Overview of the Times
In the United States, during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, there was a surge in economic growth. Two words associated with this time period are industrialization and urbanization. If you could travel back into time, you would see factories, crowded cities, and high-rise buildings. Many people migrated to cities in search of employment because jobs were plentiful in larger cities. With the invention of the elevator, buildings grew toward the sky. The United States was booming! Part of the success for the country can be attributed to the economic system the country embraced, a free-enterprise system.
What is urbanization? Urbanization is the movement of people from rural communities to urban areas. People migrated from small farming towns to the big cities. While there were benefits to finding work in the cities, there were also challenges. The quick growth of cities led to crowded housing, lack of sanitation, lack of proper sewage, contaminated drinking water, and other problems associated with overcrowding and quick population growth.
What is industrialization? In an industrial society there is a growth of factories. With factories and power driven machinery, manufactured goods became readily available for buyers (consumers).
At the same time, immigrants continued to come to the United States. If a country is experiencing problems with war or a failing economy, some would leave their home country and travel to another country in search of a better life. During this time period, many immigrants came to the United States from different parts of Europe and Asia for better jobs and a chance for a new life.
People laying the railroad tracks, working in factories, or other jobs consisted mostly of immigrants. They worked long hours and often in unsafe conditions. It was common for everyone in the family to work. Children, by the age of 7, were already working in factories. It was reported that some children had to work 12 hours a day without stopping, every day. At this point, there were no laws that forbade children from working, there was no minimum wage or overtime pay, and often times, if workers got sick, they would lose their jobs.
These conditions later led to reform to make working conditions better.
Because of the free enterprise system, many people became very successful. Through the free enterprise system, the opportunity to become a millionaire was not impossible. People like John D. Rockefeller (oil), Andrew Carnegie (steel), J.P. Morgan (banking), and Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads) became very wealthy entrepreneurs.
What is urbanization? Urbanization is the movement of people from rural communities to urban areas. People migrated from small farming towns to the big cities. While there were benefits to finding work in the cities, there were also challenges. The quick growth of cities led to crowded housing, lack of sanitation, lack of proper sewage, contaminated drinking water, and other problems associated with overcrowding and quick population growth.
What is industrialization? In an industrial society there is a growth of factories. With factories and power driven machinery, manufactured goods became readily available for buyers (consumers).
At the same time, immigrants continued to come to the United States. If a country is experiencing problems with war or a failing economy, some would leave their home country and travel to another country in search of a better life. During this time period, many immigrants came to the United States from different parts of Europe and Asia for better jobs and a chance for a new life.
People laying the railroad tracks, working in factories, or other jobs consisted mostly of immigrants. They worked long hours and often in unsafe conditions. It was common for everyone in the family to work. Children, by the age of 7, were already working in factories. It was reported that some children had to work 12 hours a day without stopping, every day. At this point, there were no laws that forbade children from working, there was no minimum wage or overtime pay, and often times, if workers got sick, they would lose their jobs.
These conditions later led to reform to make working conditions better.
Because of the free enterprise system, many people became very successful. Through the free enterprise system, the opportunity to become a millionaire was not impossible. People like John D. Rockefeller (oil), Andrew Carnegie (steel), J.P. Morgan (banking), and Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads) became very wealthy entrepreneurs.