Pros And Cons Of Industrialization During The Gilded Age

In 1860 through 1900 America experienced a huge period of industrial growth. This was due to 3 reasons. The first was that there was a huge tide of immigrants coming to America, second is that there was a lot of new inventions, and third being that the Civil War stimulated mass production techniques. Immigrants provided big companies with cheap labor, and lots of it. From 1880 to 1921, 23 million immigrants came to the U.S looking for work and opportunity.

Following the Civil War, the United States was made up of plentiful farms and few cities. In comparison to European countries, such as England, industrialization within the US was significantly slow, and the influx of Western settlers as well as the lack of available labor predicted the country would always stay rural. However, for the subsequent forty years, production and industrialization would surge, the labor force and population would increase, and the US would soon be known as the greatest industrial nation in the world. America’s huge industrial growth from 1860 to 1900 was a result of the Republican Party’s platform and the rise of efficient machinery.

In the stage following the Civil War, Industrialization had many leaders. These leaders helped boom the growth of the economy and the industry in the United States. As historians have looked closer at the people who helped America become one of the leading industrial powers of the world, they’ve come to question the honesty of how these leaders really obtained their fortunes. The industrial and business leaders of the 1865-1900, also known as “Robber Barons, used various methods in order to build up their own wealth and power. These would use mechanisms that would go against the public population more often than not and those that would go near extremes.

Throughout the 19th century, industry as a whole became a major power house of society. Lust for invention and scientific thinking were encorporated into the mindsets of the American population. Sparked from thought and invention -- most notably from Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, the Wright Brothers, and Henry Ford -- industry was vital in influencing social and economic competition. As poverty increased in America -- resulting from rapid immigration and a competitive market economy -- so did wealthy individuals gain monetary stature. While some of those gaining wealth during this time period could be considered "Robber Barons", as they manipulated the law, influenced elections, and misinterpreted the truth in order to make gains,

As shown in document A, the price of food, fuel, and lighting all dropped significantly from 1870 to 1900. This drop in price of necessary goods meant that people didn’t have to spend as much money on such items and could instead spend it on items for comfort and leisure. This lead to an increase in the quality of living across the entire country. Another way that the big businesses of the time were able to control the economy was by destroying all other competition in their respective industries. Businesses were able to do this through tactical pricing, trusts, pools, and vertical integration.

With the landscape of America being changed by the expansion of the railroad–which tripled in miles between 1860 and 1890–and a growing population, mass production, distribution, and marketing drove the country into the “second industrial revolution.” Manufacturing and steel production skyrocketed, creating mass migration–and immigration–to industrial cities. With new technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs, the country experienced rapid economic growth. While it would seem that Americans had finally reached the land of milk and honey, it appears they had fallen short; they had arrived in The Gilded Age.

Unregulated capitalism was a negative aspect for industrialization because of the what happened to the government and the senate and because of the wages and how unfair they were. Unregulated Capitalism was negative during Industrialization in the Gilded Age because, monopolist had more power than the government. According to ¨The standard oil Octopus Cartoon¨ by Udo Keppler, September 7, 1904, in Puck magazine, there is a ¨squid¨ that represents industrialization, the squid has the White house and the senate under his tentacles. This shows that the squid is in control and the squid represents monopolist and monopolist control a lot of things back then.

The Reconstruction era has ended and Americans are seeking a way to reach the American dream. With the gold rush leading the way, a significant amount of Americans wanted to reach the top, and many of them started large monopolies. The Gilded Age is an era that can be described as America’s greatest era, but the reality is dark. Corporations were taking advantage of the nation’s increasing economy, and the most affected were the people. The industrialist was able to amass tremendous wealth by exploiting the people, justifying their actions with social Darwinism and the government’s protection, which promotes social class divisions.

Abstract - The Gilded Age led to economic progress for the United States. During this time, manufactures relied heavily on technological innovations in order to make a profit. The goal was to mine, grow, and process large quantities of products and goods in order to sell them quickly and efficiently. While doing so, manufactures also raised the standard of living and people were losing their

Industrialization and Industrialists had many important impacts on America. The era of industrialization known as the " Gilded Age" opened up many new doors for the American people. The industrialist Andrew Carnegie had one of the biggest impacts on America by far. Carnegie was responsible for the production of steel.

Thesis : After the Civil War, America was in a post-war boom. During the 1870-1890, big business moguls, such as Rockefeller and Carnegie, create huge corporations which not only affected the economy, but also affected the political realm of America. While many may assume that during the rise of these big business helped to change the economy and politics,  the real focus was on the responses formed by society, such as labor unions, increase public outcry, and political opposition groups that helped to change society. A: Economically, big business flourished during the late 1800s.

Industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age by forming labor unions such as the Knights of Labor and by fighting for his or her rights through strikes and riots. Farmers during the Gilded Age were angry with industrialization because the rapid increase in industry caused an economic decline and caused the farmer’s profits to decrease significantly. Industrialization is defined as the development in industry in a country or region. Due to J. D. Rockefeller, who was a very wealthy entrepreneur of his time who found a product he could use, improve, and make a successful business out of selling, and other

History Paper The Industrial Revolution brought radical change to the United States in what is now called the Gilded Age. As the country transitioned from an agricultural based economy to a industry based economy, the richest men in American history were crowned. The legacy of these men, now deemed robber barons by some, and captains of industry by others, have shaped America forever. One of the most prominent figures of the time, Andrew Carnegie, pushed America forward, and made amazingly generous charitable contributions, but the scandals regarding the treatment of his employees will forever tarnish his legacy.

Industrialization's Rise The great titans of the U.S Industrial Revolution could never have become so gigantic if they did not play their cards perfectly. And they did indeed play their hands correctly, by taking advantage of all the resources they had available to them at the time. Not only did the great titans of this era, such as Standard Oil, invent and utilize a great number of machines to amplify the magnitude of business they could conduct, they also employed and took advantage of the grand pool of immigrants to employ. Furthermore, these "Robber Barons" invested further in this Industrialization, with some like J.P Morgan pooling his money into even more inventions.

The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).