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While transportation began to encompass more areas it became easier to buy and sell goods, as well as, or people to migrate from one place to another. Supply and demand created Jobs, which lead to the building of cycles and new laws to go with It. These Industrial changes after the Civil War Impacted the way many groups of people lived their lives as the gap between rich and poor began to steadily grow. While industrialization made it easier to travel, buy, and sell goods, it also gave rise to new social, economical, and political problems.
After the CIVIC War Many of the great privileges we enjoy today like driving from one state to another, fathers not embraced change. Many changes were happening all over the world and f the United States was to grow as a nation it had to keep up and compete with other countries. Three aspects that really changed how life was lived after the war were transportation, arbitration, and work conditions. Trains along with boats made it easier for people to buy and sell at a faster rate which led to supply and demand of goods or services.
Businesses trying to keep up with the demand opened mills and factories then hired many workers that led to people moving away from agrarian society. Looking for work outside the home made it possible for business to have enough people to work machines that mass produced product for sale (Macaroni, 2010). These significant changes from the Industrial Revolution affected how the Government worked, the original indigenous people lived, and how Reconstruction ended. Prior to powered boats, people had to rely on winds and paddles to sail the sea.
Before there were trains, by animal or on foot was the way to travel. Industrialization was beginning to take place prior to the Civil War, but it was not until after the war that change really began to spread throughout the country. Transportation was one of the many changes that really took shape after the war. With the help of Congress, financially motivated railroad companies began to expand their tracks from East to West. Now that migrating from New York to California was less time consuming, people starting moving about more freely.
Goods and services were being transported to a wide range of consumers at a faster rate, so the need for hired workers was in high demand. Society changed in a big way because for the first time in history people were coming from all over looking for work which included eely freed slaves, immigrants, and women. The economy swelled as big business hired cheap labor to work in mills and factories to mass produce goods to sell. Congress had to adjust their political view to coincide with the social and economical changes happening.
For example, the railroad strike of 1877 required the Government to send the National Guard to break up strikers which pushed labor activism into government hands. Even thought it would be some time before Congress did anything to help the distressed workers, it would be safe to say that the remonstration system benefited, but also challenged society the economy and politics (Schultz, 2014). The world of Business was materializing in this young nation with technology and inventions being produced at a rapid pace making entrepreneurs in search of more laborers.
Civilization started to move closer to these promising new Jobs and soon housing and towns started to be built to accommodate the migrating people. These lodging units would come to be known as slums, and many people would realize that this new way of life was not as good as previously thought as diseases and contamination started to spread. At one point it was estimated that an Irish immigrant could expect to work only 14 years in Boston before poor conditions led to his death (Mooney, 2011). Despite the poor living circumstances people continued to live and work in these urban areas.
The growing economy was being pushed along by Government funding to science, development, research, training, taxation, and making of currency. Politically this opened the door for poor business practices as there were no laws or regulations for nor against monopolies, treatment of workers, damage to the environment, and price gouging to encouraged and supported at federal and state level. Even going as far as protecting family wealth by allowing business officers to sell stock in their company, so if sued liability was limited to the shares held (Schultz, 2014).
With transportation and big business ventures moving society along, the working class was often over looked. Industrialization brought money in at a faster rate and entrepreneurs wanted more from their workers at any and all cost. Since work was now the main focus of life, family was no longer the core source for work, education, and socializing. This new outlook of work hard and be successful led to poorly built mills and factories that caused health problems like lung cancer, children with bowed legs, and many deaths (Mooney, 2011).
The economy dealt with these challenges by forming unions to fight for better wages and work conditions. Employers did not like these unions and they would fire workers that had any dealing with one. Companies would also have laborers sign yellow dog contracts agreeing not to Join a union and blacklisted union activist so other employers knew not to hire these workers. Unfortunately, the overspent had no laws or regulations against the mistreatment of laborers and was allowed to treat them however they saw fit.
When the regime did get involved they almost always sided with the corporations by helping to break up strikes. Labor activist never gave up and in 1868 an eight hour work day was mandated (Schultz, 2014). Working conditions did indeed effect the working class quite a bit and change only happened when people banded together to fight for a common cause. Corporations, poor working conditions, and transportation are a few aspects that brought America to the forefront it is at today. However, it was a long hard road Just to get here and many have suffered along the way and some more harshly than others.
One of the longest suffering groups of people were Black Americans, this was before and after the Civil War. After the Thirteenth Amendment was passed outlawing slavery, reconstruction of the South was under way but only lasted a few years until industrialization over shadowed it, ended it in 1877. Not that it did much after freeing them, but it did help at least free people who were at one time considered property of their Master’s. Industrialization hurt an already hurting group f people by not treating all employees equal, as employers are suppose to do now.
Meaning, black American’s were paid wages as little as white women or even less, which lead to many lynching’s of black American’s as races competed for work. Additionally, newly freed slaves were not given all the rights that whites had, and the few rights that were given to them ended through Jim Crows law and many other laws that were made to mimic slavery days (Schultz, 2014). Though no group has suffered as long as the black American’s have other groups were also affected by industrialization. Indian’s were the indigenous people of this land before it became the United States.
These groups of people also suffered great losses of people and land as more and more people came to America. After the war, treaties were written up to put Indians on reservations (Osborne, 2006). However, the granted land was constantly being invaded by white American’s which led to the Sand Creek Massacre in 1964 that killed more than 200 Cheyenne Indians. After the massacre, a peace policy was put into place by President Grant, but even that could not stop the deep racism whites had at that time. Yet again, in 1876 the Indians were invaded by the 2,500 Sioux, Custard loss 200 men in that invasion.
Had industrialization not taken hold many of these lives could have been saved (Schultz, 2014). Lastly, farmers were another set of people that suffered as the United States began to make a name for its self. When the war ended so did slavery, and since most slaves worked on plantations that meant almost all farmers had to hire laborers or do the farming themselves. So naturally some whites were angry that years of tradition were being broken. Regardless, other challenges the farmers faced during industrialization were ordered crop price and the cost to keep up with the fast pace.
Farming life is slow, it relies on weather and working the fields to yield crops that could be sold for profit, but the industrial pressure for supply and demand began to speed up and take its toll. Most farmers were in debt from buying machines that would help make farming life easier. Unfortunately, at the same time the price of crops went down. This would make the loans impossible to pay back if at all. This all happened because of over production of crops and the use of the gold standard as currency, but then ran low n gold.
Leaving farmer’s with lower pay and rising debt led farmers to come together to form a union known as the Grange Movement or Farmers’ Alliance to express the plights of farmers in the new industry. What we can conclude from these few events is that they are all one small part that built the world we grew up in and know today. Life during and after the industrial revolution affect everybody differently. If you were a business owner you had to deal with buying equipment, repairing equipment, paying your employee’s, maybe housing them, raw materials, asking sales, and not being undercut by another business so you could stay in business.
Industrialization caused small business to turn into corporations by competing for the most sales. As a woman you would have to think about education, marriage, working the family business if there was one, or working in a factory. If you were a black woman, you would think about how not to draw attention to yourself, education, marriage, and work. Women and especially black women were treated unequally by not being allowed to vote or own property. I would imagine that many people felt depressed, hopeless, and immense anger at the corporations controlling the government and the populace.