How The Economic Changes Between 1877 And 1920s

Between 1877 and 1920, America was reborn economically and industrially, which go hand in hand. The United States owe all of this economic growth as the result of Reconstruction during the post-Civil War era. From the 1880s and on, there was a “rapid expansion of factory production, mining, and railroad construction” (Foner 605). The expansion out west contributed to the expansion because companies were no longer limited to working either in the south or the New England area, and “a working free labor system” (Foner 571) established by the Freedman’s Bureau, an agency created during Reconstruction. Andrew Carnegie was a leader for helping the United States being able to be successful in industrializing the country by creating companies along every step of the way to construct a

The creation of these jobs helped to stimulate economic growth in the United States, as well as show the rest of the world that the United States had world influence by proving that they were able to surpass other countries in the output of goods and services. The industrial boom was able to set forth the “American standard of living”, which “offered a new language for criticizing the inequalities of wealth and power in Progressive America” (Foner 703). American life changed between 1877 and 1920 by seeing the emergence of the working class and the migration of Americans to the city, which is in result of the industrial expansion. As more and more factories were built, farmers and homemakers abandoned their jobs at home in pursuit of greater economic opportunities. Since the factories were primarily being built in urban areas, this meant that these Americans left behind their homes as well.