Industrial Revolution, History of United States of America
Introduction
The emergence of the United States of America did not take place until more or less one hundred and seventy five years after it was founding as a group of British colonies (by and large). However, it is easily observable that American society was a very different one for a majority of Europeans. The history of American nation is extraordinarily rich and every era has its own significance. The 18th and 19th centuries are extremely important as major transformations in the Society took place in these periods of time. Reconstruction, Industrialism, Labor Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Women Rights Movement, Progressivism etc. are incredibly significant in order to understand the changes in the American society. It was the era where the Americans chose to leave feudalism behind and built a society where they could follow principles of socialism, both politically and socially. The hope of a liberal society made them to focus on the individual rights as a consequence.
Reconstruction of USA
Reconstruction was one of the most important affairs in the history of the United States of America and spanned from 1865 to 1877. It was, if truth be told, the readjustment period after the Civil war ended. As the South faced a terrible defeat in the Civil War, it was a devastated land as the Union forces caused great physical destructions. The institution of slavery that was the basis of the social and economic order in the South also experienced a great collapse. Thus, Reconstruction of the eleven Confederate states turned out as extremely necessary. As far as the success of Reconstruction is concerned, it indeed was a triumph period as United States emerged as a unified nation as restoration of the former Confederate states. Also, new constitutions were drafted and all the mentioned states accepted and acknowledged the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. The old issue of federalism vs. states’ right was also resolved due to the Reconstruction (Ferrell, 2003).
Failure of Reconstruction
On the other hand, Reconstruction can also be considered a failure due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the farmer slaves could not be protected from white persecution and thus, radical Republican legislation was unsuccessful. It also failed to bring about essential amendments in the South’s social foundation. In 1877, the federal troops were removed by President Rutherford B. Hayes that resulted in the instantaneous power restoration of the previous Confederate representatives and slave owners. These officials and politicians were supported by the conservative Supreme Court and they mutually consented to pass black codes, qualifications for voting and additional legislation that were meant to subjugate blacks and take back their rights that the Radical Reconstruction granted them (Ferrell, 2003).
From this point, the blacks gathered to fight for their civil rights though they have very little economic power due to the tenant farming and sharecropping system (a form of slavery in which the white land owners tied the blacks to the former’s land). The people in the South also had to pay elevated taxes and were deprived of the basic necessities due to a collapsed economy. However, the Reconstruction made northerners tired by 1877 due to the numerous controversies, black movement, radicals etc. Thus, Reconstruction came to its conclusion without accomplishing a good number of its goals.
Industrialism
As already mentioned, Industrial Revolution was an ongoing phenomenon in the 18th century and is used for referring to social and financial changes that highlight the switch to a modern industrial society from a commercial/agricultural society. Industrial society is one which does not depend on tools but on complex machinery. From a historical point of view, Industrial Revolution specifically points out towards the end of the eighteenth century and mid0nineteenth century. Industrialism is of significant importance in the American history as it brought remarkable changes in the collective and fiscal structure of the society due to the introduction of new-fangled inventions and hi-tech innovations. It gave birth to a factory system of extensive and all-encompassing mechanized manufacture/production consequently leading to better trade and industry specialism. The population that was involved in labor (especially in agricultural sector) moved to urban factories and the world witnessed increasing factory employees due to increased mechanization and technological improvements (Diner, 1998).
The Industrial Revolution changed USA
The Industrial Revolution changed the United States’ face in the world and gave rise to urban centers. The people were given the opportunity of living a focused and inter-reliant economic life. It won’t be incorrect to say that the course of Industrialization in the United States of America was a long one but fruitful as the urban workers turned out to be entirely reliant on the employer’s will. In the similar manner, the Industrial Revolution offered the fiscal foundation for professions to increase in number, population growth and an improved life. However, the old social family patterns were distorted due to Industrialism as the space was divided into homes and workplace that were previously the same. Similarly, Industrialism brought political corruption, environmental damage and exploitation of resources along with it. On the other hand, it is true that this historical revolution did extraordinary changes permanently. This is because the United States has earned the position of a Super Power in the present times due to the benefits of Industrial Revolution that started in the eighteenth century (Diner, 1998).
