Economic Changes During the Industrial Revolution

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Economic changes brought about the Industrial Revolution which directly affected the social structure and social values of most Americans.(pg. 248 Patch) This changed American life and what it means to be America. It also created a massive gap between rich and poor threatened American freedom. Consequently the revolution made the industrialist the middle class and the business man the high class was. As a result during the early Republic period the workers went through hell to earn a living but came out on top in the end. The emergence of the textile industry depended on several factors it needed the business man with access to capital, a large quantity of cheap workers, land, and a reliable source of energy. (pg. 231 Ch. 9)The cheapest laborer available was children, age 7-16 years of age. (pg. 232 Ch. 9)Pay for children workers were as low as thirty three cents per week. The second group were young women who did not wanting to do domestic service. (pg. 235 Ch. 9) Women often worked of a third less than men. This caused people to flood the areas where the industry was for work. The ...

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