Shortly after the Civil War ended, the United States experienced a second industrial revolution, transforming it from a mostly agrarian society into an industrial giant. Gross national product expanded from $531 per person in 1870 to approximately twice that amount by 1900. Also by this year, American industry produced half of the world's manufactured goods and exceeded Great Britain in the production of coal and iron.
This transformation was supported by the further development of already-existing technologies and by the introduction of mechanized mass production. The second industrial revolution was not however, a series of discreet inventions. Instead, it relied on more sophisticated systems of interdependent machines as well as new patterns of working.
Watch this video to learn more about the changes brought by the country's second industrial revolution.
Systems of Production
The transformation of the U.S. into an industrial giant wasn't just about railroads and new technology. There were dramatic societal changes as well. People who worked at home by themselves or with their families left their workshops or farms and worked in factories. In a very short time, most Americans became employees rather than owner-operators.
The second industrial revolution wasn't just about time-saving inventions that made mass production possible, however. The rise of big business capitalism in the late nineteenth century was the result of new systems and processes even more than improvements in technology.
Operating like webs or grids, these systems incorporated both people and technology in ways that maximized profits while minimizing time to market.
The impact of more intricate factory systems on individuals was mixed. Workers' wages tended to go down during this era. Less skill was needed to run the system of machines than to create parts of a product by hand, so factory owners wanted to pay less for workers' time.
However, there were some positive impacts as well. Technological systems like the railroad, electricity, and public sewers raised the standards of living for most Americans.
Americans tend to think of the history of their industries as a series of lone inventors and business people forging a new tomorrow in the office or in the laboratory. The truth is that systems—of technology and of people—were the key drivers of the America's industrial transformation.
Question
Why did factory owners think they should pay workers less as their use of technology increased?
