The History of Industrialization Immigration and the Race Problem
Industrial America
The railroads led to the development of cities, the formation of corporations, and the creation of vast wealth that defined the gilded age. Besides linking many cities and towns, the railroad raised the demand for labor, which also attracted thousands of immigrants. Twenty years after the civil war, the mileage for the national railroad tripled, creating uniform time zones that enabled industrialists to access remote markets. The railroad network spurred the growth of industries that attracted more laborers, which led to the formation of a new culture, national market, and real national economy. New systems of labor formed as a result of the new means of production.
The formation of industries
After the war, new technologies and mechanization reduced the number of workers that could become economically independent hence the creation of labor movements that fought for a growing and more permanent working class (Arnesen et al., 2006). Industrialization also led to the formation of an integrated national market that liked urban consumers with rural producers. Food consumption and production got nationalized. Between 1866 and 1886, million heads of cattle were driven annually from Texas to Chicago. By 1885, industrial meatpackers in Chicago were producing approximately 500 pounds of dressed beef annually.
Technological Inventions
Innovations in technology accompanied economic development. In 1878, Thomas Edison developed a new line of research refers to as electric power and lightening (Henretta et al., 2012). In 1879, Thomas Edison showed his electrical light and power generation to investors and scaled it up for production. By mid-1883, Edison had overseen the construction of 330 plants that powered over 60,000 lamps in offices and factories. The United stated transformed through technological innovations, economic advances, demographic transformations, and cultural evolution.
Urbanization and Immigration
The rise of industries attracted more Americans into the cities. Manufacturer’s need for laborers increased hence the increase in American’s urban population. Between 1870 and 1920, more than 25 million immigrants arrived in the USA (Henretta et al., 2012). By the turn of the 20th Century, new immigrant groups such as Eastern European Jews, Italians, and Poles made a more significant percentage of arrivals than Germans and Irish. Most of the immigrants came to seek work opportunities in the USA. Factories in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York attracted a massive number of workers.
The Race Problem and the new South
Henry Grady, Editor for the Atlanta Constitution, proclaimed in an 1886 speech that “South is dead.” Grady shared similar sentiments with other southerners, political, and business leaders who imagined that the new south would embrace diversified agriculture and industrialization (Henretta et al., 2012). Grady promoted mutual future prosperity and regional possibilities through an alliance of southern labor and northern capital. Grady’s hoped the economy of the south. Would improve. However, the past was inevitable, and therefore socially and economically, the new south could not change. The rebellion had interfered with the southern economy, destroyed property lives, and political power vanished. Four million enslaved Americans finally walked free and threw off their chains.
The southern social order was anxiously waiting for emancipation. The Reconstructionist regimes attempted to grant citizenship rights to the freed people, which faced enormous opposition from the anxious white (Henretta et al., 2012). As a result of resentment, anger, and fear, the opposing whites lashed out not only in the form of corruption, violent intimidation, and economic exploitation but in organized terrorist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. The white southerners took back control of the local government and state and utilized their powers to disenfranchise African Americans through the passing of segregation Laws. Segregation laws limited African Americans from accessing employment, schools, transportation, and various private and public facilities.
Conclusion
The industrial revolution began with the establishment of railways led to the development of cities and urban settlements. The railroad raised the demand for labor due to the merging of cities and towns through railroad interconnection, therefore, attracting immigrants. The uniform time zones created due to widening railroad networks enabled the access of remote markets by industrialists. The advent of technology reduced the amount of labor required hence limiting employment. Industrialization led to the formation of integrated markets and the nationalization of food production. The invention of electricity and lighting led to a nationwide distribution of electricity that spurred economic growth. The granting of freedom to freed American black slaves faced opposition from white southerners. However, reconstructionist regimes tried their best to promote the rights of black Americans.
Works Cited
Arnesen Arnesen, E., Barrows, R. G., Les Benedict, M., Campbell, B. C., Carlson, W. B., Cordery, S. A., & Fry, J. A. (2006). The Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Henretta, J. A., Edwards, R., & Self, R. O. (2012). America: A Concise History, Volume Two: Since 1865 (Vol. 2). Macmillan.