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Industrialization After the Civil War

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Assignment 1.2: Industrialization After the Civil War
Strayer University- HIS 105
August 3, 2014

After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.
There were three major aspects of industrialization that influenced U.S. society, economy, and politics; the emergence of big business, new technological innovations, and the spread of railroads. Between 1867 and 1920, the United States was transformed from an agrarian, rural nation to an urban, industrial economy. Small, locally owned firms were replaced by large, nationally based corporations. Corporate structure became hierarchical and bureaucratic because these large firms involved complex operations that needed to be organized. Besides vertical integration, this period also involved horizontal mergers, which fueled fears of monopoly power. (Ballam, 1994).
Steam power began replacing water power, allowing factories to be built far away from water sources. Steel became the basic building material for machinery instead of wood and iron, thanks to the Bessemer process, therefore machines became larger and more resilient. Thomas Edison invented the moving picture and the light bulb, which made it possible for businesses to stay open long after dark. Around this time, the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell; this allowed for quick, nation-wide communication (Ballam, 1994). The typewriter was invented in the 1860s; this created new office jobs for women and helped them to become earners (Schultz, 2014).

The expansion of railroads was also a key factor to the rise of the industrial

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