Second Industrial Growth Research Paper

The second Industrial growth began in the United States in the early 1800s but carried on to the 19th century. The second industrial revolution brought a great economic success. The changes that industrialization brought to American society during the final decades of the 19th century. A growing industrial economy presented new challenges to those who owned businesses and to those who worked in factories.

The second Industrial Revolution was primarily based on railroads, coal, iron and textile. The difference in first and second industrial revolution is the expansion of electricity, steel, and petroleum. Scientific breakthroughs poured forth from Thomas A. Edison. The changes that aroused during this period were due to the new products

With United States producing one-third of the world's industrial output in 1913, more job was available which meant the growth of cities which was the vital factor for industrialization, leading cities were New York, Chicago and Pittsburg. To avoid competition, corporations control; the whole industries they were called Captains of industry. Andrew Carnegie dominated the steel industry, and John D Rockefeller dominated the oil industry. Five million Americans were employees of industrial textile; With poor working and living condition, between 1880 and 1900, an average of 35,000 workers suffered from death each year in factory and mine accidents, the highest rate in the industrial world The Knight of labor organized all workers to improve the social condition by striking. One of the strikes was in 1877 called the great railroad strike of 1877 to protest wage cuts and unsafe working conditions. President Hayes sent troops to but the down the strikes, later employers relied on federal and state troops to solve labor issues also raised labor

In 19 century the living condition was very poor as one of the primary source I read by Matthew Smith's best-selling book, Sunshine, and Shadow in New York. The document compares the mansion and to the slum of New York. Immigration was increasing and rise in social division affected the development of cities during the mid-nineteenth century. Most people lived in the slum, five to nine people lived in a single room big as the apartment. With not only there enough room but more people got sick of the increase in diseases. Lack of medicine and medical care resulted in many death. Another article called City Slave Girls by Nell Cusack about the poor working conditions in Chicago's factories for women in specially. By the early 19th century, women were working factory labor or domestic work. Women were playing both roles of producing food plus needed for the household. Many factory workers were initially women, but many quite after they were married. These ladies would work from ten to fourteen hours each day. Industrial Revolution affected American society helped to create a truly trans-continental America, with revolution allowed a railroad boom that brought people all across America. Second it helped created demand for worker both native and immigrant. This changed American society by making it more diverse. Finally, the revolution created a consumer society in America.