1) Although new industries did emerge in this era, the benefits of the New South did not accrue to African Americans.

2) Between 1890 and 1900, more than 1,200 lynchings occurred, mainly in the Deep South. At the end of the century, the New South remained an impoverished and racist region, with the nation’s lowest income and educational levels.

c) Women’s and Children

1) Women worked long hours - sometimes 80 hours a week - often under horrible conditions.

2)  Women were usually paid less than men, and they were not treated equally.

d) Rural Farmers

1)  During the 18th century, after a prolonged period of enclosures, new farming systems created an agricultural revolution that produced larger quantities of crops to feed the increasing population.

2) Farmers, large and small, witnessed numerous problems and dislocations during the era with which they found themselves unable to cope successfully.

e) Native Americans

1) As the railroad use became more common, many people moved westward and destroyed the Native American homes. 

2) There were many major massacres such as Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 where many Indian women and children were killed.

III. Ways that industrialization affected the life of the average working American during this period.

a) Wages

b) Housing

c) Legal Representation

d) Transportation

e) Debt

Reference

McGuire, J. T. (2017). Social Justice Feminism and its Counter-Hegemonic Response to Laissez-Faire Industrial Capitalism and Patriarchy in the United States, 1899-1940. Studies in Social Justice, 11(1).

Sequeira, S., Nunn, N., & Qian, N. (2017). Migrants and the Making of America: The Short-and Long-Run Effects of Immigration during the Age of Mass Migration (No. w23289). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2017). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield