The second half of the nineteenth century was the height of the American Industrial Revolution. The United States was looking to become one of the largest industrial powers in the world. This would eventually transform the lives of millions of working Americans, as many of the American industrial workers’ lives were impacted by technological advancements and immigration in the time-period between 1865 and 1900.
The atmosphere and working conditions that these industrial workers worked in were constantly changing and were profoundly affected by technological advances. Technological advancements, like the train, linked states together far and wide. Managers could now ship across the nation with ease; this opportunity called for a more efficient production rate, as an assembly line would be put into place in many factories. As the growing demand for products increased, so did the number of workers. The only thing that was not increasing however was wages. It wasn’t uncommon for children to work in factories, though it was men who mainly compromised the field of blue-collar labor.
With the invention of typewriters and telephone switchboards, millions of stenographers and “hello girls” discovered economic opportunity. The machines that were introduced to factories made work for the American industrial worker much easier, albeit tedious and tiring. Their lives practically revolved around the blow of their boss’s whistle. Despite these technological advances, work days were long and tiresome, and the laborers felt they weren’t being paid fairly. Thus labor unions were formed and many workers would go on strike, forcing factories to either comply to the blue-collars, or hire children and immigrants. For better or worse, technological changes impacted the life of the American industrial worker.
The Essay on American Factory System before the Civil War
The introduction of the factory system into the United States brought economic prosperity to many urban cities. The factory system increased the market for manufactured goods and export products. This generally caused a population boom in many urban centers such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston. New methods of transportations were introduced to facilitate the increasing flow of ...
It was during the 1880’s that a new type of immigrants flocked to America. The so-called New Immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe. As nativism began to bare its ugly face, the new immigrants were given a rude reception mainly for religious disputes and fear of inferior, mixed offspring with the Anglo-Saxons. Another reason was that the foreigners were frequently used as strike-breakers, which would practically render American laborers’ strikes useless. The immigrants’ language barrier also presented an advantage for employers; because they could not speak English, they were not able to join labor unions. These immigrants were also desperate, so they took any job that was offered, with any wage that was paid. Naturally, anti-foreign groups were formed – the most notorious being the American Protective Agency, These nativists pushed their anti-foreignism ideals all the way to Congress, and in later years, immigration laws were imposed. Job security was the greatest threat these immigrants presented to the “native” Americans, who seemed blinded by their bigotry.
The impact of technological change and immigration had a profound impact on the American industrial worker between 1865 and 1900. The introduction of machines seemed to make work days much easier, but as a reprimand, industrial laborers were forced to work longer days. They would toil away all day, dictated by the blow of a simple, bronze whistle, only to come home with a meager amount of money. Immigrants also had a weighty impact on American industrial life, as the “native” Americans, who seemed to forget that they experienced the same hate when they first immigrated, felt their jobs to be threatened. The lives of millions of working Americans would be transformed, and help pave the way for a modernized nation, as America would become one of the largest industrial powers in the world.
The Essay on American Industrial Revolution
The growth in large-scale industry and labor unions in the second half of the nineteenth century can be explained in many ways. Unlike earlier in the century, now there were broad markets, fast expansion in good economic times, thus causing a rise in demand for more goods. Additionally, new inventions with development in big business caused large scale industrialization to become possible. Lastly, ...
