Industrilization after the Civil War
Part 1: 1. Write a thesis statement that is one to two (1-2) sentences long in which you: State you opinion on how industrialization after the Civil War influenced U.S. society, economy, and politics. Justify your response. Part 2: 2. Write a one to two (1-2) page outline in which you: Determine three (3) major aspects of industrialization during 1865 and 1920 that influenced U.S. society, economy, and politics. (Consider issues such as geography, entrepreneurship, legislative representation, etc.) List five (5) specific groups that were affected by industrialization. Provide two (2) examples for each group describing how the group was affected. (Consider issues such as race, ethnicity, gender, child labor, etc.) List five (5) ways that industrialization affected the life of the average working American during this period. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
Industrialization after the Civil War
After the Civil War, the United States experienced industrialization that impacted its economy, society and politics. It was marked by a monumental transition that swept the urbanization of the American populations, and adoption of capitalism which gave the US a new economic and political standing in the world. Carroll (2008) asserts that this demographic evolution was as a result of the rapid increase of European immigrants and the mass displacement attributed to rural-urban population. Huge rural lands had been turned into plantations in order to provide raw materials for the emerging industries, which were considered the backbone of the American economy. In order to cope up with rapid changes potentiated by industrialization, there was need for social, political and technological innovations (Carroll, 2008). On the other hand, Heim (2002) points out that after the civil war, competition intensified in the American industries which strengthened the monopoly of few industries. This later led to price-cutting, overproduction, and price deflation, giving societies the purchasing power they never had.
Among the diverse aspects of industrialization that influenced the U.S. society, economy, and politics between 1865 and 1920, is entrepreneurship. According to research, the U.S experienced an exceptional rapid economic growth after the civil war (between 1865 and 1920), with its gross domestic product (GPD) multiplying by over seven times, while its per capita product was more than double (Lamoreaux, 2008). These higher growth rates (total verses per capital GDP) infers that the U.S economy expanded as a result of adding new inputs as opposed to its increases attributed to more productivity. According to Lamoreaux (2008), America's per capita rates increased to 1.7% per year between 1870-1920 and this was the best it had accrued in history. On the other hand, its total factor productivity increased from 51.0 to 81.2 between 1870 and 1920 respectively (Lamoreaux, 2008).
After the civil war, technology gained prominence because it had been harnessed in the production of weaponry. As a result, it became an integral aspect of industrialization. Technological advances were used not only in industrial production but they were also used in agriculture to increase productivity (Zapotoczny, 2007). The widespread use of technology revolutionized industry and warfare as well (Zapotoczny, 2007) because through advanced and new technology, mass production of weapons which were more accurate, powerful and sophisticated was achieved. Besides weaponry, technology was harnessed in the construction of transport and communication networks. With all these technology, the American society benefited from faster and efficient transport.
Industrialization led to mechanization, which impacted how people worked. Mechanization brought into existence the scientific management and assembly line, which utilized the principles of mechanization like continuity, standardization, constraint and general reduction of work to what is now referred to as simple labor (Backer, n.d). This helped workers to break away for the oppression that was hardwired in their feudal loads. Since then, these principles formed the industrial culture that influences how people worked (Backer, n.d).
Although the United States had become a more industrialized society and improved the quality of life in many mays, not all groups of people enjoyed fully the benefits of industrialization. Among the groups of people who never benefited from this industrialization include: the Blacks, Italians, Irish, Chinese, and German among others. The blacks were ethnically prejudged as inferior and they were only introduced as strikebreakers (Nelson, 1975). On the oth...