How Did Industrial Workers Shape The American Industrial Worker

The American industrial worker had numerous changes after the Civil War which began with the reconstruction of the nation. The advancement in industrial technologies including those in the steel and iron production industry, as well as the major increase of immigrants coming to the United States, and numerous labor unions helped to shape the American Industrial workers between 1865 and 1900. This would eventually shape the work force to become the most productive in its time and as well change the way an industrial work force is viewed around the world. During the mid to late 1800s new technologies and innovations to current technological advancements was rapidly increasing. One of the most important advancements of the time was the discovery of electricity being used as a source of light and power in the
Such problems included the harsh and dangerous conditions they had to endure while working as well as the long hours they were required to work for little pay. This soon led to the emerging of unions to help fight back against these conditions. At first unions received public hostility and this especially so during the recession of the 1870s. This was because when incidents between the workers and employers turned violent, which happened in most cases, the public automatically turned towards the workers as the source of the problem instead of the employers. Although this was the case unions still played an important role for laborers and still caused some changes in the work force that would benefit the workers. Such unions would fight for higher wages and less hours for most workers and would sometimes go on strike if necessary. A prime example of this was the railroad strike of 1877 where employers were calling for a 10 percent wage cut. Although this turned into a deadly conflict it showed why unions were needed in America to ensure the fair treatments of workers by their