Henry Xie

AAS 33B
March 13, 2014
Choi, Yamato

First Essay Assignment
Industrializations Impact on American Society

America was on an agricultural society, where farmland dominated the American
landscape. Where cotton, tobacco, and other cash crops ruled the market. That all changes when
during the Industrial Revolution; from that point on precision machining and manufacturing
made way for a new America, one connected by railway, with a new standard of production and
living. With the development of the steel industry, precision tools, and mass production, the
American landscape was changed once again.
In 1872 Andrew Carnegie gained information about a new material called steel. It was a
material lighter and stronger than iron, after three years, he started a steel production plant in
Pittsburgh (Jones 380). As he became bigger, he grew by buying competing steel mills. With a
large steel industry, in 1877 the railroad industry was created. The railroad industry would then
create the first business bureaucracies, employing a massive work force of 110,000 workers to
build 93,000 miles in railroads. This industry also created the first professional salaried managers
which would later build Americas middle class.
Since the development of the railroad system which connected the country, this brought
on standardization to the country. Trains ran on a schedule which made time management and
precision more important. Trains were able to deliver goods produced in and throughout the
country. Agricultural goods, and other foods were now able to be delivered to different parts of
the world and with canned goods, food can be delivered to even the most remote locations of
America. Levi-Strauss can now deliver their denim from San Francisco to the cowboys in Texas.
With the development of the railroad, the country industrialized and created large cities
which most of the nation then moved into. Large cities then created new office jobs where many
people can make enough money to become a part of the middle class and move out of cities
filled with factories and smokestacks. With this new found wealth it gave rise to a consumer
culture built on newness, fashion, and luxury (Jones 384). Railroads began to fit electric lights
and steam heated cabins to boost comfort on trains, all in an effort to create a sense of high class.
With the good, there is also the negative where new cities filled with factories and
pollution created slums without building standards. On March 25, 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory caught fire which took the lives of 123 women and 23 men. The factory doors were
locked to force workers to keep working, however to not be burned alive, workers began
jumping out of the window.
These new consumer cultures lead to the rise of advertisements, which told the story of
what life could be like. Advertisements were able to sell commodities and services, however they
also depicted a line drawn between white Europeans and those they considered inferior, and
foreign (Jones 384). This leads to racism and resentment towards people who were not white
Europeans.
In the late 1870s new machines were rising, this created staple machines for American
life and business. In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone which allowed people
to communicate over long distances. Tomas Edison invented the phonograph which allowed
people to play music in their homes and electric lighting which has change the world. Other
machines such as type writers, stock tickers, and cash registers made it possible for people to
easily manage money in the growing economy.
One of the greatest achievements of the industrial era was the system of mass production.
Mass production created a standard of machining and engineering which allowed parts to be
made into the same exact shape and size. Interchangeable parts allowed products to be assembled
quickly, easily, and cheaply. This system was first used on the emerging bicycle industry which
was growing as a novelty, and a new method of cheap transportation.
The system of mass production leads to cheap production of goods and commodities.
This enabled American society to fuel its desire for newness, and consumerism. Later mass
production would then be used to manufacture automobiles which would be the new symbol of
wealth, class, and luxury.
Through engineering and Americas new wealth, emerging cities were able to be built
with many new implementations. Plumbing created a reliable source of water and waste
management for private and commercial uses. Streets were able to be illuminated to make it safer
to travel at night. Public amenities became the norm such as libraries, parks, and bridge, which
also pushed the standard of living in America. New technologies such as electric street cars and
elevators enabled cities to be built larger and buildings taller to accommodate people moving in
from rural areas.
These public resources continued to create even more jobs to help maintain these
services. Water workers were paid to maintain the sewerage system to ensure that water does not
become contaminated to prevent epidemics. As the industrial era went on cities grew larger
which in turn continued to create a more sustained middle class, and helped perpetuate wealth in
America.
American society has changed through Americas greatest period of growth, the
industrial revolution. As people moved from rural areas into more tightly packed cities and then
into urban areas the social values change. You no longer have a few neighbors, within a mile
radius, you now have hundreds. With more social interactions a sense of pride will eventually be
established where being able to afford luxury now a statement. Through industrialization goods
were able to be created and distributed far and wide; allowing people adopt a consumer culture.
But where there is good there is a bad, standards and regulations could not keep up with this fast
growing pace and thus incidents such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of
over a hundred people. Greed and mass advertisements caused people to become racist and target
people who were not of similar descent creating a nonexistent hierarchy of race which was used
for racial discrimination. Through these industrial advancements American society was not the
same.