Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War Industrialization Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War Industrialization Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War Industrialization Tamika Brown Alan Rogers HIS 105: American History after 1865 January 21, 2018 Thesis In the late nineteenth centuries, the United States developed from a majorly agrarian economy to an industrial economy which came with the growth of manufacturing industries and development of cities. Before the revolution, most Americans were confined to their rural homes and practiced agriculture. (Olmstead and Rhode, 711). Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War IndustrializationOutline The industrial revolution widely affected economic, political and social spheres in the United States. Economically, industrialization saw the construction of the railroad which enabled the movement of goods and services; it supplied the high demand for goods since manufacturing companies had the capacity to produce enough. Also, the post-civil war industrialization contributed to the rise of America into one the leading global economies of the world (Bensel, 1). Because of the industrial expansion and economic growth there arose disputes over wealth and wealth distribution which led to formation of political parties to enable those suppressed by industrialization seek a voice through political representation (Bensel, 2) Though in a large perspective economics and political spheres were affected, in the consequential social effects of the expansion there are specific groups that were affected by the industrial revolution. The first group is farmers; most farmers could not produce to compete with the big company’s production capacities. Because of competition farmer’s income reduced, therefore in search of a decent livelihood they moved to cities and lived in congested rooms and this resulted in the upsurge of diseases. The second group was women, in the industries they were made to work as hard as men, and, in as much as they did the same amount of work as the male counterparts, they were paid half of what men received. The third group was children, underage was forced into child labor, and this consequently affected their education. Fourth, are the Native Americans, with the growth in transportation industry they lost most of their properties where the railroad passed, on top of the loses there came unrest and war when they tried to defend their properties. The fifth group is the businessmen, they strove with politicians over control of wealth and resources but contrary to the supremacy wars businessmen were affected on the positive because they made money out of the industrialization. (Babayan). With the foregoing challenges withstanding, industrialization transformed most of the United States from a rural setting to urban and therefore need of labor. The desire for labor came along with its challenges too that affected the worki ...

1. Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War
Industrialization
Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War
Industrialization
Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War
Industrialization
Tamika Brown
Alan Rogers
HIS 105: American History after 1865
January 21, 2018
Thesis
In the late nineteenth centuries, the United States developed
from a majorly agrarian economy to an industrial economy
which came with the growth of manufacturing industries and
development of cities. Before the revolution, most Americans
were confined to their rural homes and practiced agriculture.
(Olmstead and Rhode, 711).
Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War
IndustrializationOutline
The industrial revolution widely affected economic, political
and social spheres in the United States. Economically,
industrialization saw the construction of the railroad which
enabled the movement of goods and services; it supplied the
high demand for goods since manufacturing companies had the
capacity to produce enough. Also, the post-civil war
industrialization contributed to the rise of America into one the
leading global economies of the world (Bensel, 1). Because of
the industrial expansion and economic growth there arose
disputes over wealth and wealth distribution which led to
formation of political parties to enable those suppressed by
industrialization seek a voice through political representation
(Bensel, 2) Though in a large perspective economics and
political spheres were affected, in the consequential social

2. effects of the expansion there are specific groups that were
affected by the industrial revolution. The first group is farmers;
most farmers could not produce to compete with the big
company’s production capacities. Because of competition
farmer’s income reduced, therefore in search of a decent
livelihood they moved to cities and lived in congested rooms
and this resulted in the upsurge of diseases. The second group
was women, in the industries they were made to work as hard as
men, and, in as much as they did the same amount of work as
the male counterparts, they were paid half of what men
received. The third group was children, underage was forced
into child labor, and this consequently affected their education.
Fourth, are the Native Americans, with the growth in
transportation industry they lost most of their properties where
the railroad passed, on top of the loses there came unrest and
war when they tried to defend their properties. The fifth group
is the businessmen, they strove with politicians over control of
wealth and resources but contrary to the supremacy wars
businessmen were affected on the positive because they made
money out of the industrialization. (Babayan). With the
foregoing challenges withstanding, industrialization
transformed most of the United States from a rural setting to
urban and therefore need of labor. The desire for labor came
along with its challenges too that affected the working class; the
effects were both negative and positive. Since most people
migrated to the urban areas to offer labor, workers got
congested and lived in unhealthy conditions in the urban centers
(Shackel and Palus, 828). Also, the rapid growth of the
industries at the initial stages after the civil war saw a decrease
in workers’ salaries together with difficulties in movements to
their workplaces (Shackel and Palus, 828). On top of this, the
innovation of labor-saving machines demanded unskilled labor;
this brought scarcity of jobs for adults because the major source
of unskilled labor was children. On the contrary, the positive
effects cannot be overlooked. The increasing labor problem
necessitated the formation of labor unions that helped improve

3. the working conditions. Later during industrialization came the
rail which eased transportation and solved the movement
problem (Shackel and Palus, 829). Though industrialization in
America came with various developments it also came with its
challenges to various sectors’ and groups in the society. But as
industrialization has continued to advance through innovation
so has Americans managed to overcome and solve the negative
effects that industrialization brought.
References
Babayan Tatevik “American History” 2013 web 19th January
19, 2018
Olmstead Alan L, Rhode Paul W. “The Transformation of
Northern Agriculture”. In: Engerman Stanley L, Gallman Robert
E., editors. The Cambridge Economic History of the United
States. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2000.
pp. 711 print
Shacke Paul A. l, Palus Matthew M. “The Gilded Age and
Working-Class Industrial Communities” Source: American
Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 108, No. 4 (Dec., 2006), pp.
828-841
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