Essay On Industrialization And Urbanization

Industrialization, urbanization, and immigration impacted the growth of the nation and greatly affected the lives of American citizens, specifically the years following the civil war, from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. Not only did the advancement of technology entice Americans in rural areas to migrate to the cities, but the need for labor created a surge in foreign immigration.
The industrial boom brought about many changes that made urbanization not only feasible, but extremely desirable. With a transportation system now connecting the country from end to end, factories could mass produce items to ship across the nation. With a high demand for products, the invention of electricity made it feasible for factories to stay open late

The incandescent light bulb, invented and patented by Thomas Edison, brought industrialization to a new place. Funded by JP Morgan, Edison launched his business in 1882 and later year, opened “the United States’ first central power plant in lower Manhattan—the Pearl Street Station” (instituteforenergyresearch.org). The emergence of powerplants created opportunity for expanded manufacturing in major cities. Since it was more cost effective to produce electricity in larger cities rather than farms and other urban areas, most factories were concentrated in urban, more developed areas (americanhistory.oxfordre.com). With this growth came the demand for workers, many of whom moved from farms, to fill some of these positions (Urbanization and Industrialization, 28).
Other inventions, such as the telephone, had a direct effect on business growth, as companies were better able to communicate with consumers as well as with their employees and foremen (www.learnnc.org). This advancement in communication would ensuring that work was being performed quickly, and products could be manufactured on consumer demand (www.learnnc.org). Retailers were now inspired to market their good through telephone rather than the slow-moving mail system, spurring additional demands which resulted in the need for more product thus requiring more labor (Urbanization and Industrialization,

As inventions of the late 19th century and early 20th century emerged and so did the need for laborer which spurred not only urban migration, but foreign immigration. In addition, the extensive rise in population, both foreign and domestic, to urban areas presented obstacles such in overcrowded cities and poor transportation systems which launched further means of industrialization to address these concerns. Without the migration to cities, from within and beyond our borders, industrialization would have not been able to evolve at this historic