Industrial Capitalization In The Gilded Age

There were a lot of different things that happened and a lot of change in the Gilded Age but one major thing that changed in the Gilded Age is the employer, employee relationship. Industrial capitalization was on the rise and the United States was on its way to becoming the world’s industrial leader. This big rise in the economy and low government involvement in industry is what possibly drove employers to maximize profit by using “scientific management”, lowering wages, heightening work hours, not providing a safe work place, and having women and children work in harsh conditions for lower pay. All of these problems sometimes resulting in many violent strikes and even lockouts, which eventually forever changed employer, worker relationship …show more content…
The new economic order offered women new opportunity but with that women were also usually paid much less than men, which was already not a lot. There also seemed to be a good amount of segregation for black and Latina women looking for work. Child labor was also on the rise during this time, and without many or enforced child labor laws, these kids were worked hard because their family was dependent on their income. “Employers in some industries, such as textiles, sought out child laborers, as they could pay them less and could more easily control them.” Children were also able to do hazardous task just as the adults were able to do causing more accidents and …show more content…
“Workers began to organize collectively into labor unions to fight for a living wage, shorter hours, and better conditions and to offset the power of employers.” Workers believed they deserved to be treated better and actions were made in order to show this. “Conflict between workers and employees exploded. Between 1881 and 1905, 37,000 strikes involving seven million workers, took place, many of these were violent.” Some organizations were able to gain some sort of progress through these strikes and in the long run today we have better working conditions and safety laws and what not so eventually these strikers did end up winning. The worker, employee relationship seemed to have a turn for the worse during the Gilded Aged with use of “Scientific Management” ideas, horrible work conditions on top of bad wages and dreadfully long work weeks, having women work at even lower wages, and children working in hazardous work environments. All these things combined motivated workers to strike and show their employers that they deserved to be treated better. Though some of the progress of earning better working conditions were slow, we wouldn’t be where we are at today without those who put up a fight for our