Industrial Revolution And Urbanization

The Industrial Revolution and the process of urbanization that came with it greatly impacted the life of Americans. The switch from a primarily agrarian society to an industrial society played devastation for the average American, all the while empowering the wealthy. Many technological advances were made during this time, and the main factor leading to the American Industrial Revolution and urbanization was the expansion of the railway system. In 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad met in Utah and the Transcontinental Railroad was complete. With it laid the foundation for industrialization. Now that the nation was interconnected physically, this allowed for reliable transportation of goods and supplies. Prior to railroads, transportation by river was the most reliable source and speed and the size of the cargo were limited by the fastest animal. With railroads, the price of shipping fell considerably because large amounts of goods could be shipped cheaply, and this provided big industrial leaders such as Carnegie and Rockefeller with more capital to build factories.
Industries encouraged immigrants, who flocked to America to work for low wages. For example, the steel industry thrived on the low wages from southern and eastern Europe. Even though low wages and dangerous conditions were present in these factories, immigrants and native Americans moved from their farms to cities. Cities sprung up around railroads and factories because railroads could easily ship in what the city needed, like food and other necessities as well as supplies and goods for the factories. However, cities became overcrowded while massive amounts of pollution spilled into the air. Waste accumulated from crowded living conditions littered the streets, and these two factors greatly harmed the environment and little was done about