A Shift in American Values
Compilation by Romina
The Second industrial Revolution was a great force that
came fast after the Civil War and it profoundly shook American Society into a
new shape. The United States transitioned from a very traditional farm and
agriculture-centered economy to a fully industrialized modern society, “between
1870 and 1920, almost 11 million Americans moved from farm to city” (Foner,590).
These Americans, who left their farms for these new rapidly-growing urban
metropolis, came here with the promise of work opportunity in the newly
introduced large industries. But still, confronted with low wages were forced
to live in substandard conditions. For this reason, an expansion of waged labor
occurred during the following decades, expanding the working force to women,
children and racial minorities and immigrants. All these factors, inevitably
leading to a re-shaping of American customs and values, and the family
structure and roles were being redefined. The abundant natural resources, expansion of factory production, the rapid railroad construction, growing supply of workers and the expanding market for new manufacturing goods were all reasons for this new economic growth of the Second industrial Revolution.
However, this new economic system did not benefit everybody and the wealth was distributed quite unevenly; while a minute percentage of the population acquired immense wealth through the rise of the corporation, the vast majority of Americans lived in dire poverty and suffered the unjust conditions of the workplace.
The American factory worker during the Industrial Age was bitterly faced with the dichotomy of separation of classes in society. Factory workers not only received extremely low wages, but worked long hours, had no job security, no pensions, and often worked under precarious conditions, “between 1880 and 1900, an average of 35,000 workers perished each year in factory and mine accidents” (Foner, 598.
Simultaneously, the wealthy actively took part in the consumerist society and pursued an aristocratic lifestyle owning palatial homes, joining exclusive clubs, and throwing fancy balls. “By 1890, the richest 1 percent of Americans received the same total income as the bottom half of the population and owned more property than the remaining 99 percent” (Foner, 599), this separation of wealth was a cruel reality which inspired much anger and prompted persistent labor conflict. However, it would not be until the 1930s when workers would finally get together and organize worker unions to fight these injustices.
However, this new economic system did not benefit everybody and the wealth was distributed quite unevenly; while a minute percentage of the population acquired immense wealth through the rise of the corporation, the vast majority of Americans lived in dire poverty and suffered the unjust conditions of the workplace.
The American factory worker during the Industrial Age was bitterly faced with the dichotomy of separation of classes in society. Factory workers not only received extremely low wages, but worked long hours, had no job security, no pensions, and often worked under precarious conditions, “between 1880 and 1900, an average of 35,000 workers perished each year in factory and mine accidents” (Foner, 598.
Simultaneously, the wealthy actively took part in the consumerist society and pursued an aristocratic lifestyle owning palatial homes, joining exclusive clubs, and throwing fancy balls. “By 1890, the richest 1 percent of Americans received the same total income as the bottom half of the population and owned more property than the remaining 99 percent” (Foner, 599), this separation of wealth was a cruel reality which inspired much anger and prompted persistent labor conflict. However, it would not be until the 1930s when workers would finally get together and organize worker unions to fight these injustices.
Part of the reason for this disentitlement was due to a popular new social philosophy called Social Darwinism, which took from Darwin’s theory of evolution. Social Darwinism was an influential doctrine, being validated by respected political figures and intellectual such as Yale professor William Graham Summer was being talked about by philosophers and important academics. In Summer’s What social Classes Owe to Each Other, Summer regarded inequality in society as natural proposing the either-or scenario of “liberty, inequality, survival of the fittest; not liberty, equality, survival of the unfittest” (Foner, 586) Indeed, during the Gilded Age very little social aid was givem “As late as 1900, half the nation’s largest cities offered virtually no public relief, except to persons living in poor houses” (Foner, 622)
Social Darwinism defended the big corporation, “The giant industrial corporation, social Darwinists believed, had emerged because it was better adapted to its environment than earlier forms of enterprise” (Foner 622). The philosophy dismissed too much federal aid to the poor and further condemned them by stating: “Failure to advance in society was widely thought to indicate a lack of character, an absence of self-reliance and determination in the face of adversity” (Foner, 622)
Social Darwinism defended the big corporation, “The giant industrial corporation, social Darwinists believed, had emerged because it was better adapted to its environment than earlier forms of enterprise” (Foner 622). The philosophy dismissed too much federal aid to the poor and further condemned them by stating: “Failure to advance in society was widely thought to indicate a lack of character, an absence of self-reliance and determination in the face of adversity” (Foner, 622)
America during the Second Industrial Revolution was also witness to a significant influx of immigrants. Urban industrialized cities of the United States saw an unprecedented influx of immigrant workers arrive to the country through Ellis island in New York and Angel Island in San Francisco, who came to the country with the hopes for a better life but were met with the a growing xenophobic attitude and also substandard working conditions and wages in the same factories that had promised them employment.
