The Industrial Revolution: Henry Ford And John D. Rockefeller

Before the American Revolution, The original economy consisted of farmers and small-business owners making homemade products. This ensured that the quality of the product was quite high although, it came at a fairly large price tag. The main elements that allowed the United States to stray away from this style of trade and into a new Industrial Revolution were the four factors of production. These factors consist of entrepreneurship, land, labor, and capital. To start a business, it is first Essential that there is an idea of what goods or services the company will be producing. This act is known as entrepreneurship and was the first spark to setting the fire of the Industrial Revolution. once an idea has been created, vicinity is needed to …show more content…
Making an exceedingly high amount of profit is usually viewed as being majorly successful, two industrialists that fall under this specification are Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. Both of their prosperous businesses positively impacted the nation yet sequentially negatively impacted the nation. From this the terms “captain of industry” and “robber baron” are created. Henry Ford was an American automobile producer who invented the Ford Model T car and later developed the assembly line style of production. This production style revolutionized the industry and made cars more accessible to the public. Because the amount of cars on the road was higher than ever before, new roads and road technologies were needed. This resulted in a surplus of new jobs, in turn helping the homeless population. Although Ford achieved many accomplishments, his opposition to labor unions, dangerous facilities, and boring work created low morale for his employees. John D. Rockefeller industrialized the oil business, employed many, and was quite the philanthropist yet his monopolization of the oil refining business lead to the elimination of fellow businesses and excess of power. Monopolies negatively impact the economy by charging prices higher than justifiable leaving their customers drained. This act is known as “wage slavery” and is when someone is merely working to …show more content…
Because mass production was at an all time high, the availability of cheap goods increased. This raised the standards of living because now a family could afford a wider variety of products rather than spending all of that money on one product made from a smaller business. The factory worker lifestyle was average to most Americans as there were very few wealthy people. Due to bettered transportation and increase in the government's budget, public institutions became more easily accessible. Sadly, these positive results partnered with a fair amount of negative results. Being a factory worker was quite strenuous. Low wages, extremely long hours, and strict regulations left workers exhausted. Even with these unacceptable circumstances, employees never complained to their instructors because they knew that they are extremely easy to fire and that others would be happy to take their job. Dangerous facilities were also a big issue during the Industrial Revolution. The cramped, poorly ventilated, loud, dim lit, and overheated buildings often resulted in workers developing deafness, getting an appendage amputated, and having a heat stroke. Accompanied by such low wages, factory jobs were hard to desire yet many still feared losing them in threats of becoming homeless. Often whole families were forced to work in order to keep their home and pay