American Industrial Revolution

The American Industrial revolution meant a new age in prosperity for the nation, a prosperity that shone like a beacon of hope across the seas, and into the struggling people of Europe and Asia, people who would travel any distance for a chance at a new life. As the country began to reconstruct itself after the Civil War, new corporations and big business began to take prominence over the economy in the North. It began roughly with the construction of the intercontinental railroad, with its creation forming a new basis for ideal transportation steel factories along with large scale mining operation quickly grew as demanded for more railroads trains also began to rise. As more of the country began to be settled and used for its resources petroleum

One of the largest problems with the growth of corporate power across the United States was that monopolies were beginning to be formed around entire industries, allowing for one parent company to control the price that consumers would have to play for all products that they controlled, resulting in the American people having to pay preposterous prices for products such as gas. Safety standards and regulations were practically nonexistent during this time, with companies allowing for things such as child labor, along with frequent deaths of employees who had to work closely with dangerous and faulty machinery. Costs were cut on basic safety processions such as fire escapes, resulting in deaths of thousands of workers in different factory fires across the country, one of the most famous of which was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, resulting in the deaths of 146 female employees who had been locked in the building during work hours to increase productivity. Accidents such as this is what triggered the creations of labor groups and unions including the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor to protest injustices such as the safety violations of workers, the poor treatment of workers, and

in one of the largest mass migrations of Humans in the modern area. People began flocking to the United States for the promise of wealth, freedom, and a chance at a new life. The poor and disenfranchised from countries like Ireland, Russia, Poland, and China were among the greatest numbers of people to move into the U.S looking for job and a new life. These new workers were the ideal employees for large businesses that wanted to get away with cutting corner, as most immigrants were happy to take any kind of job, and in any kind of conditions that they could get so that they would be able to support the families that ether came with them, were on their way, or were waiting for them back home. This lead to not only immigrants being forced to work in the most dangerous and least paying jobs available, but there was also great animosity towards many groups who were deemed as trying to steal jobs away from true Americans. This kind of persecution was most apparent for the immigrants coming over from Asia, as they were the most different from most American ethnically speaking. Animosity towards the growing Asian population was so great that some white Americans began to grow violent, so much so that in 1885 Chines workers were attacked and killed in Rock Springs Wyoming, in an event that would later be known as The Rock Springs massacre. It was treat meant like this that eventually lead to Chines Exclusion