Industrial Revolution Dbq

1184 Words3 Pages

Columbia College





The Industrial Revolution through 1840






Al Massey
American History to 1877

Instructor:
Due: 10/15/17


The early Industrial Revolution was important for America’s evolution towards power and growth within our economy.
Industrial Revolution built the way we operate in Corporate America. From the evolution of the Industrial advancements gave us the building blocks of our modern society. It wasn’t always an easy step in the right direction, there were many issues we had to face: shortage of wood, fluctuating economy due to the west and immigration. Immigrants built canals and constructed railroads. They became involved in almost every labor-intensive endeavor in the country”, (2). Their canals connected waterways …show more content…

Companies often faced a challenge with trying to find housing and shelter for their workers especially when the workers brought their family along. Often, many companies had to set up factories/mines in the middle of nowhere, and had no place to keep their workers.
During the nineteenth century, the formation of social classes became more apparent. As well, women’s roles in the home were changing. Women were usually housewives, and worked at home, spinning, weaving, and cooking. Children dealt with all the basic chores around the house, and took care of animals and crops. However, as factories began developing, a need for unskilled labor arose.
Beginning in 1830 young women who worked in the context tile factories in Massachusetts organized to demand shorter hours of work and better labor conditions. Women in textile mills were paid less than the men and caught lung diseases from the dusty air they breathed in. “Mill employment also led some farmers’ daughters to become engaged in the reform movements of the antebellum decades” …show more content…

They were mostly restricted to being housewives where they would maintain the household, or gave their husbands a helping hand for those who worked on textiles and weaving from home. The revolution brought about a wave of jobs that could be handled by women.

These traditions also led mill women to become involved in a variety of other reform movements. Anti-slavery was strong in Lowell and mill women sent several petitions to Washington opposing slavery in the District of Columbia and opposing war with Mexico, which might contribute to an expansion of slavery into the Southwest. Woman reformers came to see opposition to black slavery and wage slavery as related causes.

The Industrial Revolution created the opportunity for America to advance in the use of machines, innovating the use of resources for some citizens to enjoy leisure’s and luxuries while others are faced to endure long work days and less pay. It had a tremendous effect on cultural conditions and economic profit in that time. Even in harsh conditions it gave women more opportunities to

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