Part 1:
- Write a thesis statement that is one to two (1-2) sentences long in which you:
1.State you opinion on how industrialization after the Civil War influenced U.S. society, economy, and
politics. Justify your response.
Part 2:
1.Determine three (3) major aspects of industrialization during 1865 and 1920 that influenced U.S.
society, economy, and politics. (Consider issues such as geography, entrepreneurship, legislative
representation, etc.)
2.List five (5) specific groups that were affected by industrialization. Provide two (2) examples for each
group describing how the group was affected. (Consider issues such as race, ethnicity, gender, child
labor, etc.)
3.List five (5) ways that industrialization affected the life of the average working American during this
period.
4.Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as
academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Industrialization in America after the Civil War
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
Essay Outline
The American civil war had great impact on American history since it resulted to
industrialization during 1895-1920. Both negative and positive results was borne from the
American industrialization that cut across the political, the social, and economic divide. The
three major aspects of industrialization during 1895-1920 that influenced U.S. are social,
economic, and political. Economically, the industrialization led to the expansion of business
activities and increase in trade. Socially, the lives of workers were greatly affected due to poor
working conditions and minimum wages. Politically, industrialization resulted into more political
groupings and voting power among the various segments of the population.
The five specific groups that were affected by industrialization are: Farmers (were poor slaves
and work on farms in extreme hard conditions, and agriculture changed from agrarian to
industrial); women (did not hold jobs, were caretakers, could not vote but afterwards obtained
the rights to vote and office jobs); immigrants (associated with lower wages and were and
discriminated in the workplace); wealthy (rich keeps becoming richer in expending businesses
and getting favors from legislators) and politicians (associated with greed, bribery, favoritism
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
and at the same time passed legislations in favor of women rights, ending slavery and promoting
labor rights for workers.)
Five ways that industrialization affected the life of the average working American during this
period: Many farmers left agriculture and went for industrialized jobs. Invention of machine in
factory industry made less demand of people. Women could find jobs in office setting and have
the privilege of voting right. Farmers were extremely poor, worked long hours and underpaid and
resulting in death. Freed slaves began to seek education rights and demand for proper working
conditions.
Industrialization also resulted to negative consequences such as environmental degradation,
social misfits, monopoly of certain businesses, and increased greed of human beings.
Industrialization in America after the Civil War
The American civil war is one of the most significant events in the American history
since it gave birth to industrialization. Industrialization after the Civil War had both negative and
positive consequences to the American society, economy, and politics. This is because
significant development was realized as well as drawbacks in the political, economic, and
societal set-up as a result of industrialization. This paper discusses the three major aspects of
industrialization, the five groups that were affected by the industrialization, and the ways in
which industrialization affected the life of average working Americans during that period.
During the Civil War, the Americans fought against themselves leading to great
destruction of property and loss of lives. After the fierce fight, the nation was united and this led
to several developments since they learned from their mistakes. The American slaves were set
free after the war and the federal government started to facilitate reconstruction of their economy
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
in various sectors. Following the industrialization in America, no stone was left unturned and a
lot of changes were hereby made that still affects the living conditions of the present day
Americans.
The industrialization in the United States was very pronounced and affected both the
political, social and economic aspect of the American citizens (Adams, 2014). Due to increased
productivity the Americas economy began to change since people could now complete their jobs
in their homes due to high growth in the country’s economy. The economy also changed through
the factory system which allowed a large amount of work to be completed in one location,
resulting in employment of several people into the factories. Society also changed through two
major transitions during the revolution which entailed Americans stop farming practices and
going to get better jobs in the factories. The revolution ended up affecting politics since
politicians were now concerned with expanding their business interests instead of dedicating
themselves to the needs of the poor people in the country (McCrary, 2014).
Several groups were directly and indirectly affected by the industrialization that took
place after the American civil war. Immigrants were highly affected by the industrial revolution
in America since they were associated with least wages in addition to being discriminated in the
workplace. Women and farmers were all affected by the industrial revolution era in various ways
that disrupted their conventional way of doing things (Bead, 2013). It was after the civil war that
women had jobs to do; they worked as car takers of different homes to earn a living and to
support their families. To some extent, the industrial revolution was beneficial to women since
they were able to obtain privileges like having the right to vote and to participate in active
politics. Due to the industrial revolution, farmers were highly affected since the Americans
stopped being an agricultural land to being an industrial country. Before the industrial revolution,
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
farmers had cheap labor of slaves obtained from Africa, but this stopped following the end of
civil war and the beginning of the industrial revolution (Moneyhon, 2002).
