Industrialization Dbq Analysis

The period of time after the Civil War and before World War I was a period of tremendous change in America. Although immigration is a major tenet of the United States, due to the changing economy, improvements in transportation, a shifting of the American people to the city, and deepening class divisions, industrialization was the most powerful force shaping the country between 1865 and 1914, followed by urbanization, and finally immigration. The most noticeable effects of industrialization are changes to the economy, alterations in the distribution of wealth, and the rise of organized labor. Overall, the growth of industry raised the standard of living for most people. But over the course of the second half of the 19th century, economic

However, the ideas of the privileged, who did not experience the same hardships as those of low income, were not as widely held by the poor. In their eyes, the captains of industry and the monopolies, such as Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, were so rich and held such power over the world economy they were akin to royalty (Source D). As such, movements grew to oppose the monopolies and horrid working conditions. Legislatively, laws were created to limit their power, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act, which limited monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade (Source F), or the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, which strengthened provisions for breaking up monopolies and exempted unions from prosecution. Similarly, organized labor (such as the National Labor Union, Knights of Labor, and the American Federation of Labor) grew to oppose dreadful conditions through political action or direct confrontation. However, just as the working class did, the employers fostered fear and hatred of the unions in the public eye. For example, in the Haymarket

Immigrants, fleeing their homeland to escape oppression for religion or to find better opportunities for employment, were drawn to the booming American land of industrialization and urbanization. Old immigrants from Western Europe entered the country prominently in the 1880’s. But from the 1890’s to the outbreak of World War I, New Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe flooded the country. These immigrants, bringing with them lesser-practiced customs and religions that could shape the culture of America, mainly congregated with people of similar nationalities in ethnic neighborhoods in the growing cities, thus limiting their assimilation into American society. Another factor limiting the influence of immigration on America was the resistance of the “native” Americans to the New Immigrants. Groups like the Immigration Restriction League and the American Protective Association wanted to restrict immigration into the United States. Legislature passed literacy requirements for immigrants, and even outright banned the entrance of certain groups, like the Chinese, into the country (Source A). As a result, immigration’s force in shaping America was limited in comparison to other phenomena. The largest factors shaping America during the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, industrialization, urbanization, and immigration, were interconnected, each influencing the others. Through