Industrialization
What is the name of the period of change caused by industrialization, immigration, and urbanization after the Civil War?
This period of change is called the Second Industrial Revolution.
What drew immigrants to the United States between 1865 and 1914?
The promise of finding work in the expanding American economy drew immigrants to the United States.
What “pushed” Irish people to leave Ireland for the United States beginning in 1845?
The potato blight and resulting lack of food pushed many Irish people to immigrate to the United States beginning in 1845.
In which cities did most Irish immigrants settle in the United States?
Most Irish immigrants settled in Boston, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago.
Why did more than a million Germans immigrate to the United States between 1845 and 1855?
Some were farmers and laborers in search of better jobs and better economic opportunities. Later, doctors, lawyers, and skilled artisans fled the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1848.
What was Ellis Island?
Ellis Island was an immigration processing center in New York Harbor.
What types of jobs did most immigrants take?
Most immigrants took unskilled jobs for low pay, working as servants, sweeping streets, hauling trash, and selling food from carts. They also worked in factories, mines, and mills.
What factors contributed to nativism?
Discrimination and fear that immigrants were taking jobs and lowering wages contributed to nativism.
In what ways was the immigrant experience positive?
Immigrants found Americans who welcomed and helped them, and they also found and built communities that offered assistance. Growing immigrant populations also contributed to increased political power.
Why did African Americans move north after slavery ended?
They hoped to find better jobs and better schools than in the South.
What opportunities did African Americans find in northern cities during the First World War?
They found work in factories producing materials for the war effort.
What factors caused rapid urbanization in the United States?
The use of farm machinery decreased the need for agricultural labor, leading people to move from rural areas to urban areas in search of work. Increased immigration to U.S. cities also contributed to rapid urbanization.
What issues did rapid urbanization cause for cities like New York?
Rapid urbanization caused housing shortages and led to the construction of cramped, unsafe, and unsanitary tenements. Urbanization also caused sanitation issues, the rapid spread of disease, and air pollution.
How did America’s economy change from before the Civil War to the 1910s?
Before the Civil War, most Americans were farmers. By 1880, more people worked in manufacturing than in agriculture, and by the 1910s, the United States was producing a third of the world’s manufactured goods.
How did laissez-faire capitalism contribute to industrial growth?
Through laissez-faire capitalism, the federal government placed few regulations on businesses, allowing them to pay low wages and require long hours in poor working conditions. This helped businesses grow quickly.
Why was mechanization important to industrialization?
Mechanization made it possible to produce more goods in less time for less money.
How did the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 change the United States?
The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 authorized the construction of the first transcontinental railroad and resulted in the rapid expansion of railways across the United States.
How did railroads drive industrialization?
Railroads were used to transport raw materials and finished goods. They helped open new markets across the country. They were also major consumers of raw materials.
What was a negative cost of railroad expansion?
Railroad expansion resulted in the displacement of Native Americans and the destruction of their traditional ways of life.
What technology made the building of skyscrapers possible?
Elevator technology enabled the building of skyscrapers.
Why did corporations create monopolies?
Corporations created monopolies to reduce or eliminate competition.
How did John D. Rockefeller form a monopoly?
John D. Rockefeller formed a monopoly through horizontal integration. He purchased other competing oil refineries.
Why was John Pierpont Morgan significant to the Second Industrial Revolution?
He provided the capital needed to grow industries, and he also helped arrange numerous mergers.
How did Madam C. J. Walker stand apart from other entrepreneurs of the time?
Madam C. J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, was a woman entrepreneur at a time when business and most aspects of life were dominated by men.
What does it mean to be a “captain of industry”?
A captain of industry is a leader of an important business who is seen as doing good from their position of leadership.