Katie Unes
HUSH 3
Industrialization
Industrialization in the United States began mainly in the Northeast region due to the natural harbors, which allowed for urban growth; richer families, who would invest in new factories; and easier transportation. The South was falling behind because they were not adapting to the economy. The industrialization effected many aspects of American’s lives. The new factories and companies provided many jobs, however, the conditions for the workers were not favorable. The factory owners reaped the benefits while the employees got the short end of the stick. They worked long, difficult hours and were paid close to nothing. The conditions were incredibly unsafe and unsanitary, but since there were no unions, the issue was left unattended to. Another huge issue of employment was the occurrence of child labor; about fifty-percent of workers were children. During this time the rich had a pretty good life. They were getting richer because their capitals were growing and they were getting the benefits of the factories. On the contrary, the poor were not in a good position. They continually declined moneywise and were living in terrible conditions. There were many people, though, who were not necessarily poor, yet they weren’t rich either. These people were the emerging middle class of the time. The middle class did not have awful living conditions, as the poor did, but were not living the comfortable life of the rich. They were in between when it came to living conditions. Families and home life were also, not just their conditions, were affected by the industrialization, as well. Families became closer and smaller. Marriages became love-based, rather than arranged. Women would become housewives after they were married and would stay at home to raise children and deal with everything that needed to be dealt with in the home. The