Research Paper: Electric Power through 1932
The term “American Dream” can be described as the traditional social ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity achievable by all individuals in the U.S. It traces its roots to the declaration of American independence when everyone was regarded to be equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, pursuit to happiness and liberty. It established an ideology which provided for freedoms guaranteeing success, upward social mobility accomplished through determination and hard work. This necessitated people to work hard to pursue higher education which was perceived to be a direct ticket towards its accomplishment. However, this dream was threatened after the development of science and technology. This paper discusses how the invention of electricity negatively contributed to the realization of the American dream. It reports that it led to the de-specialization of labor; brought about through the development of the factory method and led to the increased demand for a generally uneducated, replaceable, and poor society with few opportunities for upward mobility.
Before the invention of electricity, coal was used as the main source of power. It became so prominent because it as the cheapest source of energy at the time. However, it was criticized for polluting the environment. This was not good since it would jeopardize human, animal and plants’ health. At the same time, it would render the environment unfavorable for the biodiversity. Hence, it was necessary to come up with a more environmental friendly alternative. It is for this reason that electricity was invented as its replacement. This was as a result of the contributions of Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse. Had it not been for them, electricity would not have existed. However, this did not come easily because of the numerous challenges faced. For instance, during The Gilded Age, they clashed over who would create the world’s first electrical industry. They were all mercilessly aggressive in their race to be on top and had different opinions on the exact method to use direct current or alternating current to deliver electricity to the masses. This War of the Electric currents was one of the biggest feuds in American corporate history and left the world completely transformed.
Thomas Alva Edison is known as one the nation's most famous inventor. He created the incandescent light bulb and constructed the world’s first electrical light network. “Forty years after Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, only 20% of American families had wired their homes,” Dark Light. Empires of Light discusses Edison's struggled to introduce his breakthrough in direct current (DC), which he believed to be much safer than an alternating current system (AC). He was excited to replace the gas lighting industry with his new knowledge and formed Edison Electric Light Company in 1878. It was the first electrical company that intended to provide consumable electricity to the public. Nikola Tesla transformed the generation and delivery of electricity. Tesla pushed for AC because it was the only compatible source he could use with his advancements in a new type of motor he created. George Westinghouse imagined a world powered by cheap and abundant electricity. In 1886, he formed the Westinghouse Electric Company, which also required an AC system to be able to distribute power over a greater distance and required the use of less economic resources because it did not require as much copper wiring.
The development of electricity led to the expansion of businesses. First, it introduced the use of machines in performing most of the activities which were initially done manually. The adoption of massive mechanization in the agricultural and industrial sectors rapidly contributed to their growth. Besides, it led to a massive use of the division of labor. The emergence of machines necessitated the need for specialization in which workers had to concentrate on one line of duty. Since electricity could now be used to run machines, it became more efficient to mechanize nearly all the activities. This benefited the industrialists because it helped to improve the efficiency of their production and minimize time spent during work. Some of the industries which benefited from this invention include, but not limited to the cloth, sugar and transport. For instance, the use of electricity in the cotton ginneries and rail transport improved the quality of their services and eventually expanded them.
Besides, it led to an increase in the demand for labor. The shift in labor between the 19th and 20th century are linked to the new work dynamic that these machines produced. Work has switched from the simple life of craftsmanship to working in an assembly line powered by electricity in a factory. Since machines can essentially do jobs for people, so there is no need to develop skills to do the work. The workforce has changed its demand of worker to be unskilled, which has led to many economic and social implications. With the de-specialization of labor, brought about through the development of consumable electricity and the factory method, developed a demand for a generally uneducated, replaceable, and poor society with few opportunities for upward mobility. Since machines could now be used in the production process, there was no need to recruit many laborers as it was before. This led to the loss of human craftsmanship. Meaning, people had to lose their manual skills which had been integral in the agricultural and industrial sectors. This situation led to an increase in the number of immigrants who were coming to America to look for better opportunities. Unfortunately, this ultimately threatened the achievement of “the American Dream.”
The development of electricity contributed to the low standards of living especially amongst the unskilled workers. At this time, at least 1800 workers earned a standard living through agriculture. The “American Dream” can have a variety of personal expectations from a diverse variety of people attached to its publicized unrealistic ideals of freedom and opportunity. Craftsmanship was another popular 1800s occupation. Craftsmanship was a form of highly skilled work learned at a very young age and was generally kept as a person's lifelong occupation. Children were sold (or given) at young age to be an apprentice to another skilled person of work in the 19th century. The apprentice is clothed, housed, fed, morally trained, and skill trained. The apprentice learns everything about their specific craft beginning with artistic ability, manufacturing and ending with sales production. The whole process of making and selling a good is done by one skillful worker. 19th century craftsmanship produced high value manufacturing in low volumes. Manufacturing was done on a small scale; therefore businesses could charge higher prices because competition was not a threat. Goods were made to order from specific custom made sales. The employee would get paid after the product or service was finished.
