New Working Conditions
One of the most popular aspects of industrialization, American factories were vital to American business. While citizens boasted about the job opportunities they held, they also spoke of the dangerous conditions that factory owners subjected them to undergo (which included extremely long hours, unsanitary surroundings, fire hazards, and more). The establishment of factories in the Industrial Revolution was the creative platform America needed to discover new production methods, but they also shed a light on the importance of the health and happiness of workers. (1)
This iconic photo showcases not only how America began to physically appear like a nation of business through its construction of gigantic skyscrapers and other buildings, but also how businesses subjected workers to hazardous conditions. The group of men pictured here are sitting on a thin bar, hundreds of feet above New York City with no protection, because their employers sought profit instead of caring for their workers' lives. (2)
Transportation Improvements
A link to the American Business subpage, "Westward Expansion," which has more details on railroads and transportation in America.
Child Labor
This article from The Atlantic touches on the inhumane working conditions that children were subjected to during the Industrial Revolution. Americans did not converse about how unethical the treatment was until the early 1900's because parents enjoyed the extra income from their working children, and companies did not broadcast what they put the adolescents through while they were working. (5)
This photograph taken of workers at a cotton mill in North Carolina in 1912 showcases the large number of children working at the mill. In all types of factories all over the country, children were often employed because they were able to do jobs adults were unable to do and were often less expensive to employ. Children that worked in mills and factories were often a necessary source of income for their families who relied on them to support their siblings or parents. (6)
A link to the "Westward Expansion" page, which has more details on child labor in West industries.
Works Cited (Industrialization)
#1: Mass Production in Factories. History of the Cold War,
www.historyofthecoldwarpodcast.com/episode-7-capitalism-part-ii/. Accessed
11 Jan. 2018.
#2: Hine, Lewis W. Workers, Empire State Building. 1931. Macaulay Honors College,
macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/drabik16/2016/10/04/lewis-w-hine-workers-empire-
state-building-1931/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
#3: Detroit Publishing Company. Steelhenge: 1908. 1908. Shorpy, www.shorpy.com/node/
21018. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
#4: Lloyd, H. D. The Story of a Great Monopoly. The Atlantic, www.theatlantic.com/
magazine/archive/1881/03/the-story-of-a-great-monopoly/306019/. Accessed 31
Oct. 2017.
#5: Taylor, Alan. "Child Labor in America 100 Years Ago." The Atlantic, 1 July 2015, www.theatlantic.
com/photo/2015/07/child-labor-in-america-100-years-ago/397478/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017.
#6: Group of Workers in Clayton, N.C. Cotton Mills. Oct. 1912. Virginia Commonwealth University,
socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-welfarechild-labor/child-labor/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
www.historyofthecoldwarpodcast.com/episode-7-capitalism-part-ii/. Accessed
11 Jan. 2018.
#2: Hine, Lewis W. Workers, Empire State Building. 1931. Macaulay Honors College,
macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/drabik16/2016/10/04/lewis-w-hine-workers-empire-
state-building-1931/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
#3: Detroit Publishing Company. Steelhenge: 1908. 1908. Shorpy, www.shorpy.com/node/
21018. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
#4: Lloyd, H. D. The Story of a Great Monopoly. The Atlantic, www.theatlantic.com/
magazine/archive/1881/03/the-story-of-a-great-monopoly/306019/. Accessed 31
Oct. 2017.
#5: Taylor, Alan. "Child Labor in America 100 Years Ago." The Atlantic, 1 July 2015, www.theatlantic.
com/photo/2015/07/child-labor-in-america-100-years-ago/397478/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017.
#6: Group of Workers in Clayton, N.C. Cotton Mills. Oct. 1912. Virginia Commonwealth University,
socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-welfarechild-labor/child-labor/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.