How has rapid industrial development affected the way we live now?
Approximately a century ago, industrial development boomed. People were moving to cities at an extraordinary pace because there were plenty of opportunities for jobs. The industrial revolution undeniably affects how we live in this day and age. Without the tenacious efforts of workers to get better wages by striking, we would not be where we are today in our workplace. People like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman also contributed to the labor movement by trying to prevent the monopolies from gaining power, such as the steel industry. There is a similar situation going on in India and China, America and Europe have companies that send work to India and China where the employees work for little pay and the working conditions are poor as well.[1] Since the industrial revolution, in America we have advanced and regulated the work place conditions which has made working in cities a completely different experience.
The second industrial revolution made a vast difference to the way Americans live now. Before the industrial development, there were no machines that mass produced products, and the working conditions and living conditions were terrifying.[2] Although during the industrial development workers amongst others were angry with the change that was occurring they soon saw that scientific and technological developments would make their lives much easier.
Scientific and technological discoveries are made every day, however, only some of those discoveries are practical enough to use in our everyday lives. Now it seems completely mundane to have machines and robots to mass produce products we use, but in the 20th century it was new for people. The scientific innovations were not easily accepted, especially when it was
replacing workers.
A change that the industrial revolution made was the types of jobs people were doing. Before the boom in manufacturing, factory jobs were physically demanding, harsh jobs. These jobs were no longer to be seen after the industrial revolution. Rather than doing the job of the machine, employees would soon be required to do different skilled work, such as maintenance for the new machines.
One of the major changes that were seen during and after the industrial revolution was that there were more women in the workplace. As there were high demands of labor – for example the shirtwaists factories the employers hired many women to work. Unfortunately these jobs that were considered “women’s work” were severely underpaid and had poor safety regulations. An example of this is the strike at the Triangle Factory a year before the Triangle Fire; the women in the workplace led a strike for better working conditions. Unfortunately they were never granted those better working conditions which were evidently needed as was seen on March 25, 1911. William Gunn Shepherd later made the connection between the strike and the fire, he noted, “I remembered their great strike of last year, in which these girls demanded more sanitary workrooms, and more safety precautions in the shops, these dead bodies told the result.” [3] After the Triangle Fire, the State Labor Department forced New York to develop new fire safety regulations.[4] An innovation during this time was the Fire Departments’ creation of the high pressure water areas.[5] This was yet to be seen, especially after the tragic fire of 1911.
Not only did the fire show the result of careless employers, it also embodied how many workers were treated in the beginning of the 1900s, but especially women. The careless employers such as Andrew Carnegie said things such as, “The worker has no more to do with setting his wages than does a piece of coal with setting its price.”[6] The employers were not concerned with safety regulations, or ethical ones. This attitude was reflected when there were 146 deaths at the Triangle Factory on March 25, 1911 most of them were women; to be exact 123 were women and 23 men.[7]
Since the industrial age of the beginning of the 1900s the regulations that have taken place have led us to where we are today. We have gone from safety regulations, to regulations for worker’s compensations, and now we focus on regulations to protect the environment – or eco-friendly regulations. The term that was coined by The Business Council for Sustainable Development which is involved with the ecological revolution is “eco-efficiency.” During the industrial age in the beginning of the 20th century, people were unaware that resources were not abundant, nor did they figure that the industry’s harsh pollutants could harm the environment. A symbol of the industrial age was the Titanic, as it marked the rapid growth of industrial development. However, the lack of ecological awareness, and knowledge of how harsh chemicals affect the environment leads us to where we are today – trying to regulate the use of our natural resources.[8]
The second industrial revolution made a vast difference to the way Americans live now. Before the industrial development, there were no machines that mass produced products, and the working conditions and living conditions were terrifying.[2] Although during the industrial development workers amongst others were angry with the change that was occurring they soon saw that scientific and technological developments would make their lives much easier.
Scientific and technological discoveries are made every day, however, only some of those discoveries are practical enough to use in our everyday lives. Now it seems completely mundane to have machines and robots to mass produce products we use, but in the 20th century it was new for people. The scientific innovations were not easily accepted, especially when it was
replacing workers.
