Industrialization and how it had an effect on living and working conditions of lower argumentative essay examples

According to Ksutton (1), the industrial revolution stared in America back in the 1760. It progressed through various stages upto1916 (USA Online 1) when the country could have been said to be fully industrialized, though still going on with the industrial pursuit that has persisted to date. In a broad perspective, industrialization can be defined as the process through which the production methods and the processes are redefined and developed so as to increase production, increase the quality of the products and make the production process much easier. In relation to this, the US Online (Para 10) describes the industrial revolution in the US as a time when the cottage industries in the country were replaced by the large industries. The processes that used to be carried out by hand were mechanized and the production increased significantly. This was coupled by increase in infrastructure in order to transport the raw material s to the industries and the finished products from the industries. Specialization also came up as people took up prestigious jobs in the industries. The employment patterns also changed as people sought job in these industries. According to Accampo (1989), these changes had an effect on the overall lives of the people; socially, economically, and even in terms of governance. The rights of the people were also affected in a way. This essay seeks to discuss the issue of industrialization in America with the assumption that the failure of the government to be involved in the employment and operations of the industries subjected the poor to exploitation by the emerging businesses.

America’s History (1) posits that at the time during which America was experiencing industrial revolution, there were a lot of people who were flocking into the land. They came to the US for different reasons; fleeing religious and political persecution, as well as the need for better economic conditions. However, not all of them were lucky to get what they so much needed. Accampo (1989) observes that industrialization affected the American social setting in that there emerged two groups of people or social classes. There were the wealthy individuals who owned the production processes. These were people who had an education and who drove the revolution. They were employed in the high offices in the industries and had a massed much wealth. The second group was the lower social class or the poor. These were the people who were less specialized or skilled. They did the manual labor at the industries such as mining and other handy jobs, which were not paying as well. these people worked for at least 60 hours in a week and only earned about 20 cents per hour with no fringe benefits (US Online Para 12). Furthermore, there was an influx of the poor population, which meant that there was a competition for the jobs in the industries. As such, the employers could take advantage of the unfortunate individuals by paying them less and making them do much work. The poor had no chance if they complained since they could be easily replaced. The working conditions were also not as good since they had to work in the mining fields where they were prone to many dangers. However, the companies did little or less to improve the conditions of the people (Ksutton 8). The situation was so bad that the companies went ahead to employ even women and children in the mining and other factory jobs which were quite inconsiderate of their health.

During this time, the US government was not as involved in the affairs of the people. The industrial revolution kicked in the late 1700s. The government assumed a neutral role, letting the organizations exploit the poor and dehumanize them so much. According to the US Online (Para 21), the government only came in for the laborers in 1901 when President Theodore Roosevelt called for the square deal. It was also around this time that the United Mine workers went on strike calling for better working conditions and better treatment by the employers. It took so long for the government to act while the employees had been suffering all the years at the hands of the employers. If only the government had taken an action in the earlier years of the industrialization process, then it is highly likely that the workers could not have been as mistreated as they were. The government could have put in place employment regulations, terms of remuneration as well as the terms of employment so as to protect the children from child labor and also to make sure that the employees were paid what was proportional to their input.

In conclusion, this essay has looked at the effects of industrialization on the lives of the poor. It has been derived that these people were abused and exploited by the employers for quite a long time simply because the government did not come in for them. Had it put in place the measures that were adopted much later, it is possible that the people could have been protected form the excessive exploitation.

Works Cited

Accampo, Elinor. Industrialization, Family Life, and Class Relations. Berkeley, LA: University of California Press, 1989.
America’s History. “ Industrializing America.” America History in the Making, 2012. Web. 13th Nov. 2012, http://www. learner. org/courses/amerhistory/units/14/
Ksutton. “ Effects of Industrialization on American Diversity and the Environment.” Timetoast. com, 2012. Web. 13th Nov. 2012, http://www. timetoast. com/timelines/121307
http://publishing. cdlib. org/ucpressebooks/view? docId= ft8f59p261; chunk. id= 0; doc. view= print
Us online. “ History of the United States”. Theusaonline. com, 2012. Web. 13th Nov. 2012, http://www. theusaonline. com/history/industrialization. htm