How Has The Industrial Revolution Affected America

The industrial revolution had an enormous impact on many different things in America. Social Structure, urbanization, economy, and politics were just some of the many things affected by the industrial revolution during the 18th century. The industrial revolution was a very complicated time. Factories were changing from textiles to people-run machines, which paved the road for the events to come.

One of the major subjects that the industrial revolution had affected was the social structure. Throughout history, there have been different “social classes” in which people were classified in. During the industrial revolution, two new classes arose. These two were known as the “middle class” and the “working class”. Towns kept expanding into cities, and more people in America converted to working at home or at farms to working in big factories. More and more people began working in these factories, and these businesses even started accepting women and children into the workforce because they were a cheaper source of labor.

During this time, the population of the U.S. skyrocketed from five million to 30 million. Factories caused small towns to expand to huge cities, and more people began to move to these cities. However, not everything was a positive change. As people crowded into these cities, the living conditions went downhill. People started living in small, cramped apartments called “tenements”. These areas were very polluted and dirty and people tended to get sick a lot. And this wasn’t the only problem, either; during the urbanization, factories were expanding and they were very dangerous. People who tended to the machines had to have their complete focus on it. Even one distraction could cause them to get