Assignment 1.1: Industrialization after the Civil War Thesis and Outline
Amiah-Mone Parker

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.

Between 1865 and 1920, Industrialization had many positive effects on society which caused change in people’s daily lives. The first major innovation that was beneficial was the new railroad system. Railroads out west played a huge part in the successful expansion of our country. Prior to the development of a more efficient railroad system, the movement of people and freight were slow, difficult, and cost efficient. Most goods had to be produced and provided locally on a small scale. As a result, prices for products were costly. Despite that, with the help of federal grants, railroad developers were able to build a more efficient railroad system that would connect the established east with the unsettled west. After the completion of the new railroads system, farmers were in practical distance of railroad depots, which meant manufacturers could locate their plants anywhere and be able to bring in raw materials and send their products wherever they could locate customers. With the railroads connecting the east and the west coast, many people moved westward and began to take advantage of the opportunities over there that was offered, such as cheap land, gold, new businesses, and more. Because of the railroad service, hundreds of new jobs were being brought into place also allowing them to work in cities far away from their homes and travel to resort areas for leisure. Second, the development of new public transit systems, was important in shaping the design of our cities and the growth of our cities by enabling people to move further away from the inner city. Early on, large cities didn’t really have public transportation. Their main source of transportation were horse drawn wagons and walking. In conclusion, most people lived near on in the downtown area, where most of the working establishments were located. Because of this, it made big cites crowed and congested. With the breakthrough of the “el”, electric streetcars, and subways, around 1867, cities began expand more. Those who were fortunate enough to move out of the dirty cities and into better neighborhoods surrounded outside the city, did so. The new transit systems in most cities allowed people to escape the chaos of urban life and provided potential for growth of our cities. The second major innovation is the telephone because it opened up doors for everybody. The telephone allowed them to be connected to other parts of the world, or their loved ones did not live in the same city. It permitted them to stay connected to relatives and have audio conversations without the inconvenience of letters which took a while to arrive by post. It produced better business for the small to larger corporate businesses as well as in the event of an emergency. The last major innovation was invention of the light bulb. Humphry Davy was the first person who brought electric light to the industrial age in 1803 by passing electrical current through a string of platinum. However, it was not useful for practical reasons since it one lasted for a short time. Several people such as scientist and inventors tried to improve the design of the incandescent light bulb during the following decades but never successful. Eventually, Thomas Edison, an inventor, made a major breakthrough by inventing a light bulb that was long lasting and could be manufactured commercially at a reasonable cost. Soon after, light bulbs replaced candles lamps, and lanterns in almost every urban household with access to electricity. Edison's light bulbs allow people to do many things at night, such as work, that used to only happen during the day. The Industrial Revolution had changed people lives for the better and the worse. Life was supposed to be easy for the Americans since there were more jobs and opportunities. However, they had long work hours in terrible factory conditions, work with dangerous machinery, very little pay, and spent majority of their time at work instead of at home with their family. The low wages made it impossible for the entire family to live on wages and the practice of child labor became rampant. Children as young as six years old during that period worked hard hours for a fraction of the adult pay and sometimes no pay at all. Children were forced to work up to 19 hours a day, with a one-hour break in total. Not only were these children bound by long hours, but also horrible working conditions too. They had to work with large, heavy and dangerous equipment just like the adults. Many accidents occurred on the job, injuring or killing children. It was not until the Factory Act of 1833 when things started to improve. Though the industrial revolution increased the economic production, it benefits were reaped only by the rich owners of the factories who became richer and indulged in conspicuous consumption. The working people were not being treated fairly and to make matters worse, the government provided no regulations for the treatment of a business’s employees. Industrialization led to migration of people from other countries in rural areas which increased urbanization. The workers lived in over populated cities in unsanitary conditions. The lack of pay and poverty forced them to live by on very little food that was not sufficiently nutritious and in result, this took a heavy toll on their health. Due to the overcrowded cities, and poor health, grew diseases such as cholera. The women were treated less than equal compared to the men. They were faced with the double burden of factory work followed by duties at home. Farmers were affected as well and found themselves on the bottom end of the economic ladder after the Civil War. They struggled to pay off debts as land prices increased but crop prices decreased. Industrialization after the Civil War affected the United States in several ways which included poverty, poor labor laws, and the condition of the people. Even though more jobs were available for the people, in the end it was a benefit for them because they were getting paid very little and the conditions weren’t safe. It brought more immigrants over from other countries because they thought life was going to be better but it only caused more sick people and over populated cities. On the upside of things, they were able to travel quicker due to the railroad system, stay in touch with their loved ones, and able to do more at night ever since the light bulb was created. In the end, even with more jobs in place and the innovations of that time period, the people had more disadvantages than advantages.

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