Industrial Workers Response To Industrialization

From 1865 to 1900, the farmers responded to industrialization significantly by forming alliances and movements. The farmers responded by creating the Farmer’s Alliance. The Farmer’s

The Gilded Age was a great time for social change and economic growth. Between reconstruction and the dawn of the new century, the Gilded Age saw rapid industrialization, urbanized, railroads, technology, and the rise of big businesses. The nations were split into two halves that hated each other and nobody had enough money. The last three decades of the 19th century is called the Gilded Age which is one of the most dynamic periods in american history. During the Gilded Age america’s industry economy exploded generating opportunities for individuals but also leaving many farmers and workers struggling. Industrial leaders such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller revolutionized business and ushered in the modern corporate economy, but

Some Americans could enjoy the changes since the market revolution whereas others saw it as the end of their liberty. Farmers were happy before the market revolution they had the freedom to be their own boss. However, after the market revolution, they were forced out of their home, breaking up families and the community system, which was a form of support.

Both the AFL and the Knights had labor unions involved with them.Another simmalerity is nether accepted unskilled labor such as factory workers. For instance you are under the protection if you are a plumber however if you are a simple factory worker you were on your own.

As industrial strength grew and technology advanced, labor in America changed. Machines replaced many of workers’ old duties and some skilled laborers who had been previously valued became easily replaced. Immigrants who were willing to work under poorer conditions flooded into the United States, big businesses grew, and political machines whose interests were not that of the people occupied the government. Laborers worked ten hour shifts, six-day workweeks, and started work as children. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, he describes the painful and vigorous work in the meat-packing industry, saying, “The hands of these men would be criss-crossed with cuts, until you could no longer pretend to count them...They would have no nails, they had worn them off pulling hides; their knuckles were swollen so that their fingers spread out like a fan. There were men who worked in the cooking-rooms...in these rooms the germs of tuberculosis might live for two years.” These suffering Americans appealed to the government and labor unions for help, but they did not receive it due to lack of union organization, big business ties, and laissez-faire economic ideals. During the Gilded Age, the U.S. government suppressed the average industrial worker, and labor unions, though created for laborers’ aid, accomplished little and were futile when facing big business and government.

It is a difficult task to challenge the social and economic policies of a country, especially one as patriotic as the United States during the post wartime Red scare era of the 1920 's. labor unions could account for this as they saw their membership fall from a high of 5 million in the 1920s to a mere 3.6 million by 1923(Rosenzweig 353). A combination of Supreme court decisions, Employer pressures and in many cases a lack of a strong leadership seen in previous individuals like Samuel Gompers contributed to this.Yet this trend surprisingly didn’t remain consistent as the great depression emerged around the 1930s.In fact they tripled there membership during the 1930s(Rosenzweig 429).They opened up, recruiting millions of women in their causes

The Gilded Age is defined as the time between the post-Reconstruction era and World War 1 in which the U.S population and economy grew quickly, however, there was a lot of political corruption and corporate financial misleadings. The reforms of the Progressive Era resolved many of the alleged problems during the Gilded Age such as unethical business practices, tainted food supply and poor and unsafe conditions for factory workers.

The period between 1865 to 1900, also known as the Gilded Age, was an era of rapid industrialization, immigration, and capitalization in America. After the civil war, previously used factories remained and flourished as manufacturing started to replace farming; which was possible due to vast immigration from Southern and Eastern part of Europe. With an available cheap labor source, businesses rose to great heights, and competition thrived. While companies thrived, working laborers and citizens suffered. Because industrial statesman expanded wealth and created opportunities, but also exploited workers, disrupted competition, and manipulated factors of production, it is justified to characterize the industrial leaders of the Gilded age as both

In a time when America was coming out of the bloodiest war that was ever fought, against themselves, The Civil War, and when America looked overseas for a new frontier with Imperialism. It is in this context that America started to grow westward with farm land and in industry with the million of workers, but America still felt growing pains. Two significant ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) were the formation of organizations to protect farmers, and the creation of labor unions and the use of strikes to protect the workers.