Labor Movement in USA History
In the same connection, there is a significant role that has been played by the labor movement in United States’ history. A lot of people were already working as pact-servants or slaves in the country and many came after the Industrial Revolution. However, there was a strong labors’ unionization for a very long time. Even though there were impermanent unions during the Revolution, the contemporary unionization of workers had its basis already set in the olden times. It is exceedingly important to state here that a lot of benefits that are enjoyed by the workers/laborers today are because of the unionization that took place in the last decades of the eighteenth century. Previously, a majority of unions used to gather to acquire their right of high wages and justified working hours. After achieving their goals, they then disunited. However, with the growth in the nation, there was more labor needed. As already mentioned, the United States had transformed into an industrial society from an agricultural one. This Industrial Revolution augmented the need for labor in the country. Thus, as the workforce grew so did the need for laborers’ protection from employers’ mistreatment (Beik, 2005).
Beginning of Labor Union
As a result, a number of labor unions came into being, AFL and NLP as the major ones during the last years of 18th century. Due to Industrial Revolution and increase in laborers’ number, the individual worker’s value decreased as there were a lot of people in the labor pool. Replacements were easily available for the execution of jobs and this made employees to begin working on lower wages and pathetic conditions for working. Due to such reasons, union movements were started throughout the country. The Pullman Railroad Strike, United Mine Workers Strike (Pennsylvania), Wobblies, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire are some of the major events through which the laborers compelled the government to notice their demands (Beik, 2005). The Union Movement is crucial in the sense that it paved way for the 1914 Clayton Act passage that clearly stated a human being’s labor as a non-commodity and non-commercial article. It also made union strikes and boycotts legal for the laborers.
Industrial Revolution and Role of Women in History of America
It is also due to the Industrial Revolution that women were given a prominent status in the American society. Before the Industrial Revolution, there were distinctive gender roles whereby men had the status of bread winners whereas women were only considered as homemakers. However, the Industrial Revolution changed this societal perception regarding gender roles. The domestic environment within the walls of the home was considered as the only true sphere for women and they were supposed to take care of the family/children and look after the house. The women did not have enough opportunities to receive higher education or work outside. In Colonial America, a woman acquiring higher education was an impossible thing as the masculine gender was given preference in the colleges. The American society was against women education as it was believed that women won’t be able to make use of higher education. As a consequence, people held the opinion that if women would be employed in particular fields, it would prove as improper or inequitable to the opposite sex. It was also believed that women do not have the intellectual capacity to participate in fields of science and technology and therefore, more hurdles were posed in their desire to acquire higher education. Another prevailing belief that prevented women to go to colleges was that their education must be limited to fields that may match their functions and responsibilities as wives and mothers. The belief that they should be educated in separate settings matching their future roles as wives and mothers excluded them at times when domestic concerns prevailed.
However, with the wave of feminism in the last decades of the eighteenth century, a number of institutions and valiant women came forward to fight for equal education rights in the United States of America for the feminine sex. The organizations supporting women presented tough arguments regarding the position of women in the society and made it crystal clear that women should be given equal opportunities to acquire higher education as they nurture a whole generation. They strongly supported the idea that women must be provided the same wide-ranging and useful education that men were offered. With the progression in the twentieth century, the world witnessed stability in the women colleges and their education turned out as publically acceptable (Masteller, 1998).
With the pasaage of time and revoltionized thinking in the society, college became a widely-acknowledged and honored place where young women could go and attain higher education. The society started to accept the fact that women can also read books and their sole purpose in not to look after their families, cooking and sewing etc. To put in simple words, the nineteenth century brought with it a broadminded perception regarding wome and higher education. The women gained freedom to choose whatever college they want to go to. The historical inequalities vanished and women got opportunities to acquire higher education according to their will as the American academic system started to accept women education as an inevitable element of societal progress (Masteller, 1998). It is exceedingly important to mention the name of Alice Freeman Palmer here as she was among the major figures that encouraged and supported higher education for women in the USA.
When the historical experiences that the women had in the United States of America are reviewed closely, it is a crystal clear observation that the expectations for boys and girls were rather dissimilar as far as education was concerned. In times gone by, girls were raised with the sole purpose of making them competent enough to discharge duties in limited and certain roles like teachers, nurses etc. However, the opportunities for women increased in a dramatic way with the introduction of Title IX and the implementation of the legislation regarding equal access to education.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be easily concluded that the period from 1870 to 1920 was a critical one as a number of Revolutions took place in that epoch of time. However, it is also important to note that they were not meant to bring revolution in the whole country but benefitted particular segments of society at particular times.
Refrences
Beik, M. A. (2005). Labor Relations. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Ferrell, C. L. (2003). Reconstruction. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Madigan, J. C. (2009). The Education of Girls and Women in the United States: A Historical Perspective. Advances in Gender and Education, 1, 11-13.
Masteller, K. C. (1998). Silent Sisters: Women’s Suffrage And Women’s Higher Education. The Concord Review, 1, 235-247.
Home » Research »