Post-Industrial Revolution: Unskilled Labor In The United States

While the United States was undergoing its post-Civil War political revolution, Americans were experiencing technological, cultural, and economic changes that brought the country into the modern age. After the Civil War, American industry changed dramatically. Machines replaced hand labor as the main means of manufacturing, largely increasing the production capacity. A new nationwide network of railways distributed goods far and wide. Inventors developed new products the public wanted, and businesses made the products in large quantities. However, this larger need for unskilled laborers also caused many negative consequences in American society resulting in reform. The three most significant consequences on the industrialization of the American
The availability of jobs in industries drew people from farms to cities in record numbers. Many interrelated developments contributed to this growth. The use of machines in manufacturing spread throughout American industry after the Civil War. Improved production methods was a way to increase the value of goods being produced. With machines, workers could produce goods many times faster and cheaper than they could by hand. The new large manufacturing firms hired hundreds, even thousands, of workers. The development of new products was also spurring this increase of production. Inventors created, and business leaders produced and sold, a whole bunch of new products. The products included the typewriter (1867), barbed wire (1874), the phonograph (1877), the electric light (1879), the car (1885) and the telephone (1876). This advance in communication provided a boost for the economy as well. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876 it provided quick communication that was important to the operation of businesses. The business boom triggered a sharp increase in investments in the stocks and bonds of corporations. As businesses prospered, people eager to share in the profits invested heavily. Their investments provided capital that companies needed to expand their operations. New banks sprang up throughout the
The laborers who worked in factories, mills, and mines did not share in the benefits of the economic growth. They usually worked at least 60 hours a week for an average pay of about 20 cents an hour, and had no other benefits. As the nation's population grew, so did the competition for jobs. The supply of workers outgrew the demand. The oversupply of workers led to high unemployment. In addition, depressions slowed the economy. The everyday life of the city poor was extremely horrible and the underprivileged suffered great hardships. The poor lived crowded together in slums that mostly consisted of cheap apartment buildings called tenements, which ultimately lead to crime. Unsafe working conditions, poor sanitation, and an inadequate diet left the people in poverty exposed to disease where there was little to no medical care. Many poor children received little or no education, because they had to work to contribute to their families' welfare. This is why a strong spirit of reform built up in America during the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many people called for changes in the country's economic, political, and social systems. They wanted to reduce poverty, improve living conditions, fair wages, and regulate big business. They worked to end corruption in government, make government more responsive to the people, and accomplish other goals. By 1917, the reformers had