Industrial Revolution Dbq

During the Industrial Revolution, the public addressed their problems by working to improve the way that the cities cares for their citizens and environment. The Industrial Revolution is a time of great change in America; as the nation grows and expands, problems do arise, along with solutions for them. The public would tire of these problems and look for ways to fix them on their own. To combat the problems, they focused on bettering the living conditions of the working class, making factories safer and cleaner places to work, and by promoting equality for all people. Altogether, the public worked hard to create a fair and honest country. From 1859 into the 1920’s the living conditions of the working class was extremely poor. Most of the

When the railroad first began, steam engines ran on coal; coal creates smoke which leads to even more pollution. Thankfully, railroad companies started using steam to power their trains. The same happened with the street cars that ran throughout the cities; originally, the only way people traveled to different locations by either walking or by horse and carriage. The horse and carriage ended up being replaced because of the amount of care the horses and the streets needed. Construction played its part in creating new and exciting moments; with the creation of skyscrapers, which contained about four to five levels, these buildings helped lower the amount of people in the streets. Sadly, any construction that took place left dust particles and medal shavings hanging in the air; this led to health problems in those who walked or lived close by. Some more problems that are caused by the factories and other large corporations, mostly affected the workers themselves; the reason for this is that the factory owners began to incorporate new and upgraded machinery to increase production and they themselves came with many new

Men worked hard to earn better wages for themselves and to accomplish this they created unions and formed protests until changes were made. The wages of the workers are so low that it is under the poverty level. The wages women and children made did not even compare to the males; they made barely anything. To combat the low wages, they formed and joined with unions. Once in a while these unions decided to execute strikes and not always did they accomplish anything. In 1869, with the creation of the first union named the Knights of Labor; this union came together so that they could fight hard for the working class; whether the worker be male, female, or even a small child, they had a right to be protected. The knights fought to abolish children as workers and advocated for shorter work hours. Unfortunately, a couple of years after 1890 the union ceased to exist. More unions popped up here and there, but none of them lasted for very long. These unions sometimes had specific workers in mind; some advocated for those of color and others stood primarily for women. The longest running union is the American Federation of Labor or the AFL; the members that joined with this organization represented only the whites and those who are skilled workers. This organization refused to allow those that varied in skin color, ethnic origins, age, and they did not let females join. A few special unions that came to be