Industrialization after the Civil War: Thesis and Outline
Part 1
Thesis Statement: Industrialization after the Civil War expanded the United States economy and helped transform American social values, but it also introduced more corruption into the American political sphere.
Part 2
Society: After the civil war, many women started taking work in factories to help support their families. As women began to enter the workforce in increasing numbers, more attention was given to the importance of women’s rights. In 1920, the constitution was amended to give women the right to vote in elections.
The economy: industrialization made the average American worker more productive thanks to the factory system, which replaced the domestic system. The factory system made it possible for multiple units of production to be produced all at once rather than one at a time (“Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution”)
Politics: Corporations began to rise in political influence between 1865 and 1920. Politicians accepted bribes to write and pass laws that would advance the interests of business owners over workers (Schultz, 2013).
Five groups affected by industrialization:
Farmers: lost power and status as economy moved away from being agriculturally-based and as they lost the right to use slave labor
Women: began to work increasingly in factories and began to enjoy more rights and freedoms
Children: were often exploited as factory labor and began to work in factories rather than on family-owned farms
Immigrants: also became exploited by factory owners and were increasingly subjected to discriminatory laws, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (“Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)”).
Black people: began to enjoy more freedoms and rights than they did as slaves but still faced prejudice and discrimination under the creation of Jim Crow laws.
Ways in which the average American worker was affected by industrialization:
Forced to work long hours (12-14 hours a day)
Forced to work in unsafe and overcrowded sweatshop conditions
Worked for near-slave wages; child laborers worked for even less
Worked near or even in the factory where they were employed
Were more productive than workers of previous generations
References
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). (n.d.) Retrieved July 25, 2016, from https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=47
Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution. (2008). Retrieved July 25, 2016, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22a.asp
Schultz, K. (2013). HIST, Volume 2: US History Since 1865. Cengage Learning.
