Immigration and Industrialization Summary
After the Civil War, population changes, the growth of cities, and new inventions produced interaction, and often,
conflict between the different cultural groups that lived in the United States. They also produced problems in urban areas.
In the late 1800s, people in many parts of the world decided to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States.
Many were hoping for better opportunities, religious freedom, to escape oppressive governments, and adventure. In their
home countries, they faced famine due to crop failure. They hoped that if they came to America, they could avoid starvation.
Some people were discriminated against because of their religion and wanted to avoid such discrimination in a country like
America. Not all governments are democracies where people can vote and have a say in how they are governed. Some
governments are dictatorships, or governments run by one person. Sometimes, when the dictator is oppressive and does not
give the people freedoms, the people would become immigrants and come to America. The last reason some came to America
is for adventure, just like the reason why some people moved west during Westward Migration. For all these reasons
population continued to grow.
Cities were the destination of many Americans. Specialized industries such as the steel industry in Pittsburgh and the
meat packing industry in Chicago needed many workers. Many immigrants and people moving from rural areas flocked to the
cities in search of jobs.
Many new inventions contributed to the growth of industries in the United States. The electric light bulb invented by
Thomas Edison and the telephone invented by Alexander G. Bell helped spur the development of many businesses. Also over
the next decades industries began the shift from steam power to electric power.
As cities and industry grew so did the problems. Housing shortages were great and many of the newly arrived
immigrants would crowd into areas where many members of their same group lived in poverty. Those areas were called
ghettos. They lived in crowded apartment houses called tenements. To help solve the problems caused by such overcrowding
settlement houses were created to provide child care, education, and medical care to these poor communities. One such
place was Chicago’s Hull House which was founded by Jane Addams. Also political organizations known as political machines
grew and gained power by attending to the needs of the new immigrants and by providing them jobs and housing. Many of
the immigrants also faced different and unfair treatment because of their race, religion, or ethnic background. That unequal
treatment is called discrimination. Two groups who received especially bad treatment were the Chinese and the Irish.
Growth of Industry and Big Business Summary
Between the Civil War and World War I, the United States was transformed from an agricultural nation to an
industrial nation. Powerful commercial giants called “Big Business” developed in various industries such as oil, steel, and
railroads. Before the Civil War 90 percent of all Americans were farmers. Today only 2 percent are farmers. Everything
changed with the arrival of the Industrial Age.
Several factors led to the growth of these businesses. First, advances in transportation helped to create the national
markets they needed to grow. Trains and automobiles allowed products to be shipped from one part of the country to
another. At the same time the development of advertising helped to increase the demand for goods. The invention of the
assembly line, led to lower-cost production and those savings were passed on to the consumer in the form of cheaper goods.
Finally, the fast growth in various industries led to the rise to power of several men who came to be known as “captains of
industry.” John D. Rockefeller led the oil industry; Andrew Carnegie led the steel industry; and Henry Ford led the automobile
industry, while Cornelius Vanderbilt led the railroad and shipping industry.
Several factors came together to stimulate the tremendous growth in American industry. Transportation
improvements helped to give greater access to raw materials. Railroads moved natural resources such as wood, copper, and
lead to factories in the East. Railroads also helped move iron ore and coal from mines to steel mills, providing the resources
factories needed to create their products. Then, railroad moved finished products from factories to buyers everywhere in
America. The arrival of many immigrants from abroad and migrants from the rural areas helped to increase the work force
available to the new businesses. Inventions also played a role in the growth of industry. New inventions allowed companies to
produce cheaper products at a much faster rate. Finally, the prosperity of the times meant that the businesses were able to
access more financial resources. Some received loans from banks while others sold small “shares” of their business to people
willing to invest. These resources allowed them to purchase new equipment and factories.
Industrialization- the rapid spread of factories - not only affected life in the cities; it affected life on the farms as well.
Their access to consumer goods was increased by the development of mail order. People in farming areas could buy things by
mailing in their order form, then the products were delivered to them by mail. Also the reaper and other examples of
mechanization- the use of machines to replace human or animal labor, reduced farm labor needs and increased farm
production. Those workers who were not needed because of mechanization were able to move to cities to find work or turn
their talents to creating new inventions or ways to improve their way of life.
Immigration and Industrialization Summary Questions
1. Fill-in the following chart:
Name:______________________
Reasons for increased immigration to America
2.____ Most of the people that moved to cities in search of work came from
A. Colleges.
C. foreign countries and rural areas
B. work training programs.
D. Chicago
3. Cause and Effect:
Cause: Cities and industries grew so fast it led to housing storages.
Effect:
4. Complete the Venn Diagram:
Settlement Houses
5.
Civil War
___________________
nation
Political Machines
to an
__________________
nation
World War I
6.
Captains of Industry
Henry Ford
Andrew Carnegie
John D. Rockefeller
Industry
7. How did railroads contribute to the growth of American industry?
8. How did new inventions contribute to the growth of American industry?
10. Provide a title for the chart:
Replacing human or animal labor with machines
Reduced farm labor needs
Increased farm production
Cornelius Vanderbilt