HISTORY SUMMARY 1865-1990
1865-1900
In the years following the Civil War the United States was transformed by the enormous growth of industry. Once, the United States was mainly a nation of small farms. By 1900, it was a nation of growing cities, of coal, steel, and of engines and fast communications. Though living standards generally rose, millions of industrial workers lived in crowded, unsanitary slums.
In the north, industrial violence was common and occurred on numerous occasions. The most violent confrontation between labor and employers was probably the Great Railway Strike of 1877. The nation had been in the grip of a severe depression for four years. During that time, the railroads had decreased the wages of railway workers by 20 percent. Many trainmen complained that they could not support their families adequately, and there was little that the trainmen could do about the wage decreases. At that time, unions were weak and workers feared going on strike;......
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Approximate Word Count: 3519
Approximate Pages: 14 (260 words per double-spaced page) |