Industrialization
The United States’economy developed very quickly after the Civil War.By the beginning of the 20th century，it had become the world’s greatest industrial power.However，this economic success was not achieved without a price.Monopoly replaced free competition in many parts of the economy，and created a group of industrial leaders known as“robber barons”at the cost of the common people who had to work long hours under very bad working condition and got very low pay.Mark Twain described the time as a“Gilded Age”in which superficial prosperity covered tremendous poverty and suffering.These problems would later inspire reform⁃minded intellectuals to start the Progressive Movement.
Industrialization was the main driver of the rapid economic development and social changes in the United States after the Civil War.America possessed many advantages that facilitated industrial development.Its vast population provided the largest domestic market in the western world，protected by high tariffs from foreign competition.The United States was also fortunate in having abundant important resources for industrial development，such as coal and rich deposits of iron ore.
Above all，Americans’inquisitiveness and acquisitiveness motivated them to develop new methods of industrial organization and production and to invent new devices which were very important for the industrial and economic development.In 1876，Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone，which revolutionized communications in the world.Thomas Edison patented over 1，000 inventions between 1876 and 1900.But the most important invention was a new system of production and industrial organization.
Mass production with the assembly line，known as the American system，allowed factories became larger and more efficient.However，this also made workers’jobs more monotonous.Mechanization was also introduced to farming，as gasoline⁃powered tractors and combines came into use at the turn of the 19th century.In addition，railroads also contributed to the rapid development of the economy during this period.Small railroad companies were consolidated into larger companies;this led to standardization of railway gauges which greatly promoted transportation.In addition，new railroads were quickly being built with the support of the Federal and state governments.By 1900，the country had about 210，000 kilometers of railways，including transcontinental railroads.
With rapid economic development，monopoly increasingly became the norm and competition was reduced.Large companies merged into huge corporations known as trusts to dominate different sectors of the economy.This allowed them to control prices and drive out small businesses.The most notable examples of monopolists included J.P.Morgan（1837—1913），John D.Rockefeller（1839—1937），and Andrew Carnegie（1835—1919）.From the late 1890s on，J.P.Morgan held a dominant position in both American and international finance.J.P.Morgan and Company controlled much of the nation’s finances and about half of the nation’s railroads.In addition，Morgan’s U.S.Steel Corporation controlled 70％ of the nation’s steel production.John D.Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust controlled the nation’s oil industry through ownership of 90％ of the nation’s oil refineries and pipelines.Andrew Carnegie’s company，Carnegie Steel，owned not only steel manufacturing companies，but also the production of coal，coke and iron ore，as well as the railroads to transport them.By 1890，the top 10％ of the population held 73％ of the nation’s wealth and largely controlled the country’s economy.To guarantee free competition，Congress passed the Sherman Anti⁃trust Act in 1890 which made monopolies illegal.But it was not always enforced effectively because courts could still define monopoly in such a way that businesses would not be affected.
The quick pace of industrialization had a huge impact on society by encouraging immigration and promoting rapid urbanization.The fast⁃growing manufacturing industry’s need for large numbers of unskilled workers attracted a big wave of new immigrants from foreign countries.Between 1880 and 1914，22 million new immigrants arrived in the United States.The majority of them ended up in the cities working in factories.Meanwhile，there was also a great domestic migration from rural areas to the cities，and the urban population grew from 6 million in 1860 to 42 million in 1910.By 1920，more people were living in cities than in the countryside.
City life underwent rapid changes as well.Before industrialization，cities were centers of trade where people came to sell products they produced outside of the city limits.With industrialization，manufacturing business became concentrated in the city itself.At first，the poor and the wealthy lived in the same neighborhoods.Gradually，however，the wealthy began to move out of the city centers and into the suburbs，leaving a concentration of new immigrants and the poor in the city centers.The fast⁃growing urban population caused enormous housing problems，and many of the new immigrants lived in tenement houses which were poorly maintained and unsanitary.
By 1910，new immigrants and their children made up more than half of the population of the major cities.The large influx of new immigrants，their concentration in the cities and their different religious beliefs and cultures caused uneasiness among some native⁃born Americans.This resulted in an anti⁃immigrant movement in the second half 19th century known as Nativism.Many native⁃born Americans believed that their Anglo⁃American culture was superior to that of the new immigrants.In addition，they were afraid that the willingness of the new immigrants to take low⁃paying jobs might drive wages down and take jobs away from them.Racism played an important role in the anti⁃Asian sentiment at the end of the century.Large groups of Chinese went to America after the American Civil War，working on the Trans⁃Continental Railway at first，and then settling down on the west coast.They suffered discrimination because of their different appearance and culture.In 1882，Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act，which barred Chinese from entering America.The Exclusion Act remained in force until World WarⅡwhen China and America became allies.Anti⁃Japanese sentiment also became strong.In 1907，the U.S.government asked the Japanese government to sign a so⁃called Gentleman’s Agreement，under which Japan promised not to issue passports to those Japanese who intended to go to America.