A change that the industrial revolution made was the types of jobs people were doing. Before the boom in manufacturing, factory jobs were physically demanding, harsh jobs. These jobs were no longer to be seen after the industrial revolution. Rather than doing the job of the machine, employees would soon be required to do different skilled work, such as maintenance for the new machines.
One of the major changes that were seen during and after the industrial revolution was that there were more women in the workplace. As there were high demands of labor – for example the shirtwaists factories the employers hired many women to work. Unfortunately these jobs that were considered “women’s work” were severely underpaid and had poor safety regulations. An example of this is the strike at the Triangle Factory a year before the Triangle Fire; the women in the workplace led a strike for better working conditions. Unfortunately they were never granted those better working conditions which were evidently needed as was seen on March 25, 1911. William Gunn Shepherd later made the connection between the strike and the fire, he noted, “I remembered their great strike of last year, in which these girls demanded more sanitary workrooms, and more safety precautions in the shops, these dead bodies told the result.” [3] After the Triangle Fire, the State Labor Department forced New York to develop new fire safety regulations.[4] An innovation during this time was the Fire Departments’ creation of the high pressure water areas.[5] This was yet to be seen, especially after the tragic fire of 1911.
Not only did the fire show the result of careless employers, it also embodied how many workers were treated in the beginning of the 1900s, but especially women. The careless employers such as Andrew Carnegie said things such as, “The worker has no more to do with setting his wages than does a piece of coal with setting its price.”[6] The employers were not concerned with safety regulations, or ethical ones. This attitude was reflected when there were 146 deaths at the Triangle Factory on March 25, 1911 most of them were women; to be exact 123 were women and 23 men.[7]
Since the industrial age of the beginning of the 1900s the regulations that have taken place have led us to where we are today. We have gone from safety regulations, to regulations for worker’s compensations, and now we focus on regulations to protect the environment – or eco-friendly regulations. The term that was coined by The Business Council for Sustainable Development which is involved with the ecological revolution is “eco-efficiency.” During the industrial age in the beginning of the 20th century, people were unaware that resources were not abundant, nor did they figure that the industry’s harsh pollutants could harm the environment. A symbol of the industrial age was the Titanic, as it marked the rapid growth of industrial development. However, the lack of ecological awareness, and knowledge of how harsh chemicals affect the environment leads us to where we are today – trying to regulate the use of our natural resources.[8]
Footnotes:
[1] Smith, Robert W.. Industrial Revolution. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Resources, 2007.
[2]Jevons, H. Stanley. "The second industrial revolution." The Economic Journal (1931): 1-18.
[3] Drehle, Dave. Triangle: the fire that changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly
Press, 2003.
[4]
Fishback, Price. The Irony of Reform. Did Large Employers Subvert Workplace Safety Reform, 1869 to 1930?. Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History: University of Chicago Press 2006.
[5] Stein, Leon, William Greider, and Inc ebrary. The Triangle Fire: Centennial Edition.. Ithaca: Cornell University Press., 1985.
[6] Smith, Robert W.. Industrial Revolution. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Resources, 2007.
[7] IBID
[8] McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. "The next industrial revolution." The Atlantic Monthly 282, no. 4 (1998).
By: Laura Pratt
[1] Smith, Robert W.. Industrial Revolution. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Resources, 2007.
[2]Jevons, H. Stanley. "The second industrial revolution." The Economic Journal (1931): 1-18.
[3] Drehle, Dave. Triangle: the fire that changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly
Press, 2003.
[4]
Fishback, Price. The Irony of Reform. Did Large Employers Subvert Workplace Safety Reform, 1869 to 1930?. Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History: University of Chicago Press 2006.
[5] Stein, Leon, William Greider, and Inc ebrary. The Triangle Fire: Centennial Edition.. Ithaca: Cornell University Press., 1985.
[6] Smith, Robert W.. Industrial Revolution. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Resources, 2007.
[7] IBID
[8] McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. "The next industrial revolution." The Atlantic Monthly 282, no. 4 (1998).
By: Laura Pratt