American Imperialism In The 19th Century Essay

Nearing the end of the 19th century, America began to undergo some huge societal changes. Americans who had risen to the top and had power were unstoppable and plenty of political corruption took place as a result. The changes in during this period brought negative impacts to America and the rest of the world. This was mostly spurred by corrupt politicians and unsafe working conditions, as well as the problem of American imperialism.
With the rise of progressive politics, there came plenty of political corruption in the system. For example Tammany Hall, a powerful political machine in New York City, would pay people to vote for certain politicians. These politicians would feel indebted to them and would be more likely to do whatever they were
Children were forced to work by their families, who couldn’t make enough on their own to support them. People were earning low wages, which often were barely enough to feed themselves. There was no federal minimum wage, so workers would work for whatever wage they would find. It was very difficult for them to get a financial foothold and raise themselves out of the working class. In addition to low wages, workers often had very poor working conditions. They had to work in cramped workplaces that were unsanitary and often were fire hazards. In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York killed 146 workers. There was only one unlocked stairwell down, and it was engulfed in flames. Workers crammed into the elevator, or tried to escape to the roof. Not only was the building not well equipped for people escaping a fire, but the emergency services were not ready for the catastrophe they had to deal with. The firefighters’ ladders were too short to reach the fire, and the ambulances had to make many trips back and forth to the hospital because they were so small. The conditions suffered by these workers were unjust, and would not be solved completely until much