Strikebreaker

“They had dreamed of freedom; of a chance to look about them and learn something; to be decent and clean, to see their child grow up to be strong. And now it was all gone” (Sinclair 1906, 138). This is the bleak picture painted in Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle. A disturbing critique of turn-of-the-century industrialism with pervading themes of poverty, anti-corporation, and socialism. A commentary that exemplifies the Progressive era and the embodiments of freedom that came with it.…

The American industrial revolution of the 1800s was powered by coal. This newly harnessed energy source is what made the industrial innovations, like the fabrication of steel and iron, of the 1800s possible. In the early days of its mining, 1840, only 7,000 men were mining coal in America, but by 1870 the number of miners increased to 186,000. This increase was only the beginning. In 1900 the number of miners had surged to as many as 677,000. With the increase of workers came the increase of…

a. It can change rapidly. c. It is easy to regulate. b. It protects the less fortunate. d. It encourages growth. 6. What might be a hardship for citizens of a centrally planned economy making a transition to a market-based system? a. Farmers would have to grow the crops that the government instructed them to. b. Only poor quality goods would be available to consumers, because manufacturers focused on quantity, not quality. c. Workers would lose job security and guaranteed incomes. d.…