preview

American Industrial Worker Essay

Decent Essays

In the span of time in between 1865 and 1900 there had been various improvements in technology which paved the way for industrialization. Along with expanding industry came the demand for a work force, then being immigrants and native-born Americans. The American industrial worker had suffered at the hands of their employer with the cutting of wages, harsh work environments, and lack of support. Labor unions brought people together in order to establish a standard for the working environment of an American industrial worker. In 1868 Abram S. Hewitt introduced the open-hearth process, a method for making steel, to the United States. This process allowed for steel to be made in vast quantities. This opened the way for the American steel industry, which needed workers in order to mine the iron and coal necessary for the production of steel and then the production of steel itself. Steel was then used to for railroads. Another use of steel was the eventual creation of skyscrapers, which used steel support frames in place of wooden support frames, allowing them to create …show more content…

With little regard for the individual a company can ignore the comfort of the individual employee that is easily replaceable. This is made possible through the advancements in technology which disregarded the need for an artisan. Immigrants would be finagled into working in factories for lower pay than others. The weakness of the worker’s unions and organizations for improving the life quality of a worker made little to no progress. The American industrial worker had sacrificed their quality of life in exchange for work to continue living. Middle class workers were able to enjoy luxuries not previously available to them. In all, an improvement in technology and influx of immigrants just made workers disposable, and workers had little support, representation, and influince in the

Get Access