Throughout the decades America has seen many changes in technology, social standards, fashion, and education, but no time proves to hold as much change as the era of the second revolutionary period. The second industrial revolution changed America in countless ways, and is in important reason why America is the way it is today. Thanks to the second industrial revolution we were able to invent billions of new things that led us to the technology we all know and love. The second industrial revolution brought many changes to America as you will see from the social progress, inventions, and workforces.
Immigrants are large parts of the changes and social progresses made during the second industrial revolution that improved and sculpted our country. America’s population increased significantly from 1865 to 1900 thanks to immigration (Brinkley 454.) Most immigrants in America during the 1880’s came from southern and eastern European countries to find freedom and better lives for their families (Brinkley 454.) The acceptance of immigrants into America during the second industrial revolution is what makes our country the cultural melting pot that it is today.
The second industrial revolution began directly after the failure of reconstruction when the population of America was still finding it difficult to see others as equals, the era of the second industrial revolution luckily made some changes to the predigest society and created a more tolerant America. During this time the Homestead Act was passed, this act allowed immigrants to buy plots of land for small fees creating jobs, homes, the ability to grow food, and become a part of America’s economy (Brinkley 407). American public schools began excepting immigrant children in a...
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...ulpted our country into what it is today. Stephen Gardiner once said, “The Industrial Revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization.” Where do you think we would be without the changes of the second industrial revolution?
Works cited
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. 6th ed. Vol. 2. N.p.: McGraw-Hill Humanities Social, 2006. Print. A Concise History of the American People
Chappine, Patricia. "The Second Industrial Revolution: Timeline & Inventions." Education-portal.com. Education-portal.com, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. Fordham.edu, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014
Mokyr, Joel. ”The Second Industrial Revolution, 1870-1914.” northwestern.edu. August 1998. April 4, 2014. http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~jmokyr/castronovo.pdf
Boyer, Paul S. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. D.C. Heath and Company, Mass. © 1990
The Second Industrial Revolution had a wide range outcomes, depending on different kinds of people. For the upper-class, including Captains of Industry and the newly developed leisure class, the majority of the outcomes were positive. The working class, for whom the Industrial revolution ruined many of the things that they once held valuable, and the New Immigrants ultimately were affected with many negative outcomes.
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
The beginning of the immigration movement people came from all part of Europe looking for jobs and new opportunities over seas in the Americas. As immigrants, there were not many jobs that they could do, so many of them ended up in the mining and then later the manufacturing industries. The second industrial revolution played a big part in immigration for a few reasons. One, the invention of the steam boat. The steam boat made the travel much faster and a once long journey was made into a week. This trip was also much less costly for the immigrants and many travels back and forth between their countries and the United states (Immigration and American Experience). Two, the industrial revolution created many jobs in the United States for unskilled
Nash, Gary. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Pearson Education, 2010. 243-244.
Davidson, James West, et al. The American Nation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. 5th Ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008).
The time period a person lives in greatly impacts his actions, thoughts and beliefs. The second Industrial Revolution signifies a time of change, education and reform. The second Industrial Revolution can be dated between 1870 and 1914. When industries emerge and new opportunities are open, mass immigration can be found. The industrial revolution provokes new inventions, factories, transportation, communication, politics, women’s rights and urban life. In the early 1900s, there was segregation and discrimination between races. In addition, during the years between 1914 and 1918, World War One erupted. Between 1929 and 1933, the Great Depression took place and lastly between 1941 and 1945- World War Two occurred.
Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration became so prominent in America between 1870 and 1900 that the foreign-born population of the United States had almost doubled. A lot of German and Irish Catholics had immigrated in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and more decided to immigrate after the Civil War. A portion of Americans were biased against Catholics. Thankfully, the Irish spoke English and the German Catholics reputation was improved because of their Protestant countrymen’s good reputation. However, their children often lacked any skill or education, but they were able to blend in quite well with the American society. More and more immigrants would migrate to the United States without any skill or education and on top of that they were usually poor. These immigrants were called “new” immigrants and they came from all over the world including Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. However, you cannot blame immigrants for migrating to America. Many immigrants faced religious persecution in their home countries which pushed them away, otherwi...
The Civil War left enormous devastation in the countryside and huge losses in the human life. At the same time, it provided the stimulus to the second industrial revolution. The first Industrial Revolution brought on many changes in people 's life. Before the year of 1760 majority of the population lived in rural areas of the country and worked plowing fields, the revolution changed all that and brought many to the cities to work in manufacturing. The Civil War in America put a halt to it and slowed the progression of industrialization.
...J., Buhle, M. J., & Armitage, S. H. (2008). Out of Many, A History of the American People (6th ed., Vol. 2, p. 624). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Nash, G. B., Jeffery, J., Howe, J., Winkler, A., Davis, A., Mires, C., et al. (2010). The American people: creating a nation and a society. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education
Large amounts of immigrants from all over became attracted to the United States in the 19th and 20th century because of the fact that we had started expanding rapidly, new industries opened up which leads to more job openings; this time was called the Gilded Age. The immigrants coming to the United States realized they had a chance for a better life; they have the chance to start over and have a job. “While they endured harsh conditions during their time of service, as a result of their labors, they acquired ownership of small pieces of land that they could then work as independent yeoman farmers.” (Diner). Americans built bigger corporations, cities, and buildings; some people made fortunes and others created a new middle class and proved
The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and technology went through a period of significant change. These changes had a profound impact on the social and cultural conditions of the time, beginning in the Untied Kingdom and spreading throughout Western Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution, considered a major turning point in history, effected almost every aspect of daily life; through new discoveries in technology came new jobs; through new jobs came new working conditions; through new working conditions came new laws and new politics, the repercussions of which extend to today. As Crump emphasizes: ‘The world as we have come to know it in the twenty-first century is impossible to understand without looking at the foundations laid – mainly in the English-speaking world of the eighteenth century – in the course of what is now known, but not then, as the ‘Industrial Revolution’ .