The Industrial Revolution - Technology and Society
Some people think that it is good to do bad things to achieve something good. Well, that seemed to be the case in Russia and the United States after the Industrial Revolution because in the United States and Russia problems led to solution .The Industrial Revolution caused many problems in both the United States and Russia. Even though the Industrial Revolution caused similar problems, the solutions and results were different. There were many problems in the United States due to the Industrial Revolution. First, some Americans attempted to form monopolies to take over a particular industry. For example, Rockefeller and Carnegie had monopolies in their fields of work (oil and steel). This allowed them to set whatever prices they wanted, and people had to pay for their products because it was the only one available. This made them even more rich and powerful. Another problem was the poor work conditions. Workers had to work long hours and do strenuous work for very little pay. The work environment was not a safe one and not a very good one either. Thirdly, the United States economy was not doing so well. With all of the new technology and machinery that allowed mass production due to the Industrial Revolution, there were many business cycles (Depressions and “booms”). During depressions, people had a hard time making money and finding jobs. The stock market was also doing poorly, and there wasn’t much money. During booms, everything was going great. The stock market was doing very well, times were good and money was plentiful. There were many people with jobs and not as many poor people. In addition, cities were becoming a problem in the United States. Many were working out well in the beginning, but now that industry was booming, people went to the city to find work and live. Overcrowding was a big problem in some areas. Many people that lived in cities had to live in tenements. The conditions there were not very good, and cities were getting dirtier and unhealthy. Diseases began to spread and people got sick and some died. The cities were getting worse and worse. Lastly, due to the diversity of people, and immigration because of the Industrial Revolution, there were many prejudice people in the United States that discriminated against colored people just because of the color of their skin. They were powerless and were not listened to...