Manifest Destiny - Free Essay Example

The rise of steel in the late 19th century marked an imperative time for the advancement of American society in ways that are inevitably reflected everywhere on the grounds that encompassed this modernized nation to this day. Agriculture began to decline as the nations primary source of the workforce, main prolific economic means to raking in funds from the nation that were in cahoots with the United States. The vast rural agricultural developed homesteads shared by towns scouring the united States large plains and habited areas were sufficient to say the least in the late 1800s. One concern was the means for transportation limiting a means for bartering and expansion of the goods to metropolitan vacinities. This would show discontinuation contributed by the mass production of steel and then was incorporated into the vast railways which allowed for bulk transferring of goods and supplies to lay a base for what expedited the nation of sheer competence known so well today across the globe. Revolutionizing countless realms of the upbringing of a powerful nation, steel, being produced at a mass level provided the means to simply hail it as the turning point of this point in time. Manifest destiny had never been so prevalent than the times when immigrants flooded the New York harbors in a means for labor and seeking a desired better life for the immigrants with a family or ones seeking for a more reliable region to do just that, with the economy booming and steel being the ignition of said boom echoing throughout the whole country during the period. Approaching the 1920s workers in agricultural jobs met the industrial scene one to one with workers in either fields. That being the case it was a massive spike in numbers compared to just half a century before with the numbers of agricultural-industrial workers being three to one. Growth of the population ultimately expedited the growth of railways and micro production of goods with the help of steel making it all plausible. The growth of populations was concentrated in the urban sections of the nation. Cities expanded from previously holding only around one quarter of the national population to more than one half of the entire population. The 23 million children of immigrants played a role in this, also including the 14 million immigrants, this means that over one-third of the American population was considered to be the immigrant community which covers the first and second generations of immigrants. In the 1880s, when the agricultural industry had for the most part disappeared, still almost half of the American workers were still farmers and only about 15% worked in manufacturing of any sort. The industrial industry consisted mainly of small workshops that relied on artisan own hands to produce tools and other artefacts. Except for the towns that had railroads running through them or access to the ocean for exports and import business, isolation and the large costs of transportation forced these communities to be for the most part self sufficient with their food, clothing, and many other everyday life objects. This however, changed a lot in the early 20th century, as the increased supply and lowered costs of manufactured goods which changed the world for both urban and rural consumers. Not even a few decades ago these goods didnt even exist. With the help of the nations rapidly growing system of railroads and highways they were transported all over faster than ever. By 1920, one half of people in farms had cars and phones, and furniture, and other goods from local markets. Many small industries, such as traditional grain mills and sawmills were located in rural areas close to flowing rivers in order to power machinery. After the technological revolutions of the early industrial age, workshops and small industries were supported by the large factories that engaged in mass production. Commercial electricity allowed factories to take advantage of the large labor supply in cities were people were concentrated. The new jobs for the average middle working class were in the cities. In this way the Industrial Revolution converted the United States from a rural society to an urban society. Young people who grew up in a poor farm saw the greater opportunities available in the cities and moved there, just like millions of immigrants that came from Europe. Housing for all the new people of cities was a problem, this resulted in many workers living in urban slums. They lived closed to open sewers that ran alongside the streets, and the water supply was often dirty and contaminated which ended up causing disease. These horrible urban conditions made the people angry which gave rise to the Progressive Movement which was many new laws that would protect and support people. This event would change the relationship between how the government and the people interacted. Inventors of American origin such as Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Alva Edison created a long list of new technologies that improved communication, transportation, and industrial production. Edison made improvements to existing technologies for the telegraph while also creating revolutionary new technologies such as the light bulb. Bell explored new speaking and hearing technologies, and became known as the inventor of the telephone. In conclusion, in the 1880s the industrialization movement depended much more on mechanization which means the replacement of people with machines to increase production as well as profits. Henry Fords assembly line was a key factor and the rise of mass production only strengthened this effect. As a result, both the steel industry and the immigrants played an equal amounts of importance in creating the Industrial Revolution. They were significant in society because they changed many things that remain the same to this day. Many inventions that are parts of our daily lives were created during this period proving their importance.