Impact Of Industrialization

The Industrialization Impact

In the history of the United States, it can be argued that the economic change that occurred in the midst of industrialization was the foremost change that led to us becoming a world power. This change began with the newfound desires of U.S. companies to do things efficiently, and the invention of newer machines such as the cotton gin enabled them to do so. These inventions made many industries that were becoming unprofitable more profitable again, and gave the economic boost that the U.S. economy needed. With increased efficiency and the lowering of costs, many factories blew up around the country, and thousands of jobs were created. People began to migrate to these newly established urban areas around factories, seeking opportunity, steady income to feed their families, and a way to move out of poverty. The people who took this risk helped develop the new urbanization period in the US, where hundreds of thousands of people left their low wage rural jobs and sought opportunity in the factories.

The first major invention in the industrialization period was the Cotton Gin, which was invented by Eli Whitney, a United States man who hoped his new invention would help slaves. Against his intentions, historians believe that without this invention, slavery would have become less and less prominent on southern plantations and may have entirely died off on its own. This first step in industrialization in the United States had a large impact on how people ran their businesses, and was one of the first steps on the road to America’s industrial revolution. The cotton and textile industry was more profitable again, and other industries began to invent and utilize machines to make their businesses more lucrative ...

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...and people were generally happy with where they were in the work ladder.

Factory workers became a part of the quickly growing “middle class,” the gap of people living between the poor and the wealthy. This middle class eventually became the most populated class in our country, and it can be accredited to the industrialization period in the United States. These workers could now support their families with the money earned despite a lack of education or experience, something that wouldn’t have been possible before this crucial period in the United States. The economy boomed, unemployment was at an extreme low, and urban areas were expanding at an alarming rate. America was booming, we were now the biggest oil producer in the world, and no one could have imagined the ruin that was hurriedly approaching our country. This ruin is now referred to as the great depression.