Industrialization created a large army of unskilled workers who did not own anything except their labor，which was exploited by profit⁃seeking business owners.In order to cut costs as low as possible，employers would make their employees work for long hours at minimum pay under very poor conditions.To save money，many employers would hire children and women who also worked long hours but were paid less than adult male workers.Aside from long working hours and low pay，workers also suffered from high expenses because the big trusts could keep prices high in the absence of competition.While big businesses were making hundreds of millions of dollars in profit each year，working families could barely survive although even their young children were working long hours in factories or mines.
Child Labor in Vermont
The inequality was so great that class consciousness began to develop among workers，and they started to organize themselves into labor unions to fight for better working conditions，shorter working days and higher wages.The most influential union in the late 19th century was the American Federation of Labor（AFL）which was a loose confederation of 25 national unions.The unions often organized strikes to press their demands.They won some victories，but both the government and the business were hostile towards organized labor.They used replacement workers，policemen，militias and sometimes even federal troops to break the strikes.There were many incidents in which both the striking workers and policemen were killed.The best⁃known example was the“Haymarket Square Riot”.On May 1，1886，the AFL called for a nation⁃wide strike to demand an eight⁃hour working day.More than 350，000 workers all over the country went on strike.In Chicago，all of the trains stopped running and most industries were paralyzed.On the evening of May 4，when the strikers were having a rally at Haymarket Square in Chicago，a bomb exploded among the police who then fired into the crowd.Hundreds of people were injured and more than a dozen were killed.The victims included both policemen and strikers.In the end，the police arrested eight anarchist leaders who were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death although most of them were not even at the scene when the violence took place.This aroused more anger among the working class and more strikes were held.In 1886 alone，there were more than 1，400 strikes.In the same year，the unions formed an Independent Labor Party and participated in election campaigns later that year，winning considerable numbers of votes in city elections.
Farmers also suffered from the monopolies.Railroad companies charged very high rates for transporting farmers’products to market.They required small farmers to store their goods at railroad storage facilities for a long time and charged high storage fees.At the same time，railroad companies favored the larger companies by giving them rebates.On top of that，small farmers also suffered from the shortage of money.Many of them lost their farms because they could not pay their debts.
To combat the railroad’s discrimination against small shippers，farmers set up the Farmers Alliance to help themselves.The Farmers Alliance collected farm products from the farmers and tried to sell their goods together to get better prices.They established storage facilities of their own to avoid the high storage fees collected by the railroad companies.They also boycotted product produced by trusts.However，the economic depression of the 1890s made the farmers’situation even worse because prices of farm products fell drastically.
Farmers gradually came to see politics as a way to solve their problems，because they believed that farm interests were not protected due to a lack of representatives in Congress to help them.As a result，they launched what became known as the Populist Movement.To advance their causes in Congress，they organized the People’s Party（also known as the Populist Party）to elect their own people to Congress.The party demanded that the government should go off the gold standard for currency and print more paper money，abolish the national banking system，nationalize the railroads，institute a graduated income tax，elect U.S.senators by direct popular vote，and allow people to participate directly in government by means of referendum.Support for the Populist Party was limited，but many of their demands were later realized because of the Progressive Movement.
The Progressive Movement was started by intellectuals and well⁃educated small businessmen at the beginning of the 20th century.Prompted by the sufferings of working people，journalists started to conduct investigative reporting.Their investigations exposed corruption in government，cheating in business，and the terrible working conditions in factories.They also attacked other social evils like child labor and prostitution.These reporters were known as“muckrakers”and their writings as muckraking journalism.Their reports aroused so much public anger that the government was forced to carry out reforms.Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is the bestknown example of muckraking literature.His description of the terrible conditions in Chicago slaughterhouses helped to push the government to conduct an investigation which later resulted in food and drug safety laws.
These reform efforts were supported by politicians such as President Theodore Roosevelt and President Woodrow Wilson，who believed that government had the responsibility to protect the public interest and to regulate business.During their administrations，the Sherman Antitrust Act was used repeatedly.New laws were also passed to curb corruption and address economic problems.In 1913，the 17th Amend⁃ment to the Constitution was adopted，requiring that Senators be directly elected by the people instead of being chosen by the state legislatures.Also in 1913，Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act which established 12 district banks under the supervision of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington in order to avoid banking crisis such as that in 1907 when the banks did not have enough money to meet the need of economic development.In 1916，to address farmers’problems，Congress passed the Federal Farm Loan Act which provided low interest⁃loans to farmers.Congress also passed a child labor law in 1916，restricting the employment of child labor in most jobs.This law was later thrown out by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.Taken as a whole，however，these measures helped to solve some of the main problems in American society and to ensure further economic development.