American Dream Vs Conflict Theory Essay

Everyone wanted the American Dream; people came from all over to accomplish the dream of equal opportunity and a better life. It was thought to be easy to move up the ladder in the working society, that a non-owner could eventually be an owner with the right amount of work and dedication.1 There were two different sides on viewing the American Dream and the work place. The Consensus paradigm and the Conflict paradigm are entirely different with their views, especially with how the people were being treated in this time period.
Consensus theorist believed that if one works hard enough, everyone would make their way to the top.2 Consensus theorist believed in a more limited government, people have the freedom to make their own choices.3 Conflict theorist believed that society should be molded to the needs of the people; everyone should have the same rights. 4 The two views clashed when it came to how to treat the workers.
People were moving states even countries to get jobs and achieve the American Dream. When people arrived, they saw how wages never went up and how conditions were dangerous and dirty. There was no ladder to climb up and reach the ultimate goal, the American Dream. Consensus

theorists thought the workers needed to work harder to achieve the goal. While Conflict theorists think the people need the equal opportunity to advance within the company. The working class thought these jobs would be enough money to get by and move up to the middle class and eventually the upper class, seeing how wages never got any higher, working conditions got worse, they needed a change to make the money they wanted and get out of the lower class.
Working conditions for the workers were horrible. People were losing their lives by getting sick or the unsafe conditions they worked in. The workers received the lowest pay and they needed a change, unions were formed and riots and strikes began. With the workers wanting higher wages it put more pressure on the owners they wanted to spend as little as possible so they could make as much as possible. The owners made it known that if you strike, they can fire you and find someone to replace you. Workers were valued as people who make the owners their money nothing else workers were replaceable.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is an example of how workers were treated and how they do not matter to the owners, they are just used to make money.

The Triangle Waist Company was in New York City there was a fire and it claimed the lives of 146 young immigrant workers. 5 The building was 10 stories the Company occupied floors 8-10.6 The 9th floor’s doors were bolted shut to prevent theft, the workers could not get out and some ended up jumping to their deaths off of the 9th floor. The fire killed 146 people who were mostly women; the owners of the company were tried in court for manslaughter.7 They had to pay 75 dollars to 25 families; because of the fire, they ended up creating fire sprinklers and having codes so doors aren’t locked and people can get out of the

building.8
"The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred. There are so many of us for one job it matters little if 140-odd are burned to death." Rose Schneiderman on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.9 Losing 146 seemed like nothing to The Triangle Waist Company when they had plenty of people that wanted jobs with them still. The purpose of the owners was max profit it did not matter if they lost employees as long as they were making money; that is the view of a consensus paradigm. Conflict liberals would say that it is greed and they are egotistical.
Rose Scheniderman stood up to help women get the raise they demanded. From a young age Rose was taking care of her family because her father died when she was younger10. After 6th grade Rose went to work making caps, receiving maximum of 5 dollars a week. Rose then moved up in positions, to an assistant. She realized it was more of the pleasure that everyone knows she’s an assistant because she does not make more than she did when she wasn’t an assistant.11 Rose got people to unionize and stand up for better rights. Rose helped lead strikes and a big strike with 30 shops in the city about 100 girls sat out on strike. With that strike it got the girls 2 dollars more on average.12
In the late 70’s and early 80’s child labor became a huge issue. There were boys working at 8 cents to 75 cents an hour, in conditions not suitable for an adult and absolutely unsuitable for a child.13 The National Child Labor Committee was formed to try and stop child labor because it was inhumane. The children ranged from 3-14, a lot of them wanted to quit, but it was cool to have a job at that time. They worked full hours same as their parents, but the risk for kids getting hurt was way worse than their parents getting hurt. The breaker boys who worked in the mines had to grab rocks as they slid down and tore up their hands, having bloody fingernails and hands.14 They sat on a cold wooden plank with no cushion for hours while they were freezing and could do. The working conditions were not ideal for children or even adults; some children lost their fingers even their lives working on the job.
Lewis Hine was a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee, 1911 was Lewis Hines first time photographing any of the boys.15 He wasn’t there solely to take pictures of the work place but to take pictures of the conditions of the boys and their work conditions. Hines was trying to get the attention of people so they could stop the child labor. He was a conflict theorist because he believed that the children should not be working in these conditions; the consensus view would be that you should work at any age and be proud to do so. Hines took fascinating pictures that spread worldwide. Hines often had to sneak into companies so he could get pictures of the children, if he was able to make it into the company he would say that he was taking pictures of the machines when he was really taking pictures of kids next to machines that were 4 times bigger than them. He made apparent that children should not be in the work place.
Eventually children were not allowed in the work place and working conditions got better for everyone. Max profit is still the main goal but now people were protected. People like Lewis Hine and Rose Scheniderman took a stand and made a difference. With children out of the work force it gave them more time to go to school and study, with people making more pay it was easier for people to buy things and make a living instead of not making enough to live. Money was there, but not enough to make it. People went starving and thirsty because the minimum wage wasn’t enough to feed whole families, families that are still growing. The workers needed a little more money to make things work and that’s what they got by sticking together and forming unions to get what they deserve.
In conclusion Consensus and Conflict paradigms both server different purposes, with Consensus making money only for your self and no one else and Conflict where everyone has an equal chance to do the same things. Consensus wants to make max profit, make the most out of what you have and not waist anything. Conflict wants to help everyone out and make sure we all have the same opportunities make it to the same place. Owners of businesses are on a different level than non-owners band to become an owner you have to work hard, all of the people in factories are working hard for anything they can get. Owners do have the right to make the rules and do what they want; non-owners should still get treated with respect and seen as humans. If you have money, it makes you that much more powerful.