The American Industrialization, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The period between 1890 and 1920 in the United States cannot be ignored as this is the period that shaped the current social status of this nation. This is because a lot of things happened during this time which also contributed to the strengthening of America as one among the mightiest nations in the world. The social aspects of this changes looks into the lives of the people before, during and after this period and how they struggled to not only reduce the effects but also to survive.

The social change here is from the viewpoint of the immigrants that had flocked the country in search of better living conditions as well as running away from harsh living conditions of their countries, most of which were war stricken. These immigrants also have a lot to do with the way the United States progressed during this era. It has therefore been referred to as the progressive era as most of the progresses took place at this time.

Change In Living Conditions

The industrialization period in the United States was a period of change for all Americans and it had its own consequences that people had to adjust to (Golson Books). Everything that the people had been used to was being affected. There was change in the way people lived and acted, even the way families were brought up changed. During this period, there was an increased use of machinery such that rather than people using their hands, machines were the main tools of production. There were complaints that it was becoming difficult to find employment since machines were being used to make virtually everything that they could make and most of the employers did not need human labor anymore.

The small villages that people were used to started to diminish with the building of the factories and instead the emergence of cities (Chambers, 2000). As a result, there was some confusion as people did not know what to expect after that. People had to adapt to new ways of dressing, eating and communicating. The small towns and cities culminated into most of the major current towns and cities of the United States. As the nation changed, the local communities were also being transformed in their own way especially when big companies started to come in and take advantage of most of the natural resources the locals had not put into use.

Farming Activities

The farmers were also affected and though most of them welcomed the idea of using technological innovations to improve production, the lands were exposed to exhaustion and people were afraid the soils were losing their sufficiency. This made the farmers to think that a few people and commercial organizations were exploiting the lands for their own gains and gave rise to several alliances. These alliances such as the Farmer’s Alliance were formed with an aim to ensure that the farmer’s rights were protected and that legislative laws were put in place.

Immigration

This is a period that also saw a lot of immigration where people were moving in from Europe to America. The American population grew during this time as many people from outside saw a better America with the industrialization that was taking place . Since there were many factories and manufacturing plants at this time, the immigrants, in an effort to make a living provided cheap labor.

Advantages

Something good about this period is that there was an increase in production thanks to the factories that were taking root. It also opened up markets for local producers as there was now an expanded market to other regions. The United States was producing many things such as equipment, clothing as well as food stuffs that it was supplying to other parts of the world. It opened up business relations between the United States and other countries through provision of essential goods. This was facilitated by the communication networks including roads that had seen an improvement as well as growth. There was a general improvement in the accumulation of capital which led to the growth of the country as a whole with mass production of products.

Labor Unions

Things had changed and the people had to start struggling to make a living under different environments. Those who worked were introduced to the idea of labor unions which were formed to take care of the workers’ well being at work especially when it came to working conditions. With this also came the idea of strikes and employers had to deal with a lot of cases where their employers went on strike for one reason or the other. One way that the government tried to deal with this was to prevent the formation of these unions. The strikes and labor unions changed the way employers treated their employees as the people now knew what their rights at the workplace were.

Workers Challenges

Some of the challenges that workers faced at this time included irregular working conditions as well as long working hours that were not well paid for (Boston, 2005). This changed the lives of everyone since almost every member of the family now had to work if they all had to survive. There was an increase in child labor especially in mines and mills and the traditional family settings that had roles specified for each of the genders was abolished since everyone had to find a source of livelihood. This called for a change in attitudes of the people as they were now exposed to very different experiences in the work place.

They also had to change their expectations of the future and look forward to more of making their lives better as opposed to just surviving. This attitude was transformed to the next generations of the United States population and this can be seen from the ways of living of the modern America. This was also the time that large organizations and corporations emerged. These were able to survive in the current economy as there was everything they needed to make a success such as good transport networks and communication lines. Those who were able to gather wealth had it in plenty and most of these were the serious industrialists who had taken advantage of the available resources.

Emergence of the Powerful United States

As the economy of the United States grew from the effects of industrialization, the nation become a powerful force in the world. This is because it was growing rapidly from the high level of innovation and was therefore the centre of industrialization in the world. Most of the new technologies that were coming up originated from the United States. The other thing that made it very powerful was its large population that had increased rapidly due to immigration. Cheap labor was available in plenty to cater for many of the factories and manufacturing plants that were also coming up very first hence mass production was easy to achieve.

The United States was not just a social power in the world but also played an important role in the financial sector as well. Most of the things that acted in the nations favor for the acquisition of this status include the availability of enough natural resources such as land and water bodies. The technology that was rapidly growing led to many developments in the area of sciences in general as well. People were encouraged with these developments to not only make further innovations but the number of scientists working in labs also grew.

The United States’ development at this time is something that was well organized as it took roots such that the nation has been able to retain the power for a long time. Presently, the United States still plays an important role in world affairs, not just socially but also economically, politically and religiously. The government also played a major role in ensuring the success of the nation by providing the much needed atmosphere for businesses to grow. Many entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford with his car models were able to build powerful businesses that have survived from one generation to the next.

Conclusion

When it comes to the American industrialization during this era, the happenings at the time which form part of the American history contribute to the social changes for the people at the time. These include things like wars since the United States was also involved in some of the wars that occurred before and after this period. The United States also fought and conquered several nations including Cuba and with the coming of the WW1, the nation had gathered enough resources to make its military strong and was therefore a major player in the direction in which the war took. With immigration also came the mixed race nature of the United States.

Works Cited

LaFeber, Walter. The American Century 5th ed. Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill. 1998

Chambers, J. The Tyranny of Change: America In The Progressive Era, 1890-1920. New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. 2000

Dessants, B. American Industrialization, 1870-1920 Golson Books, Ltd, Staff. Age of Reform, 1890-1920. 2009