American Industry In The Late 1800s

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American Industry Essay Picture a life without electricity. For our society it is not very imaginable. In the late 1800s,there was no indoor electricity- the sun dictated the rhythm of work. Lit candles or oil lampscamps were put on when the sun was down. No refrigeration was invented,ice was available, but at a great cost. Long distance distant communication was slow and took weeks to months. In the late 1800’s that when a lot of industrialization improved. People such as Thomas A. Edison, Samuel F.B. Morse, and Alexander Graham Bell had great impacts on the world of technology. It all lead to new forms of communication, a growing workforce, and traveling advances in the railroad industry.Rapid industrialization has been a blessing for Americans.…show more content…
Between 1860 and 1900, around 14 million people immigrated to America. Most of them came in the hope of finding work in the country's industrial businesses. When labor was scarce, during the Civil War, the federal government aided immigration by passing the Contract Labor Act in 1864. This law allowed employers to enter into contracts with immigrants. Employers would pay the cost of their passage in return for immigrants' agreeing to work for a certain amount of time, up to a year. Employers soon began strongly selecting foreign laborers. Children made up more than 5% of the industrial labor force. For many families, they made a difference. Their wages could have meant the difference between going hungry or having food on the table. In many industries, factory owners paid workers not by the time worked but by what they produced. Workers received a certain amount for each finished piece they produced.. This system of piecework meant that those who worked the fastest and produced the most pieces earned the most money. This made it fair to workers because they earned based on what they made. Families were finally able to provide for their families and not starve. Not only were the workers happy, but so were the…show more content…
Before the Civil War, railroad tracks were mainly inon the East and were in short lines. There was no set of system or specific railroad track used for all trains, so each train had its own tracks that it could ride on only. Passengers had to constantly move from train to train because of this. Trains were also dangerous because no standard signals existed and brakes were unreliable. After the Civil War in 1862, a railroad project called the transcontinental railroad extended from coast to coast. By 1870, railroads could carry goods, steel rails replaced iron rails, and track gauges and signals became standardized. Railroad companies also improved safety. In 1869, George Westinghouse developed more effective air brakes. In 1887, Granville Woods patented a telegraph system for communicating with moving trains, which the risk of collision and adds another point as to why the telegraph was a blessing.The growth of railroads also led to the development of many towns throughout the western part of the United States. Without the first thought or development of railroads, transportation wouldn’t be where it is today. People back then would have to travel by feet, which is almost so hard to imagine, or even not have things delivered at all. Today, we wouldn't have planes, cars, bikes, bikes,etc. Traveling advances in the railroad industry was a blessing to all Americans and

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