How Technology Affected American Society During The 19th Century

Technology surrounds us at every moment of our lives, and we often take its presence for granted. It is important to remember its beginnings and how it shifted everyday life. The 19th century in America was a time of great change and progression. With the Industrial Revolution came an influx of new technology and ways of living, which altered the daily lives of American citizens. While the rapid advancement of technology may have had some negative effects, the developments of technology and work during the 19th century overall positively affected American society, as seen in the rise of the middle class and changes in gender roles and family structure. The negative consequences of technological advancement during this time are important to acknowledge. One area that sees this is the government's neglect of working
This shows that despite the growth in wages and the working class, people were not paid enough for the work that they were doing. Having to rely on children to contribute financially to the household is something that should never have to be done. The owners of these large industries had no care for this consequence and only placed importance on making sure that they were seeing most of the profit, and the government was also complacent in this mistreatment of workers. The federal government protected big businesses because of the boost they brought to the economy. When workers’ unrest and displeasure with their treatment grew, they began to organize labor unions and go on strike. A famous example of a strike during this time is the case of In re Debs (1895), which was in response to the Eugene v. Debs case where railroad workers boycotted Pullman cars. As a result of In re Debs, “..the Supreme Court approved the use of court injunctions against strikes, which gave employers a very powerful legal weapon to break unions,” (Newman & Schmalbach