In the early 1900s, The U.S. had faced a lot of problem. The overcrowded cities as a result of too much immigration was one of the major problem. There were too much competition to find a job for most of those who weren’t wealthy, so most of them have to work even in the worst condition with the least wages. The working condition was terrible there were too many workers, and business owners who were interested to pay the least wages to get the most profit. Workers had to work hard to keep their job and be able to pay their bills. Women and children have to work in a very bad situation long in a dangerous and unhealthy environment for a long hours. Most of them couldn’t bare the situation and got sick, but still they have to work to keep their
The article “Life on the Global Assembly Line” by Barbara Ehrenreich and Annette Fuentes talks about how women’s are being exploited in the Third World countries. It discusses that an American worker earns a large sum of money as compared to a Third World worker, doing to the same job. Women mostly occupy the boring and painstaking jobs in the factory. Ehrenreich explains that the working conditions for the factories are very poor; therefore twenty girls live together in one room at the some places. Work places are not just congested, but are also littered with hazards.
The early 20th century was a great time for America. Industrialization was booming as more and more factories were coming up in the most populous cities. Stockyard jobs were created in exponential numbers, employing many young people as well as immigrants. Hiring these naive individuals allowed for the hierarchical manipulation of these people. Capitalism was a large problem, feeding the bosses large suppers as the workers starved.
As this was a new group, they had no true representation. Companies at this time were used to exploiting their workers for little to no pay, as well as making them long hours all seven days. Because of this many unions were very reluctant, or even outright refused, to compensate their workers properly during the early 20th century. American workers saw what was happening in other countries, where worker revolution and civil unrest was taking place.
Hardships were often faced in the early 1900’s by all people. The people in cities in the early 1900’s wereare no exception. Many people dealt with poverty, sanitation, education, and even employment issues everyday. City life in the United States duringin the early 1900’s created a struggle for men, women, and children who faced many hardships, health issues, and employment problems.
Along with the work force came a change in who was working. During World War I, women had no choice but to work to support the families while their men were off fighting in the war. The womens movement and progressivism throughout World War I made it possible for women to not only continue working but to vote along with all other Americans due to the nineteenth amendment. Not only did Roosevelt help corporations but he also wanted to help Americans that were dying in his American states. President Roosevelt not only helped to put millions on Americans back to work but the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corp and the CWA, Civil Works Administration also help put Americans back to work.
After the Civil War, our country was battered and beaten, but it rebuilt itself over time and spread its policies, as well as manufacturing practices, throughout our country. Early in the 20th century, members of our nation started to look at some of these practices and policies and began to question their merit and whether they assisted our population or not. Many people were involved in the progressive movement in America from the presidents to a slew of popular authors and photographers. The one thing that they had in common was that they saw problems with how various industries in our nation performed that they knew needed to be fixed. They did not always agree on everything, such as immigration, but they always had the nation’s best interest at heart.
This same issue is also portrayed in a documentary called “Made in L.A.”, in which women workers in garment industry had to work 10 to 14 hours a day, often denied them to eat, and using restrooms, and they had to contend with unpaid wages and overtime. In both the article and the documentary women workers had to struggle for basic economic justice. In the documentary, Maria was fighting due to working conditions, a meager salary, and domestic abuse that left her struggling for her children’s future. Maura was fighting to support her children who were back in El-Salvador. In the article, women in Cambodia were actually fighting for their unborn child because when they become visibly pregnant they were either fired or forced to have an abortion.
Parents were trying to make more money by selling their houses, cars, and disconnecting phones but most people never had phones. Most adults that were working lived without a dependable income. No one knew how much the pay was going to be. Companies were losing money just like everyone else in America. People in America were in a very dark time because of all of
During the nineteenth century, there was a major rise in industrialization. The united states was becoming a more industrialized country with many new technology. As the country became more industrialized, there were more employment opportunities for people in the united states. For example, in the textbook it says, “From 1880 to 1920, the number of industrial workers in the nation quadrupled from 2.5 million to over 10 million, while over the same period urban populations doubled, to reach one-half of the country’s total population(511). This shows that the employment rates have rose do to the industrialization growing.
During the period of the Gilded Age, there was a transformation in American history which situated thousands of new immigrants from Europe and China with hopes of heightening up the labor force of different industries like construction, factories, railroads, and coal mining. In this time of increased “mechanization of industry”, there were many factory workers and warehouse laborers that entered in a new middle class. During the 1870s and 1880s, the U.S. economy rose at its fastest rate in history: there was an increase of real wages, wealth, GDP, and capital formation. Overall, America was beginning to provide a working-middle class that was in search of mass leisure and mass consumption. The World’s Fair in 1893, had a need for much of the public to hold such a commemorate gathering.
With the influx of immigrants, and the monopolistic industries, unskilled work was a common job and many people lived in poverty because of this. The conditions of the workplaces, the pay of the workers, and the treatment of the workers, are what caused an uproar. Theodore roosevelt was the first President to pass Legislation which supported the labor Unions. In his Square Deal, Roosevelt instituted regulations on many industries including 8-hour in specific industries like the irrigation industry, and in general, it helped the lives of laborers all around. During the 1912 election, this was a very popular belief among every candidate.
The 1920’s were a time of great change and revolution. Many immigrants arrived from their foreign lands in search for the same goal as any other immigrant at the time, the American Dream. Stories told of immigrants coming with nothing, eventually to find their dreams come true sparked around every corner, and many too, wanted to be a part of the great influx of dreams come true. At least, that was the ideal situation.
However, due to the high number of immigrants there was a competition for jobs. Soon the laborers were willing to work at any price under any circumstances as long as they had a job. The immigrants were ambitious and needed money to pursue their American Dreams. Although, those dreams were quickly shattered by the capitalists. The
But not all work done by children should be accepted as child labor. In other words, if a work doesn’t harm child’s health or personal development (educational issues), it is generally accepted as something positive and useful. Such activities develop children’s skills, provide experience and formulate them to be part of society. The term “Child Labor” is when children do work that damages their health or hamper mental or physical
All over the world, there are children who are being forced to work all day for less money than adults that have the same occupation. Americans need to stop allowing themselves to support businesses that us child labor to produce their products because of the damaging effects to the children's physical and mental wellbeing. Millions of children are being forced to work in harsh conditions for businesses that don’t care for their employees. (Sekimoto) Most of the children start working for these companies at 8 years old or younger.