HIS271Y1 Lecture Notes - Local Union, Industrial Workers Of The World, Consumerism
Document Summary
At the close of the american civil war, america is still a rural nation, trailing. However, by the 1900s, usa leap frogs over its european counterparts in production, become one of the wealthiest nations. The rapid and widespread adoption of the mechanical means of production, leading to the creation of large factories. The wage-labour system is the driving force of labour of the nation. The railroad continues to expandand develop, creating trans-continental lines. Evolves the economy by creating a nationwide market for goods. Track mileage by 1900 in the us supersedes that of all the other nations in the world combined. Factories can be created anywhere, thanks to the accessibility of electricity. No longer would factories have to be built along rivers where the water would supply the steam-powered machinery. Hundreds of thousands of patents are taken out from the telephone, furnaces, automotive technologies, typewriters, cash register. These innovations create new class of workers from clerks to communication workers, etc.
