History Paper 1877 - 1900
Over the years of 1877 to the 1900’s many changes were occurring. The Southern cities were changing faster than anyone could’ve imagined with new transportation, growing industries, and the end of slavery. Not to mention, the changing role of women.
In the New South by the year 1880, steel and iron mills were progressing across the North. Railroad construction was fast paced in the 1880s. Comparing 1880 to 1890 the tracks had doubled with Texas and Georgia having the biggest growth. In 1886, an agreement was made to have a standardized width on the railroad tracks. This would help create a national transportation system. By creating this, the increasing demand of buying and selling goods would be fulfilled at a faster pace. Also, with this new transportation came new land for families to move into for work.
The textile industry was growing significantly also because more people were traveling to the South. With immigrants and Southerners needing a steady form of income entrepreneurs took on the textile business not only to build good relationships with the people of the South but also to be less dependent on capital and manufactured products from the North.
Tobacco was also a growing business with Virginia leading in the sales of chewing tobacco across the nation. When the discovery of bright-leaf tobacco was made, tobacco habits were changed into the form of cigarettes by James B. Duke. He had the first cigarette-making machine installed in his plant and by the year 1900, Duke’s tobacco company was controlling eighty percent of tobacco manufacturing in the United States.
With these booming industries came low wages. The South experienced a downfall with the rise they were experiencing. Since the workers of the South were poorly paid they could not afford to buy much so the market in the South for manufactured goods was kept low as was the consumer demand. Low wages only brought in immigrants that were low-skilled so skilled laborers were more likely to go
In the New South by the year 1880, steel and iron mills were progressing across the North. Railroad construction was fast paced in the 1880s. Comparing 1880 to 1890 the tracks had doubled with Texas and Georgia having the biggest growth. In 1886, an agreement was made to have a standardized width on the railroad tracks. This would help create a national transportation system. By creating this, the increasing demand of buying and selling goods would be fulfilled at a faster pace. Also, with this new transportation came new land for families to move into for work.
The textile industry was growing significantly also because more people were traveling to the South. With immigrants and Southerners needing a steady form of income entrepreneurs took on the textile business not only to build good relationships with the people of the South but also to be less dependent on capital and manufactured products from the North.
Tobacco was also a growing business with Virginia leading in the sales of chewing tobacco across the nation. When the discovery of bright-leaf tobacco was made, tobacco habits were changed into the form of cigarettes by James B. Duke. He had the first cigarette-making machine installed in his plant and by the year 1900, Duke’s tobacco company was controlling eighty percent of tobacco manufacturing in the United States.
With these booming industries came low wages. The South experienced a downfall with the rise they were experiencing. Since the workers of the South were poorly paid they could not afford to buy much so the market in the South for manufactured goods was kept low as was the consumer demand. Low wages only brought in immigrants that were low-skilled so skilled laborers were more likely to go