Big Business Impact

The Impact It can be easily said that big businesses have had a large impact on the economy and politics in the United States, especially during the Gilded Age, also known as the “2nd Industrial Revolution”. Monopolies, corporations, and businesses began to grow dramatically. These three branches grew so significantly that they were known as a major force in the United States. They had a great amount of power and had the ability to control much throughout the country. However, as these businesses began to expand and grow in power, they also began to cause negative effects on the United States. Big businesses flourished, wealthy men gained their power through the work of poor men, who in return, suffered. Many individuals were taken advantage
Workers were often seen as “zombies” by their bosses. Despise the low wages, the demand for work was of great desire and often, individuals had no other choice but to cooperate with these conditions. Immigrants, searching for work, came to the United States hoping to fulfill a new life. This included; Chinese, Eastern, European, Hispanics, etc. With the influx of immigration, population and overcrowding increased while sanitation decreased greatly. As well as factories, businesses began to compromise quality for mass production to increase their profits. Workers were subject to these conditions as well and often worked up to twelve hour work days with little to nothing pay and little rest. With this in mind, it was hard for an average individual to make a living the easy way, such as the Robber Barons and Captain of Industries did. As a result, many families had to work, including the children, in order to make enough money to live. Workers responded to these conditions by trying to go on strike or create “labor unions” in order to get the rights that they so greatly deserved. These labor unions did not succeed due to many seeing it as the “un-American way”, many Americans looked down upon the labor unions because it was a way to stop people from making their money and that was wrong in their eyes. Socially, American government and the
The tactics these men used in order to gain all their accomplishments were unjust and unfair. While demeaning others, they succeeded. The wealthy, big business owners had a luxury life while the immigrant workers, were poor, worked long hours, forced into unsanitary conditions, lived in constant violence and dangerous constructions, and lived amongst disease and hunger. This shows how determined immigrants and other hard workers were to make a living. They faced and struggled through these horrible living conditions to have the minimum they could afford. During this time, the “American Dream” mostly revolved around making money. The way in which the wealthy class acquired their wealth and power is horrific. While creating a legacy that will have lasted decades, they also creating a lower class world. Economics and politics were greatly impacted because of these individuals and is easily said that they were very important within the history of the United