The Industrial Revolution in the United States Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Before Machines

The Industrial Revolution changed the very nature of daily work for millions of Americans. Previously, they might have worked for themselves at home, in a small shop, or outdoors. They crafted raw materials into products or grew a crop from seed to table. However, when they took factory jobs, they went to work for a large company. The repetitive work often involved only one small step in the manufacturing process. This meant workers did not see or appreciate what was being made. The work was often dangerous and performed in unsanitary conditions. Machines replaced highly skilled craftspeople in one industry after another. By the 1870s, machines were knitting stockings and stitching shirts and dresses. Machines cut and stitched leather for shoes and produced nails by the millions. By reducing labor costs, machines reduced manufacturing costs. This meant manufacturers lowered prices they charged consumers. In short, machine production created a greater number of products at cheaper prices.

Machines and Change

Machines completely changed the way people worked. Before machines, skilled craftspeople had the satisfaction of creating a product from beginning to end. When they completed making a barrel, shirt, or dress, they felt a sense of accomplishment. Not so with machines. To add to this, machines broke production down into many small repetitive tasks. Often, workers did only a single task, rather than complete the job themselves. This was boring compared to what craftspeople were used to. The pace of work in factories became faster and faster and created stress. In addition, factories were built with machines in mind. They were not designed to be safe or comfortable for people. Finally, factory managers began to enforce industrial discipline. They forced workers to work very long hours with no time off, often in dangerous conditions. Workers no longer had control over their work situation because they were working for someone else.

Labor Unions

Unsafe working conditions, long hours, and concern over wages and child labor contributed to the growth of labor unions. A labor union is an organization of workers in the same trade or profession, like mining, transportation, or manufacturing. The workers band together to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by the owners and management of the companies they work for. They fight to protect their rights and to ensure they work in a safe environment for fair wages.

In the decades after the Civil War, workers organized strikes and work stoppages. They wanted to draw attention to their problems. One major labor upheaval was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Wage cuts in the railroad industry led to the strike. The strike began in West Virginia and spread to three additional states over a period of 45 days. It was violently ended by a combination of outraged citizens, National Guardsmen, and federal troops. Similar episodes occurred more frequently in the following decades as workers organized and asserted themselves against injustices.

The Progressive Movement

The new jobs for the working class were in the cities. Thus, the Industrial Revolution began to change the United States from a rural to an urban society. Young people raised on farms saw greater opportunities in the cities and moved there. Millions of immigrants came to American cities from Europe. Providing housing for all the new residents of cities was a problem. Many workers found themselves living in urban slums. Open sewers ran alongside the streets, and the water supply was often tainted, causing disease.

These horrible urban conditions gave rise to the Progressive Movement in the early twentieth century. Progressives also were against child labor and greedy and unfair businesses. They worked to make food and medicines safer and to preserve national resources, like waterways and forests. The result would be many new laws to protect and support people.

Which statements are main ideas of “The Industrial Revolution in the United States”?

Select the two correct answers.

A. Factories provided safer work environments where people earned more money in less time.

B. Many American workers took factory jobs in order to work for a large company.

C. Creating products with machines resulted in more items being made for less money.

D. The Industrial Revolution changed the relationship of workers to the products they made.

DONT FORGET ITS 2 ANSWERS