The American Industrial Worker essays

The American Industrial Worker essays The American Industrial worker has faced many challenges throughout history. During the time period of 1865-1914 there were many conflicts and changes that directly affected the average American working in Industry. Some effects were positive and uplifting, others negative and punishing to both the workers morals and bodies. Three things imparticular had an extremely large impact on the American industrial worker in that time period; technology, labor unions and immigration. Technology was advancing steadily and new inventions were being introduced to industry at a rapid pace. New materials and productive processes would lead to a new breed of machines used for manufacturing, to be operated by the American worker. Technological changes would be an issue that the workers and employers would have very different points of views on. The bosses and manufacturers claimed that the new machines were beneficial to the worker. They boasted that salaries had been raised and the machine was doing nearly everything which requires great strength; the workman instead of bringing his muscles into play, has become the inspector ( Kennedy 82 ). Since machines made the jobs so much easier, bosses could hire unskilled labor to perform them. Even the chief of the Labor Bureau of New York at the time said machines bring about a much larger employment and improvement, not only because they increase production, but because they multiply the chances of employment, and incidentally the consumption of products. ( Kennedy 83 ). Bosses also tried to rationalize the machines as making the workplace cleaner and more sanitary as the machines required more space and taller ceilings. If you only listened to what the manufacturers and bosses had to say, one might think that technology during this period was a blessing to the worker. The workers point of view on industrialization was quite clear, and much different from the bosses...