“Industrialization in the United States”

Post Civil War – Early 1900s

“Unit Snapshot”

* The "second industrial revolution," which took place roughly between 1870 and 1920, broughtmany changes to the United States, including the mass production of consumer goods; largescale migration from all parts of the world; and patterns of social change that reshapedworkplace, family, and gender roles. Mass produced goods rose in quantity and variety, andbecame cheaper to buy. To sell these goods, entrepreneurs developed vast communication andtransportation networks that led to the creation of a nationwide market. The governmentsupported these developments by making grants of land to railroad entrepreneurs and bylegislating protective tariffs, a tax on foreign, imported goods.

* Often recruited by employers, a labor force eager for economic opportunity migrated to citiesfrom rural areas of the United States, and from Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Millions ofimmigrants from China, Mexico, Canada, southern and Eastern Europe, and Scandinaviaentered all regions of the country, with the majority settling in the Northeast. Many of theseimmigrants hoped to obtain land, but—arriving penniless—often took the first industrial jobsthey could find. At first, these workers might earn enough to support families left behind orbring the family members over to join them. When the economy slumped, however, businessowners cut wages, increased work hours and responsibilities, or laid off workers. In response,workers formed unions to demand improved working conditions. Local and national strikesbecame increasingly frequent—even violent. Acting as concerned consumers, many middleclass women’s organizations pressed for reforms in labor-industrial relations.

James Garfield (1881)

Chester Arthur (‘81-’85)

Grover Cleveland (‘85-’89, ‘93-’97)

Benjamin Harrison (‘89-’93)

William McKinley (’97-’01)

U.S. Presidents 20th

21st

22nd/24th 23rd 25th

Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas Alva Edison

Cornelius Vanderbilt

John D. RockefellerJ.P. MorganAndrew Carnegie

Main Characters

1869, Transcontinental Railroad

1879, Light bulb1882, Standard Oil 1886, Haymarket Riots* 1892, Homestead Strike* 1894, Pullman Strike* 1901, U.S. Steel

Main Events

Immigration and UrbanizationBig business, Free enterprise Protectionism vs. Laissez-faireMass ProductionMonopolies and TrustsGospel of Wealth, Social DarwinismLabor Unions and Reform

Main Ideas

1. What economic policies allowed industries to expand after the Civil War?

2. How did the railroads effect the industrialization of the United States?

3. How did “captains of industry” such as Carnegie and Rockefeller expand their businesses through new ways of organization?

4. Why did workers form labor unions? 5. What changes in lifestyle occurred because of

industrialization? 6. How did industrialization change American

politics?

Essential Questions