Americans were not fond of the new immigrants and saw this new “melting pot” as threatening to their traditional values. Economist Simon Patten commented Patten “The friends of American institutions fear the ignorant immigrant, and the workingman dislikes the Chinese” (Foner ,654). Additionally, they were regarded as dangerous to the economy and society, “The “New Immigrants” were widely described by native-born Americans as members of distinct “races”, whose lower level of civilization explained everything from their willingness to work for substandard wages to their supposed inborn tendencies to criminal behavior. “ (Foner,654). This led to a sentiment of exclusion not only between classes but now also between races. The new immigrants could either remain closely attached to their own segregated communities or try to “Americanize themselves” in order to fit in with this unforgiving American society. For African Americans migrating from the South, the industrial cities proved just as hostiles environments as the segregated south, excluding them from many job positions because of their race, “African Americans found it exceedingly difficult, to move out of agricultural, personal service, and domestic jobs into the industrial sector” (Trotter ). Popular Madame CJ Walker’s hair-straightening formula for black women is an indication of African American women’s attempt to fit into the “Americanized” look. Walker had “transformed her hair straightening formula into a million-dollar enterprise with sale representatives throughout the US” (Trotter) The expansion of waged labor, which also extended to women, rendered the urban industrialized cities as the setting for the modern life, establishing with it a new set of American family values. With her entering into work force, it inspired in her a new sense of independence and redefining of her family role. In addition, with “the expansion of the consumer economy and the new freedoms for women offered by the city life encouraged the growth of an idea of personal freedom based on individual fulfillment, including self-determination in the most intimate areas of life” (Foner, 587). Coincidentally, “fertility and family size declined, as did mortality, especially among infants. The divorce rate rose” (Rosenfeld 27)
Americans were not fond of the new immigrants and saw this new “melting pot” as threatening to their traditional values. Economist Simon Patten commented Patten “The friends of American institutions fear the ignorant immigrant, and the workingman dislikes the Chinese” (Foner ,654). Additionally, they were regarded as dangerous to the economy and society, “The “New Immigrants” were widely described by native-born Americans as members of distinct “races”, whose lower level of civilization explained everything from their willingness to work for substandard wages to their supposed inborn tendencies to criminal behavior. “ (Foner,654). This led to a sentiment of exclusion not only between classes but now also between races. The new immigrants could either remain closely attached to their own segregated communities or try to “Americanize themselves” in order to fit in with this unforgiving American society. For African Americans migrating from the South, the industrial cities proved just as hostiles environments as the segregated south, excluding them from many job positions because of their race, “African Americans found it exceedingly difficult, to move out of agricultural, personal service, and domestic jobs into the industrial sector” (Trotter ). Popular Madame CJ Walker’s hair-straightening formula for black women is an indication of African American women’s attempt to fit into the “Americanized” look. Walker had “transformed her hair straightening formula into a million-dollar enterprise with sale representatives throughout the US” (Trotter) The expansion of waged labor, which also extended to women, rendered the urban industrialized cities as the setting for the modern life, establishing with it a new set of American family values. With her entering into work force, it inspired in her a new sense of independence and redefining of her family role. In addition, with “the expansion of the consumer economy and the new freedoms for women offered by the city life encouraged the growth of an idea of personal freedom based on individual fulfillment, including self-determination in the most intimate areas of life” (Foner, 587). Coincidentally, “fertility and family size declined, as did mortality, especially among infants. The divorce rate rose” (Rosenfeld 27)
While the Second Industrial Revolution had great merits such as expanding railroad throughout the vast United States, and establishing the country as a global power, it did also left an infamous legacy which is still felt today. The big corporations which sprung from the period, and made fortunes exploiting their impoverished workforce, paved the way to similar injustices experienced today. The distinction of classes, the glorification of consumerism and material possessions are still prevalent and a big problem in American society with people accruing large debt in order to obtain the material possessions they believe are needed for happiness.
