American Life In The 1800s

“Humanity made its first tentative steps into an industrial way of life that would, over the next two centuries, forever change the world” (Jeremy Rifkin). Even though industry would help humanity advance into new frontiers, people during the 1500s placed most of their energy into farming and agriculture because it was the main source of profits at the time. Depending on where a farmer lived, they would grow different products or they owned livestock. For the most part, the North raised livestock while the South grew crops such as corn, wheat, rice and the cash crop, cotton. American’s everyday life was slowly being molded by the new inventions being introduced. Some innovations include the textile factory, the railroad, and the Cotton Gin,
The railroad transported people to places they couldn’t normally travel by foot. Traveling as a passenger by train was the cheapest and most efficient transportation of the time. This allowed people to find jobs outside of where they lived, which, like the textile factories, helped provide people with more opportunities and jobs and helped provide for their families (Outman 46). Additionally, it aided the expansion of population into parts of the US that were previously lesser-travelled and populated sparsely. This in turn led to more physical space for the Industrial Revolution to take root in. People could take trains to the West and bring with them plans for factories and more railroads, as well as bringing with them permanent moves. Transporting goods by train also helped facilitate the positive impact of industrialism spread to previously unreachable areas. Products carried by railroads arrived much faster to their destination than any other method of transport before trains. It helped keep markets stocked with fresher produce, which in turn helped families live healthier lives, and also helped factories in the North obtain the massive amounts of cotton needed from the South faster to feed the demand for cloth (Hays 9). In addition, railroads ignited the iron, steel, and coal industry and connected various regions of America into one
Railroads assisted with transportations of people and goods and helped people find jobs elsewhere. Advancements in agriculture and farming led to more nutritional crops and the faster growth of the harvest. Combined, these innovations worked together to better America’s economy, as they provided more jobs, which prompted manufacturers to hire more workers, who brought home more money to their families, who spent that money on goods, which was fueled back to the manufacturers in a big circle. Also, improvement in trade and relationships with other countries came from the better economy and advancements on American soil. Slowly but surely, these inventions made their way into American lives. They changed society for the better, because they made our country more money, and more money allowed people to pursue things in their free time that they couldn’t before, instead of having to work all the time just to scrape by in a down-and-out economy that wasn’t getting any better. Previously there was a rift between the well-tended, if not efficient, agriculture fields and the higher-class, inner-city citizens buying goods from those farmers. The farmers were poor, and the others rich. But, these innovations come to society and better society. As Jeremy Rifkin said, humanity in this time period reached for the industrialism that promised a positive future with factories, railroads, and farming