How Did Industrialization Affect The Economy And Political Environment

The era of Industrialization during the late 19th Century had lasting effects on the American economy and political environment that remain in effect to this day. The American Industrial Revolution known as the Second Industrial Revolution, started off in Great Britain and made its way to America, then around the globe. It constituted the shift from hand labor to the manufacture of items utilizing machinery. Great efficiences were gained, both in the power to manufacture goods cheaply and efficiently as well as the provision of opportunities for people of any gender, culture, and race to operate as one, with or without skills.

American industrialization had affected four major parts of the nation’s economy. The first component was agriculture,
Farmers and immigrants who had worked in farmland served no purpose, with factories and machinery taking over. They had no other choice but to go to cities to look for work: “Cities were growing at a phenomenal rate and, while agriculture still ruled the nation, impatient farm boys and newly arrived immigrants continued to bolster the industrial workforce.” (William Cahn, page 181) The need for a labor force skilled in extensive farming operations were no longer in need and unskilled immigrants came to America to start their new life in cities as opposed to rural areas. Manufacturing facilities offered plentiful job opportunities, causing population to grow dramatically in cities. But not all was well, the industrial machine factories drew an excessive amount of people in from everywhere leading to overpopulation and high pollution: “Rapid growth and lack of planning led to inadequate basic facilities and and services. Pollution and poor sanitation led to deadly epidemics in the towns and cities.” (Urbanization in America) The excess amount of people led to gruesome living conditions. Small crowded spaces with filth everywhere was the life of a Industrial worker who could barely afford necessary necessities. The gruesome conditions and lack of wealth often lead to a spread of illness and diseases. The industrialization effects urbanization by the excessive increase of workers in cities but those who
The railroad was very important, it was able to transport goods from one set area, to anywhere needed throughout United States: “During the Second Industrial Revolution, the existing manufacturing and production methods were improved… made possible to build rail lines at competitive cost and spread transportation…” (Second Industrial Revolution: The Technological Revolution) Railroads made it easy to distribute items from manufacturers to consumers. Railroads also made it possible to transport bulky loads anywhere needed at much faster rates by land. The railway industry was essential during the increase of industrialization, it was able to get any load, light or heavy, to the client, at a phenomenal rate. This was an effect of industrialization, the railroad became more popular for the manufacturers in factories, it was the greatest distribution method on land. One additional major invention was the telephone. Before the telephone, the way of communicating was through telegraph and Morse code. Although the telegraph wasn’t the best way of communicating, it often got misinterpreted or led to bad situations. The telephone, “ … can be considered a precursor of long distance communication in a sense that it allowed communication to take place over a longer distance than through speech.” (The Technological Development of the Telephone through History) The telephone let people communicate at rates never before