Immigrants are to this day marginalized and discriminated, and there are way too many second-generation Mexican-Americans who were never taught Spanish by their parents, because they thought it best to help their child assimilate, to rid him of his heritage. Finally, while entering in the workforce, empowered many women into taking charge of their capital, and provide for their families, it also began a slow but steady re-defining of the institution of marriage as the best social structure as marriages continue to end in divorce at very high rates. |
Important Dates
1859: Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species
1874: Founding of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) pushed for prohibition of alcohol, to women’s right to vote
October 28, 1886 dedication of Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty)
1881: The Massachusetts’ Bureau of Labor Statistics reported by virtually every worker it interviewed in Fall river, complained of overwork, poor housing and tyrannical employers” (Foner, 620)
1882: Congress temporarily exclude immigrants from China from entering the country altogether
1883: William Sumner’s What social Classes Owe to Each Other
1888: Chicago Times publishes a series of articles by Nell Cusack titled “City Slave Girls”, exposing the dire conditions amongst the growing number of women working for wages in the cities’ homes and factories
1894: Founding of The Immigration Restriction League, aimed to reduce immigration by barring the illiterate from entering the US
1896 Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal)
1899: Torstein Veblen The Theory of a Leisure Class, offered a devastating critique of an upper class culture focused on consumption
1904: Ida Tarbell’s History of the Standard Oil Company, was considered by Teddy Roosevelt as the most substantial product of “muckracking” or using journalistic skills to expose the underside of American life.
1859: Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species
1874: Founding of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) pushed for prohibition of alcohol, to women’s right to vote
October 28, 1886 dedication of Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty)
1881: The Massachusetts’ Bureau of Labor Statistics reported by virtually every worker it interviewed in Fall river, complained of overwork, poor housing and tyrannical employers” (Foner, 620)
1882: Congress temporarily exclude immigrants from China from entering the country altogether
1883: William Sumner’s What social Classes Owe to Each Other
1888: Chicago Times publishes a series of articles by Nell Cusack titled “City Slave Girls”, exposing the dire conditions amongst the growing number of women working for wages in the cities’ homes and factories
1894: Founding of The Immigration Restriction League, aimed to reduce immigration by barring the illiterate from entering the US
1896 Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal)
1899: Torstein Veblen The Theory of a Leisure Class, offered a devastating critique of an upper class culture focused on consumption
1904: Ida Tarbell’s History of the Standard Oil Company, was considered by Teddy Roosevelt as the most substantial product of “muckracking” or using journalistic skills to expose the underside of American life.
Resources:
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!. W.W Norton and Company, Inc., 2012.
Trotter, African Americans and the industrial Revolution, 2000 http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163396
Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2006 “Young Adulthood as a Factor in Social Change in the United States” http://www.jstor.org/stable/20058850
Jacob Riis photographs of urban slums in New York City, ca. 1890
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!. W.W Norton and Company, Inc., 2012.
Trotter, African Americans and the industrial Revolution, 2000 http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163396
Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2006 “Young Adulthood as a Factor in Social Change in the United States” http://www.jstor.org/stable/20058850
Jacob Riis photographs of urban slums in New York City, ca. 1890