Tiffani Larsen

October 22, 2014

1B
Industrialization brought many new changes to the American
people. Many of these changes had a negative effect on different
groups of people, but overall, it brought new opportunities to
Americans and helped improve this country. Industrialization
brought new opportunities to the American people to expand and
grow in ways that they could not have accomplished before.
Industrialization brought new opportunities and an
improvement in many aspects of life and health. Statistics on
Industrial Growth illustrates some of the ways that
Industrialization improved America. Between 1870 and 1910, the
infant mortality rate dropped and the percentage of high school
graduates increased. Quality healthcare and education were two
major improvements made possible by industrialization. Timeline
of Selected Inventions by Thomas Alva Edison gives an idea of all
of the new inventions during this time. The printing telegraph,
electric pen, phonograph, electric motor, and storage battery
were all invented by just one man. The Superba Ball Bearing
Washing Machine also became popular at this time. It was
advertised as the easiest running washing machine on the market
and they claimed that it was so easy, even a child could do the
laundry. Inventions such as these made everyday tasks easier and
more efficient and also led to improvements in other products.
Between 1870 and 1910, there was a significant increase in the
GNP. Improved health and education and new inventions brought new
job opportunities and created better quality products.
While improving some areas, other aspects of life were, in
turn, affected in a negative way. Although the Statistics on
Industrial Growth chart mostly contains positive changes, it also
contains information on the employment rates of children under
15. Between 1870 and 1900, the number of employed children
increased by over one million. Although industrialization created
new job opportunities, this caused families to begin sending
their children to work. Immigration also contributed to this
statistic; many immigrant children were sent to work. The
photograph of Doffer Boys taken by Lewis Hine gives us a
greater idea of just how common it was for children to be put to
work. Often, they were employed in places that were not safe for
them or would create future problems. Although industrialization
made many new jobs available, these jobs were not necessarily

Tiffani Larsen
October 22, 2014
1B
ideal. In the Depths of a Coal Mine by Stephen Crane explains
some of the conditions that a miner would experience. He writes
about how dangerous it is, and the risks one must take by even
entering the mine. The effects of the mine do not end after a
worker leaves the mine as illustrated by the line ,If a man
escape the gas, the floods, the squeezes of falling rock,there
usually comes to him an attack of miners asthma that slowly
racks and shakes him into the grave. Jobs with conditions such
as these could affect a person for the rest of their life.
Despite the many advantages of industrialization, it also brought
an array of new problems.
Different advantages and disadvantages were more apparent
depending on the class Americans were a part of. In Progress and
Poverty, Henry George says, it is true that wealth has been
greatly increased and that the average of comfort, leisure, and
refinement has been raised; but these gains are not general. Not
everyone benefited from industrialization at the time. While the
high society and most of the middle class experience a positive
change from these new opportunities, the lower class was, in the
words of Henry George, crushed down. People of power only saw
the positive effects, while those who ended up in occupations
such as mining saw the dark side to industrialization. The
wealthy seemed unaware or unsympathetic to those who were
struggling. Andrew Carnegie expressed his opinion on this issue
in Gospel of Wealth. Carnegie believed that the wealthy should be
entrusted with the increased wealth of the community. In this
way, the deep separation between the rich and the poor would be
solved. The class a person fell into would most likely greatly
influence the way they viewed industrialization.
In conclusion, Americans at this time may have had mixed
feelings about industrialization, but the overall changes were
beneficial. It brought new inventions, improvements, and careers
that helped improve the quality of life. These changes led to
great new opportunities that Americans today can experience.