Making It in America Critique In 1960, one out of every four people in America was working in manufacturing. In 2018, less than one in ten people is employed through the manufacturing industry (Heather Long CNN). What has caused the change and how does this affect average American workers? In the essay, "Making It in America," author Adam Davidson describes the current conditions for the average workers in American factories and how they have changed. He describes his findings on the changes in manufacturing since the late 1900s, early 2000s: "Factories have replaced millions of workers with machines" (Davidson 318). To elaborate on the situation more thoroughly, he tells the story of a few workers in a Greenville, South Carolina factory. Davidson’s approach of using average people to tell his story is effective in pulling on a person’s sympathy and empathy. Also, using personal research rather than someone else’s statistics to support his claims makes his argument more valid. Davidson’s main point is that the technological advances in America have changed the way factories operate for the workers and lightly persuade the reader that the changes may be negative. …show more content…
He tells the story of a young woman working in the factory as a sanitation worker, essentially. Maddie Parlier was a bright young woman with a lot of potential in high school, but was unable to get proper education due to extenuating circumstances, or circumstances out of her control. Davidson makes the reader aware that there is no possibility of Parlier advancing in the company and that her job is even in jeopardy due to her lack of higher education. Davidson follows that story with the story of a man named Luke Hutchins. He is a college educated in Machine Tool Technology. According to Davidson, his job is very secure and should continue to be due to his level of
As technologies like steam developed industrialization was able to make use of the geography of the country. There was plenty of cheap land for farming so "American skilled workers tended to be both scarce and expensive" (Cowan 90) and it was necessary for people to create more efficient ways to work. Inventors created machines and methods that would require fewer people or people with fewer skills to compensate for the reduced labor force. This land rich environment lead to a working class that was for the most part transient. Men worked for a short time to make money to start up farms or businesses of their own. Women worked in factories to earn money to send home before they married and raised families. The American worker did not think of themselves as a permanent fixture in the factories, only as transient participant to earn what they need to move on to the next stages of their lives.
The article “The Coddling Of The American Mind”, written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, was written about how teachers are afraid of what they are allowed to say during in class because of the emotional effect on the students. While writing the article the authors have many examples of logos, ethos, and pathos. The logos of the article appeals to logic by presenting facts and statistics. The writers provide definitions of words such as microaggression and trigger warning. While explaining the definitions they go on to give real world examples to further the understanding of the words. Also statistics of the amount of mental health issues are provided to enhance the logos. Secondly to make the article more appealing is adding an emotional
Imagine moving to America and dreaming about riches, an easy life, no worries, safety and freedom. I hate to break it to you but… that is not that easy. To make the transition easier, it would be beneficial to learn English. This can be accomplished by forcing oneself to communicate with other Americans in English. Another way is to embrace the American culture. Finally, lose the false hopes. The streets are not lined in gold and money doesn't grow on trees. If you follow this you are sure to succeed!
Lost in America is a text on how the generations before us were set with a language barrier. Breaking this barrier could a have benefited us in countless ways. It starts from beginning to end, talking about how we begin to change our aspects for foreign countries. Douglas McGray states that students did not study abroad in the world war generations. America basically shuts its door on trying to learn different languages. This hurts us in the wars and foreign affairs. As time went on, this problem begins to get fixed and languages begin to enter the “American,” language. He writes “Lost in America,” with the experience and knowledge through other people. Every person learns through two ways: Through Experience or someone else’s experience. Douglas
happening in the world, with more and more people just accepting the new social classes and not protesting their unfairness. This source not only helps us understand the living conditions of the time but also the change in society that occurred during the Industrial
During the latter part of the 19th century, many laborers faced numerous problems. Some of these problems included, “mechanization of industry, emergence of giant corporations, nationalization of labor, public sentiment greatly admired the ‘Captains of Industry,’ and immigration” (Farless). After years of knowledge, man was introduced to machines. When machines played a part in the latter part of the 19th century, it caused trouble with the laborers. These new machines would replace laborers, which meant more laborers were remaining unemployed and that there were lower wages (Farless). Another problem laborers faced were the introduction to immigrants. Immigrants were coming to the United States of America from foreign land to work. With these immigrants, it kept the wages low because the immigrants were new inexpensive labor (Farless).
