American Industrial Workers

Improved Essays
The American industrial worker was heavily impacted by the technology changes, the increase in immigration, and the creation of labor unions that happened between 1865 and 1900. The development of new technology in communication, steel production, and transportation led to the creation of new businesses and jobs, and it helped many existing businesses expand. This increase of businesses resulted in more jobs, and this influenced many people from other countries to migrate to America. The increase in employment gave American industrial workers a better way of living, but the working conditions were not ideal. Labor laws didn’t exist to protect the workers, and this led to the creation of labor unions that fought for labor laws.
The introduction
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between 1865 and 1900 had both a negative and positive impact on the American industrial worker. Many migrant workers didn’t have an education, therefore, they generally settled in industrial cities that offered them many jobs. The migrant worker population was large and concentrated on certain areas. This caused competition between Chinese and Mexican workers, and Anglo-American and African-American workers in the West. In the North, the rivalry was between the “Old immigration” groups, which included British, and Irish workers, and the “New immigration” group, which included Italians, Poles, and Greeks. The Migrant workers from the “New immigration” workers replaced many of the “Old immigration” workers because they accepted lower wages. Although the increase of migrant population caused animosity between all the different cultures, this helped many businesses, factories that needed more employees due to their fast development and …show more content…
Men, women, and even children were subject to these conditions and there weren’t any labor laws available to protect them. The lack of adequate working conditions led to the creation of labor unions. A few examples of the labor unions were the Molly Maguires, The Knight of Labor, and the American Federation of Labor. These labor unions fought for the rights of the American industrial workers. Most of them took drastic measures such as organizing strikes, using violence and even murder to obtain better pay and work conditions. For instance, the railroad strike of 1877 claimed 100 lives. This strike was caused by a wage cut. Another strike that affected workers and even the American population was the protest at the Haymarket Square, during which a bomb was used. This terrorized the public and the term “anarchism” developed a negative connotation. Many of the strikes that occurred between 1865 and 1900 were not very successful but these were the first steps that labor unions had to take towards the path that would eventually lead them to better labor laws in the future.
The development of new technology, the increase of immigration to the U.S., and the establishment of labor unions greatly impacted the American industrial worker by providing new opportunities and creating new jobs for everyone and opening the doors

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