After the Civil War many problems arose. For farmers- shipping rates, freight rates, silo prices, and interest rates all skyrocketed. Many businessmen, such as middlemen, would try to take advantage of the farmers needs to mooch more money off of them. All of these issues caused the Farmer’s Alliance to form. The farmers that were participating in the alliance were being directly affected by the rise in rates and prices. Profits for the farmers were getting smaller and smaller due to the increase in prices for the goods to be sold. These farmers believed in many different things- they believed in rules and regulations for the road (which included the fact that the government should control the railroad), lower tariffs, and that money should be based off of silver standard. For the industrial workers, their working conditions were not ideal. Each worker did not get paid nearly enough to support them and their families, even though they worked ten plus hour days, six days a week. Workers were not paid for sick days or injury. Problems like these angered the workers and caused labor unions to form. Some labor unions included the American Federation of Labor (AFL), or the Knights of Labor (KoL), which were the first two industrial labor unions. The industrial unions did more physical rebellion such as strikes or walk-outs, but both the industrial unions and the farmer unions were formed due to the people’s

In a time, 1865 marked the end of Reconstruction of the North and the South after the Civil War. The start of the Second Industrial Revolution began with the invention of electrical power and mechanical engines. The United States expanded westward like never before with the creation of railroads, oil, and steel. The Election of 1896 marked a critical election when Republican William McKinley, United States President from 1897-1901, defeated his opponent in one of the most dramatic and complex elections in the young country’s history. Using the idea of American Imperialism, the United States aimed to spread their political, economic, and cultural control within the government over areas beyond their boundaries. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age from 1865-1900 in their own significant ways. Farmers organized the Granger Movement and Farmers Alliance to deal with industrialization. Industrial workers formed the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor in response to industrialization.

The life of an industrial worker was very hard. Workers had to work long shifts and get paid very little. Some worked ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week, and made less than one dollar per hour. Along with long hours and little pay, there was no regulation for breaks, safety, or age. Due to this, one in eleven workers died on the job. Eventually it got to the point where these workers were working so much, but barely made enough to support their family. The Knights of Labor was the first national labor group formed in 1869. This group wanted to gain an eight-hour workday, expel asian workers and immigrants from the far east, and stop child labor. Around the same time a new national organization named the American Federation of Labor (AFL) formed when the Knights of Labor union declined. The new organization was led by Samuel Gompers, a cigar maker that helped to form the union. The AFL advocated for most of the same things as the Knights of Labor. The American Federation of Labor used strikes and boycotts against owners to try and get what they wanted. Two major strikes that occurred were the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike. Both strikes were very dangerous and had millions of dollars of damage. Some of the strikes and boycotts did work and wages were raised, however some backfired and many workers ended up losing their

Industrialization was a time in which the lives of Americans were changing drastically. It was an era, that help shape America to the form that it is today. During the Industrialization, many may argue that it was a time where our people and land was treated horrible. But, this time period led us to greater and farther things that we didn’t know was possible. This Revolution was a step towards a dramatic and positive effect to America.

Industrialization was a cause of tension between laborers and the owners of capital. The Gilded Age was a time with large and rapid economic growth, and additionally helped capitalism strengthen in America. Industrialization and innovation sparked more, unregulated manufacturing where the capital owners’ net worth boomed. However, tensions arose in these larger companies. The laborers wages were reduced, which led them to fight for a decent dollar. This exact situation occurred in 1877 with the Great Railroad Strike, otherwise known as the Great

The farmers were affected by the Industrialization as they were forced to look for other jobs because factories and machinery were being used to do their work. This sent many of them to the city where they explored the new technology and learned how to use it to their advantage. They did this by learning to focus their energy on food production and the quantity as well as the quality of the food produced (using new seed drills and iron plows), and then sold the crops to business owners to sell. The farmers who did not go to the city to explore the technology still did well for themselves. Due to the increased need for other resources such as oil, steel, and coal, they left farming to work as miners and support their families. When issues arose in the farming industry (lowered prices of crops, railroads charging farmers high prices for shipping, and less demand for for crops,) a Farmers Alliance was formed (Farmer’s Southern Alliance.) They gained 1 million members to come together to help solve the economic issues for farmers. Another Farmer’s Alliance that was created to improve the economic conditions, was the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance. They were created for the same purpose as the Southern alliance, but only African American farmers were in this organization. Overall The farmers during the Gilded Age were accepting of the Industrialization and even found ways to incorporate the technological advances into their lives, and when problems arose they thought of