From 1865 to 1900, the rise of Industrial America occurred. In this time period, the railroad system was developed, new job opportunities sprung up left and right, and the American dream changed. Although the American society’s economy and standard of living seemed to prosper, it also allowed laborers’ lives to crumble,strikes occurred, children were left uneducated and forced to work in order to help support their families, and forced those families to get accustomed to squalid living conditions and hazardous working environments. The social classes developed. As the standard of living changed, so did the steps one family would need to take in order to survive. The rise of “railroad tycoons” and corruption made unfair wages paid to families even lower, forcing each member, including women and children, to support their families. This impacted numerous families negatively. Oftentimes, parents would work full days, only to come home at night to find their children asleep. “A stranger am I to my child; And he one to me” (Doc. #2) All these people had were the clothes on their backs and their families, but the labor system managed to change the meaning of family. …show more content…
Mary Paul, a laborer in a textile factory in Lowell, Massachusetts, wrote to her father “I have a very good boarding place, have enough to eat…” (Doc. #1) Nevertheless, it was not uncommon to find some conditions were horrifying. The laborers were angry that their children were risking their health working in dangerous conditions, they were tired, and they knew their hard work deserved a higher pay they may live off of. As stories of young girls getting their hair ripped out my machines, the lowering of wages, and monopolies stirred amongst laborers, strikes rose. Ones such as the Pullman strike arose because George Pullman lowered wages, but court injunctions forced laborers to continue to