How Did The Second Industrial Revolution Affect America

The Reforms of the Hepburn Act Crowds of fatigued men flock to the crow of the whistle for their day of backbreaking work away from their families, receiving little pay in perilous conditions. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, railroads became one of America’s rudimentary industrial enterprises. However, in a century of ruthless “Robber Barons” and their powerful monopolies, many lower class laborers were accustomed to meager wages, hazardous working conditions, and incessant shift hours. Most popular for its corruption, the railroad industry was headed by the captains Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould. In 1877, many railroad companies took advantage of more isolated areas through unfair shipping practices and inconsistent pricing (Laws.com).

During the 19th century, the American people were experiencing a revolution concerning both the economy and religion, in what is recognized today as the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. A rapid increase in the population within the countryside, and the development of new technology outburst a change in the economy from one of local exchanges to one governed by capital and capitalists. Family owned businesses began to expand and sold their items not only among a small community, but now products were being shipped to different ports along the colonies. The industrialization movement was rapidly approaching that “Indian removal was necessary for the opening of the vast American lands to agriculture, to commerce, to markets, to

Pioneers' movement West created demand for means of transportation to new territories.” Populations that desired to expand and travel would have benefited from railroads, because they provided fast and safe transportation. Railroads could not only haul coal and iron, but they could haul farmers’, miners’, and loggers’ products. The Library of Congress states, “Railroads were necessary to transport the farms' harvests to the cities. At the same time, railroads also supported an industrial boom fueled by the exploitation of natural resources.

What would society be like today if it were not for the Industrialization of America after the Civil War? In years following the Civil War the United States experienced a big change in industrialization. Industrialization had a big impact on the United States. We were the leading industrial nation and our gross national product was growing very fast. Many people left their farms to go and work in mines,factories, and some even became investors, or entrepreneurs.

Without the development of railroads, America would not have become what it is today. The railroad played a huge part in the economy and in the war. Many people were able to build their lives because of how easy it was to move objects. Before the transcontinental railroad was made the way goods were transported was by sea around South America. The railroad stretched 2000 miles through the America compared to the 18,000 miles needed for ships to travel.(“Digital History”) With this shorter distance allowed for more people to be able to obtain goods.

The Gilded Age brought America many different technological advancements such as the railroad system, kerosene, steel, and light bulbs. These advancements impacted the lives of people in America. The railroad system impacted the lives of American people by making travel much faster. Instead of the trip taking 6-7 months it can now take up to 10 days.

The industrial revolution completely changed America as we know it. It brought many changes to our nation- some good and some bad. The Industrial Revolution changed how we produce and consume goods. It was so groundbreaking that we still feel the effects today. Prominent inventions of the time are pictured in document 3.

To say the time period following the Civil War in the United States involved a lot of change would be a understatement. Between the years 1870 and 1900 the people of the United States lived through a period of great change. Not only did they witness technological advances that would change their daily lives, they also saw new laws and organizations formed. All of this was done in hopes of improving the country. Many of these changes came about because of the type of businesses that were formed.

The United States, between 1865-1900, had a series of important technological advances that helped the country strive toward a stronger economy and industry. Certain inventions helped progress the industry away from being focused on family farms and rural villages to connected cities with thriving businesses. The specific inventions and discoveries that made this possible were electricity, updated farm equipment and transcontinental railroads. In this time period, there was a intense presence of immigrants, the majority were from Ireland and Germany.

In the nineteenth century, transportation, most importantly the railroads, became the height of American life. With the rise in business national transportation and communication networks were created and became part of the new transformation of the American economy. However, the rise in business also brought some downfall because several railroad workers did not agree with what was happening. The Pullman Strike resulted and became a pivotal moment in history.

This caused the new banks’ failure by issuing the Specie Circular order in 1836. The government land required payment to be in gold. The National Banks of United States collapsed, this caused what we know as the Panic of 1837, that Andrew Jackson’s successor had to deal with. This was much unorganized, banks got removed, etc. The lack of national banks was one of the many speculations that contributed policies that caused the market to crash in the year of 1837.

Late 1800s early 1900s Industrial America Industrialization came to America not long after the Civil War. From the industry being only a third of Britain’s industrial output to becoming the most industrialized and the richest nation on earth. The entire history to this is amazing, after all, who would have thought this would be the outcome of the Civil War. The United States of America went through rough times in history but the country made its way to prosperity.

Throughout American History, revolutions in transportation have affected the American society politically, socially and economically. Soon after the war of 1812, American nationalism increased which leads to a greater emphasis on national issues, the increase in power and prevalence of the national government and a growing sense of the American Identity. Railways, canals, and Turnpikes began to increase making many people employed. The era of 1830-1860 represents a shift from agrarianism to industrialism. Overall, during the transportation revolution, construction of turnpikes, roads, canals, and railroads led to the market economy expansion, an increased population in America and alternations of the physical landscape of America.

The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous.

According to Joseph Adamczyk, “That year the country was in the fourth year of a prolonged economic depression after the panic of 1873” (Adamczyk). The invention of the railroad changed everything. It was the beginning of a new era. The railroad was a new way to transport goods, materials, and people.