How Did The Industrial Revolution Change America

Western history has shown us how the paths of nations have been drastically changed as a result of revolutionary movements and regime changes. The events that have caused the most impact in American institutions are of course arguable however one revolution stands out as being the most influential catalyst for change. The industrial revolution not only changed life in Europe, but also greatly affected the political, economical, and social structure of America. Developments in technology, the use of new resources, and the rise of corporations changed the U.S. for good and pushed it to becoming one of the most powerful nations in the world. During the beginning of the industrial revolution, the United States’ economy was based mostly in the

The so-called “Robber Barons” were known as the leaders in industry and began to amount massive amounts of wealth from their investments. John D. Rockefeller started the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and went on to become America’s first billionaire. Cornelius Vanderbilt owned a lucrative boat business on the Hudson River and used profits to invest in the railroads. Andrew Carnegie’s Federal Steel Company became the first billion-dollar company in the world and J. P. Morgan was an investment banker who used his financial power to take control of several industries as well as railroad lines. Men like these became so powerful that they even financed government operations in times of need. To increase profits, corporations often moved to monopolize the industry they operated in. This meant acquiring more than a third of the market and basically being able to do as they please. To counteract this, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890, which gave the government the right to break down large companies into smaller ones to make them less powerful. Without this tool, corporations would become too large to control and would undoubtedly affect the working class in a negative way and possibly take over the government itself. In the pursuit of profits, the corporations and their investors would probably be in favor of lower wages and longer

during the 19th century. Although this revolution began in Great Britain, industrialization also made a huge impact in American culture with the rise of wealthy aristocrats and the further dividing of the social classes. We have advanced in technology since then but nothing has changed our way of living as drastically as the industrial