Revolution in the United States

The industrial revolution in the United States of America took a turn from a conventional agricultural society into a vibrant industrial society soon after the civil war. These remarkable changes were a result of many factors such as the availability of raw materials, a large labor force as well as the development of the trans-continental railroad system among other factors. The discovery of iron ore was also among the factors that helped to power up the American Industrial revolution. There were also some of the key figure individuals whole played a major role in the development of industries in the United States and they include Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D.

Rockefeller among others.

The period between 1870 and 1914 saw the spurring growth of the American economy and this marked the Second Industrial Revolution. The development of new inventions during this period was also seen as one of the main contributing factors of economic growth in the U.S. For instance, human labor was replaced by machines and this meant that the manufacturing and production capacity increased tremendously. Bankers and investors also injected a lot of money that enabled the business leaders to expand their business operations and this led to the invention of new products that gained public demand. Some of the common industries after the American civil included steel companies such as the Carnegie Steel Company owned by Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh, oil companies such as the Standard Oil Company operated by John D. Rockefeller, rail roads and steamboat industries too.

These are just some of the captains of the Industry worth the mention during this period. These business leaders were very successful because the federal government provided them with land grants and they were able to lay more rail tracks across the country. High tariffs were enacted to protect American industry from foreign competition, land was granted to railroad companies to encourage construction, and the army was employed to forcibly remove Indians from western land desired by farmers and mining companies (Engelman, 2018). They were also given subsidies and this made them venture into these business since they getting high profits. For instance, the Union Pacific Railroad company and the Leland Stanford Central Pacific Railroad were able to complete the transcontinental line.

These captains of the industry were very ruthless and controlled their businesses with iron fists because they were not being regulated by the government. There were no regulations that protected the labor force hence these tycoons had no regard for their workers (Arrington, 2017). This was further escalated by the failure of the Supreme Court ruling in the 1869 ruling of the Wabash Case that only allowed the government to make regulations for the interstate commerce. The post-civil war American Industrial Revolution was also influenced by labor reforms so as to be tandem with this progressive era.

There were development of movements that guided the farmers and laborers such as the American Federation of Labor (AFL) of 1886 enabled the union to bargain for better wages and working conditions for the employees. The Farmers’ Alliances and the National Grange also pushed the railways authority to lower the cost of transporting farmers’ produce. Labor reforms were also felt in all spheres and works of life and some cases the politicians also influenced these reforms. For instance, Theodore Roosevelt, one of America’s liberal Republican President took part in the strike of the United Mine laborers against their employers and advocated for arbitration.

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