Industrialization after the Civil War
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 AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 2
Industrialization after the Civil War
The American civil war lasted from 1861 to 1865 and then followed a period of rapid
expansion of industry and agriculture as well as increase in population growth (Lamoreaux,
2009). After the war, many industries developed especially steel and iron manufacturing plants.
Innovation increased and many patents were registered such as the typewriter, cash register,
Kodak camera among others.
This paper aims to find out if the civil war helped fuel the industrialization process
experienced in the United States. It aims to do this by finding out how industrialization
influenced the U.S. society, economy, and politics.
Before industrialization, the US society consisted of farm owners and their slaves. After
the civil war, the slave trade was abolished and the slaves became free. Due to this, new ways of
working in the farms were introduced such as crop sharing where the free slaves continued to
work but could be allocated their own land to farm. Factories that sprung up included textile
factories, iron utensil manufacturing factories. The railroads were built, cars were manufactured
and literacy levels went up (Niall, 2009).
Three major aspects of industrialization include the following. It brought about
development of the society and produced better methods of doing things. For example,
industrialization brought about a better world or society in that man was able to move from being
a slave to the environment to being able to control and use the environment to his advantage. He
did not have to wait to carry heavy loads but invented rail systems. It made man move from
being primitive to being an intellect. Another aspect that industrialization had was that it
increased trade and the economy generally the wealth of nations. There was an increase in wealth
INDUSTRIALIZATION AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 3
among the middle class and poverty reduced. Lastly, another aspect of industrialization on
politics is that it brought about Multi-national corporations and globalization where the world
has become one big village where time and space do not matter. This has brought about sharing
of cultures and ideas and adoption of best practices and technologies (Lamoreaux, 2009).
Industrialization affected various groups of people including women, children,
immigrants, factory owners and farmers. These groups were affected in different ways. For
instance, women sort employment in the factories and were paid low wages at the same time
working in poor condition. Children rights as well were not fully enforced as many companies
still continues to relay of child labor which was cheaper. Many of the children could not attend
schools in expense of rendering their labor in agricultural farms. Immigrants increased in number
as they came to United States to seek for employment. These immigrants provided labor in the
industries and factories established. Immigrants increased in number enhancing diversity that
contributed to decline in racism. Factory owners became rich from their production. They used
cheap labor to increase their profits. The last group was the farmers who suffered a great deal as
intermediaries who bought their produce at a cheap price exploited them (Niall, 2009).
Industrialization affected the life of an average working American during the period in
various ways. The period improved the economic power of the working Americans as they
earned money that sustained them. It also helped in shaping an environment where workers
agitated for their rights. Workers as well benefited intellectually as they got an opportunity to
advance their academics. Rights of women were as well established leading to their employment.
Lastly, industrialization brought about inequality as the gap between the haves and the have not’s
increased due to unfair exploitation of workers who worked many hours for little pay (Del Col,
2009).
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It is apparent that civil war brought about numerous changes during industrialization. It
impacted on the social, economic as well as political paradigms of the United States. The
economy improved benefiting the owners of the means of production. The social life of the
people also changed as many immigrants arrived in US. The period as well affected various
groups of people including children, women, farmers, factory owners and immigrants.
References
Lamoreaux, N. (2009). Entrepreneurship in the United States, 1865-1920. UCLA and NBER,
University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477; 310-825-0225
Laura, D. (2009). Life of the Industrial Worker in 19th Century England. The Victorian Web.
Retrieved 15 th July, 2014
Niall, F. (2009). The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. New York: Penguin,
2009.