The workers formed the center stage of the American industrial revolution and were
greatly affected by its effects. Following the industrial revolution, American workers were
affected in a way that their wages were reduced, they worked for long hours and their working
conditions were very poor. It was very worse to an extend some workers even lived in the same
place where they worked despite working in an overcrowded area with poor working conditions.
More immigrants who arrived in America sought for education, including the freed slaves from
America highly needed education which was positively affected by the industrialization era. In
order to better America, people who arrived in the country also had to get the basic education to
learn English which was a great challenge. On the other side, blacks while enslaved and were not
taught how to speak English or to interact freely with the rest of the American citizens as
democracy would demand. The revolution also had effects on the side of the living conditions
where many people had to migrate to live near the factories so that they could be considered for
jobs that were available in those factories (McCrary, 2014). Moreover, there was an increase in
population near the factories and many houses were built very close to one another leading to the
development of slums.
Steel became an important component of the industrial revolution since it was a major
material that was used by the industrialists to make their new inventions and to reinforce their
machinery. In addition, steel was a very important metal during this era since it was easier to
make, easier to mine, and lighter than iron (Beard, 2013). For transportation purposes, the metal
formed an important component for rail transport system since it was used to construct the
railroads and the component of the train body and engine. The railway lines formed important
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
routes, apart from roads and seaways, for transporting raw materials from the mining areas to
their destinations. The railway lines mostly relied on the gravity and horse since the engine
system was not well developed to support the movement of very heavy loads. The railway lines
worked on the principle of reducing friction to the lowest minimum so that one horse can pull
several tons of loads with ease. The railroads also facilitated the free movement of people and
goods from one place to another leading to improved trade. The living standards of people
changed drastically since the industrial revolution enabled people to receive quality goods and
services due to technological advancements (Moneyhon, 2002).
The industrial revolution is also characterized by the production of petroleum through
coal mining. Coal became an important component of the industrial revolution since it was able
to burn and produces more energy than wood and this provided enough energy to run the steam
engines. Coal provided enough energy needed by the people to move their heavy goods by train,
road, and sea transport. Coal mining became a booming business during the industrial revolution
era due to its high demand to further industrial pursuits in all parts of the world. Before coal
mining, the United States was an industrial laggard but this changed after coal mining since the
United States quickly overtook countries such as Germany, Great Britain, and France
(Moneyhon, 2002).
Industrial revolution also enabled most persons to enjoy the power of electricity in their
homes and at their industries. This ultimately led to the discovery of the incandescent lights that
enabled the Americans to extend some of their activities at night. The middle class was greatly
affected by the discovery of electricity since they were able to receive the motion pictures. In
addition, it affected the telecommunication industry and the telephone conversations since people
in distant places could easily be reached by information. Industrial revolution also spurred more
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
innovation, leading to the discovery of the bell. In terms of construction, new architectural
designs were formulated, leading to construction of strong and reliable bridges and road designs
(McCrary, 2014). Due to increased innovation, new food conservation methods were devised
that reduce the level of agricultural wastage. Moreover, industrial revolution resulted in the
creation of more business opportunities leading to the expansion of financial institutions. The
women were thus able to get jobs and salaries that they use to sustain their families. Industrial
revolution also resulted in the importance of politics in the United States since people started to
appreciate the importance of bargaining power. The political developments led to advocacy for
slavery rights, the rights of women, and the labor rights for thousands of workers.
Despite the positive developments, industrial revolution also led to several negative
consequences both to the people and to the environment. Increased mining of fossil fuels and
mineral elements that supported various processes of industrial revolution resulted in
environmental degradation. Social misfits such as child labor laws, reduced salaries and wages,
and monopoly resulted from the industrial greed of human beings (McCrary, 2014).
To conclude, living conditions were not that comfortable due to the high number of people
migrating to live in cities. The way of life, government, and everything were affected by the
revolution which had both the positive and negative impacts, hence molding America to be a first
world country to date. This in turn led to political divisions that were used by political leaders to
pursue their own selfish course. It is thus true that the industrial revolution in America after the
civil war had both negative and positive impacts and it affected various groups of people and
various sectors of the economy.
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
References
Adams, M.C. (2014). Living Hell: The Dark Side of the Civil War. Prentice Hall
Beard, C.A. (2013). History of the United States. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
McCrary, F. (2014). American History: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Oxford University
Press.
Moneyhon, C. (2002). The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on Arkansas. University
of Arkansas Press.