This form of occupation and relationship with employers had positive and negative aspects for workers. Once a child is sold, they must unconditionally obey their master until they allow the apprenticeship to be completed. The mentality of an American college student now is that multiple changes in career path are a normal and good thing that is socially accepted by society. During the 19th century, students had an obligation to finish apprenticeship. Even if students became adults and decided the skills they had been learning their entire lives isn’t what they want to do anymore, they couldn’t back out of the contract until the master craftsman said so. In industrial factories, were work is done by unskilled laborers working at a machine, if a person wants to quit, the manager has no problem. Unskilled workers are completely replaceable, and if one person wants to quit their job, there will be hundreds more waiting in line to take it.
Industrialization had a large impact on workplaces and society at large. The Industrial Revolution progressed as rapidly as it did due to 2 main processes: mechanization and division of labor. Mechanization means the replacement of workers with machines. Division of labor is where each person would do the same small task over and over again, instead of many different tasks. This saved the time needed to change from one task to another and made it easier to train workers since an employee only performs one task rather than many. Deskilling the work force made employers able to pay lower wages because basically anyone could do the job. Industries that required skilled workers were often the last ones to industrialize.
With technological and electrical advancements of machines, industrialization dismantled the apprenticeship system. There is no longer a familiar relationship between employer and employee. Masters do not have to pay for their food and living or teach them morals. This new system required wage laborers to sell their time and skill in return for cash. If an employee doesn't show up to work, they are fired and easily replaced. The apprentices don't have to know how to manufacture whole products. Individual companies break down the process of sales. wage laborer-sold time and skill in return for cash wage. They rarely stayed in the same position/skill/job for a long time because they have no loyalty or sense of duty to that profession. The craftsman/master turns into a manager or head of the manufacturing departments. The managers never promote apprentices/workers to their position from fear of future competition. 20th century workers entered the workforce and unskilled and left the workforce unskilled.
The most significant effect mechanization had on American business was the change in relationship between employer and employee. The relationship between master and apprentice was a family like relationship. As listed earlier, the teaching, learning and living dynamic between master and apprentice is similar to that of parent and child. Masters taught their students work skills as well as development of character. If business was doing poorly, they could not simply fire apprentices. On the contrary, they had an obligation to continue paying and caring for the worker. This type of work environment resulted in a more intimate and benevolent employer and employee relationship.
During the Green Revolution, Guano was wanted by farmers because it yielded crops at a much higher rate. Farmers needed this new method for agriculture because they needed to grow their crops at a much larger rate because of the Industrial Revolution. The needed to be able to change the ratio of being able to grow food for others from 1:1.1 to 1:160. The workers that dug up Guano were from China and became known as "coolies". The Chinese coolie trade began when Great Britain stopped slave trade, but they thought they could use Chinese workers because they were "free", but this was completely hypocritical and untrue. Chinese were brought by ship and bolted to decks for their entire passage. They were told they were "free" but could not even get out of the contract they were coerced into signing. They became severely sick from the poison they breathed in. They weren’t allowed to leave because owners dangled a debt peonage over their heads. They were paid in script so they had no choice but to stay and pay the company for everything.
Workers needed a way to protect themselves from selfish corporate leaders coined “robber barons” and they created Unions which helped workers confront life or death issues such as wages. The ARU (American Railways Union) formed under Eugene V. Debs tried to help these workers through the 1894 strike, but was not successful. Although this strike and others like it such as the The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 were not successful, they stand as testaments both to the difficulties unions faced with this new employer employee relationship and the importance of railroads to the functioning of the economy. Without this technological advancement and use of electricity, society would crumble.
Most people in the 20th century workforce had to work for someone else, and it was no longer considered highly respectable to own your own land and be a farmer. Industrialization degraded men into feeders of machines. These machines needed no skill or education to be handled, do the de-specialization of work allowed employees to pay very little for labor. This use of deskilled labor has created a society of extreme poverty in same areas, and allows for very little chance for upward mobility. Many immigrants came to the U.S. to enjoy the freedom and decent quality of life that it used to offer, but industrialization has made this extremely difficult and close to impossible.
In conclusion, the American dream was a noble ideology which promoted to the pursuit for individual fulfillment in the country. The safeguarding of individual liberty rights was a great thing in the history of America. Although it contributed to mechanization and development of the agricultural and industrial sectors, the invention of electricity negatively impacted on the achievement of this dream. It led to the de-specialization of labor, development of the factory method, and increased demand for uneducated, replaceable, and poor society with few opportunities for socio-economic mobility. The influx of the immigrants into the country eventually altered the situation leading the slow rate of the achievement of the American dream.
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