Economy in the sense of jobs, labor systems, industrialization, and social classes. Why was there a call for such mass production of goods? The need of hundreds of workers, and the inhumane conditions put upon these workers commonly led to their death? Americas movement into a consumer culture pushed for a new way of life. Instead of making things for themselves, they wanted to buy things for themselves. Therefore businesses needed a way to make enough products at a low enough cost so that people could buy them. This therefore led to employers hiring hundreds of workers that got paid very little. By doing so, it provided a way for businesses to produce and provide cheaply. As discussed in the textbook, workers commonly quit due to the awful labor systems that were like a “scene that resembled hell” (Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann). The textbook expands on these work conditions, and how the employers may choose to pay their workers less at any given time. It is no wonder that so much of the population was in poverty. The survival of many families depended on contributions from each family member, this is known as the family
The authors of “Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, use ethos, logos, and pathos convey their negative stance regarding trigger warnings and the effect they on education. Lukianoff and Haidt’s use of rhetorical appeal throughout the article adds to the author’s credibility and the strength of the argument against increasing the use of trigger warnings in school material. The authors, Lukianoff and Haidt, rely heavily upon the use of logos, such as relations between conflicts surrounding trigger warnings and other historical conflicts impacting student ethics. Examples of the use of these logical appeals are the relation between the Columbine Massacre and the younger generations ideology. The author goes on to mention other societal turning points such
The Industrial Revolution in America began to develop in the mid-eighteen hundreds after the Civil War. Prior to this industrial growth the work force was mainly based in agriculture, especially in the South (“Industrial Revolution”). The advancement in machinery and manufacturing on a large scale changed the structure of the work force. Families began to leave the farm and relocate to larger settings to work in the ever-growing industries. One area that saw a major change in the work force was textile manufacturing. Towns in the early nineteen hundreds were established around mills, and workers were subjected to strenuous working conditions. It would take decades before these issues were addressed. Until then, people worked and struggled for a life for themselves and their families. While conditions were harsh in the textile industry, it was the sense of community that sustained life in the mill villages.
Within an excerpt from, “The United States of Wal-Mart,” John Dicker explains that Wal-Mart is a troubling corporation. Dicker begins his article by discussing why the store is so popular within the news in an age of global terrorism, coming to the conclusion that Wal-Mart has a huge scope in the United States and that it has more scandals, lawsuits, and stories than any other supercenter. Continually, he goes on to explain that Wal-Mart outsources jobs and their companies demands makes it hard for employees to have livable wages and good working conditions. Furthermore, Dicker addresses the claim that Wal-Mart provides good jobs, by destroying this perception with statistics showing how employees live in poverty and that their union scene
Dissatisfaction continued within the middle class. As new industrial machines emerged, designed for mass product... ... middle of paper ... ... disrupting the equilibrium of American society, they confronted these issues and pushed for political, economic, and social reform. (H)
Lydon John, the President Of The U.S, is taking a stand for the Great Society as he believes that no matter what the critics say about never having a Great Society, that it can and will be obtained if racial injustice, expensive and out of date education, and poverty are all eliminated. In the speech The Great Society is states that “The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time.” This piece of evidence is showing us what his stance on the topic of having a Great Society is. From this evidence it is showing me that he telling the,people in the audience what must be done in order to achieve a Great Society. From trying to spread liberty
The mid 19th century was an age of growth like no other. The term “Industrial Revolution” refers to the time period where production changed from homemade goods, to those produced by machines and factories. As industrial growth developed and cities grew, the work done by men and women diverged from the old agricultural life. People tended to leave home to work in the new factories being built. They worked in dangerous conditions, were paid low wages, and lacked job security (Kellogg). It is difficult to argue, however, that the economic development of the United States was not greatly dependent on the industrial revolution.
Producing goods or services are dictated not by employees but by their employers. If profits exist, employers are the ones that benefit more so than the regular worker. “Even when working people experience absolute gains in their standard of living, their position, relative to that of capitalists, deteriorates.” (Rinehart, Pg. 14). The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Hard work wears down the employee leaving them frustrated in their spare time. Workers are estranged from the products they produce. At the end of the day, they get paid for a day’s work but they have no control over the final product that was produced or sold. To them, productivity does not equal satisfaction. The products are left behind for the employer to sell and make a profit. In discussions with many relatives and friends that have worked on an assembly line, they knew they would not be ...
A 2014 Oxford study found that the number of U.S. workers shifting into new industries has been strikingly small: In 2010, only 0.5 percent of the labor force was employed in industries that did not exist in 2000. The discussion about humans, machines and work tends to be a discussion about some undetermined point in the far future. But it is time to face reality. The future is now. (UPI Top