Describe the development of industry, business and labour after the civil war
Development of Industry
The development of industry in the USA rose significantly after the civil war. There were several factors that led to industrialization such as the establishment of heavy industry, commercial farming, railroads and mining. In 1869, the nation experienced a massive expansion. New areas such manufacturing, coal mining and railroads. The development of the Transcontinental Railroad exposed the western regions as well as the continual developments.
The establishment of the Transcontinental Railroad opened the unexplored areas with large markets and supported development of capitalist economics such as faming, mining, ranching that resulted to national marketplace. The production of steel in the USA increases the output available and continually developed in Western European countries. Major European cities continued to invest a lot of money in constructing roads within the USA. Based on contemporary markets at the time centred strategy this had significant effects. By the end of 1900s, continual industrial expansion had spread in other fields of industry such as sugar, oil, meat, and steel as well as agriculture (Chui & Kirk, 2014).
The vertical integration of corporations facilitated the increase of production for specific goods. Making sure that the profit obtained from finished goods was optimized, the vertical integration of industries prevented other outside industries from accessing fundamental elements. This prevented them to enter the USA markets. This practice led to the USA industries growing strong after civil war period.
Development of Business
The U.S economy rose very fast in its history after the civil war with real wages. Wealth and GDP as well as capital formation are increasing quickly. Trust became a major form of business organization and a scientific control revolution that transformed business functions. In the early 20th century, the U.S gross domestic products and industrial productions grew rapidly. The U.S had the largest economy due to conducive business environments and practices. The US economy was above every country by the year 1914 (Lothian, 2016).
The fluctuations in the American economy were related to the larger world economy. The important businesses in American were globalized at that time. This phenomenon helped American businesses to compete with other businesses in the world. Globalization of American products resulted in downward pressure on prices. The republican laws of retaining tariff protection for American industries reduced deflation on the domestic market further.
After the civil war, American society experienced a significant change in business because of rising urbanization. Many unskilled workers moved to urban areas to work in mill towns, mining camps and industries leading to emergency of business growth. Some of the cities grew dramatically building real-estate businesses throughout New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Development of Labour
The rapid development of industrialization after civil war led to emergency of strong labour force in U.S.A. Many people went to urban places to look for job opportunities. Due to economic depressions after the civil war, trade unions were demanding for 60% wage increase. The American high wages attracted steady flow of skill workers from Britain to industrial America. Many workers started working for long hours for lower salary.
The craft-oriented labour unions such as printers, shoemakers, carpenters and cigar makers organized strikes to attain control over the labour market. These labour unions prevented blacks, women and Chinese from union membership, but allowed European immigrants to join them (Hattam, 2014). The qualified workers proved remarkable achievements by maintaining their jobs after the civil war. The people with semi-skilled or few quantifiable skills were replaced by high skilled workers. Most of the employers will prefer to seek ways of replacing skilled workers with unskilled employees. Many people were employed in agricultural sector which had the highest labour force.
In conclusion, there have been significant changes in the USA economy over the past decades. Contemporary labour unions and market practices are the result of previous events and established practices. The globalization and existing labour trends are significant and have moulded modern practices. Overall this review of the American economy presents a complex and multidimensional perspective on existing marketplace trends.
- Chiu, H. B., & Kirk, A. T. (2014). “Unlimited American Power”: How Four California Newspapers Covered Chinese Labor and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad, 1865–1869. American Journalism, 31(4), 507-524.
- Lothian, J. R. (2016). Purchasing power parity and the behavior of prices and nominal exchange rates across exchange-rate regimes. Journal of International Money and Finance, 69, 5-21.
- Hattam, V. C. (2014). Labor visions and state power: The origins of business unionism in the United States. Princeton University Press.
