Response to Industrialization

 

[QUOTES]

(1) On women in the workplace

“The true advancement of women requires that labor should be structured in such a way that women do not have to pay for their advancement by abandoning what is specific to them and at the expense of the family, in which women as mothers have an irreplaceable role. (LE 19, p.379).          

(2)Workers and managers united in work community

“It is characteristic of work that it first and foremost unites people. In this consists its social power: the power to build a community. In the final analysis, both those who work and those who manage the means of production or who own them must in some way be united in this community” (LE 20, pp. 380-81).

(3)The right to medical care

   “19. After outlining the important role that concern for providing employment for all workers plays in safeguarding respect for the inalienable rights of man in view of his work, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at these rights, which in the final analysis are formed within the relationship between worker and direct employer. […]

   “Besides wages, various social benefits intended to ensure the life and health of workers and their families play a part here. The expenses involved in health care, especially in the case of accidents at work, demand that medical assistance should be easily available for workers and that as far as possible it should be cheap or even free of charge.” (LE 19, pp. 378-9).

 

[BLOG]

            The industrial period is well remembered as one of the most significant moments in U.S. history. The industrialization brought technological advances, increased population in cities, expanded the railroad industry, raised the number of job positions, decreased production time, and encouraged education. However, these positive outcomes did not bury the negative effects, such as horrible working and living conditions, long work hours, minimal pay, air pollution, and child labor.

Although many men had to suffer at work, women and children had to endure a lot more. Women, in particular, were hired as inexpensive and unskilled labor. They were paid half as much as the men, but put out just as much hours as them; sometimes, even more! In addition, they had to sacrifice their roles as wives and mothers. This brings me to the first quote on women in the workplace. I agree with this statement because as much as women enjoyed the freedom and power of being out of the house and having the ability to contribute to the family income, many despised the harsh hours at work, the horrible and dangerous work conditions, and the low pay for all the time they had to sacrifice for their work. Unlike men whose main job was to earn money and provide for the family, women also needed to take care of household chores and raise children on top of their work.  So similar to what the quote is stating, I do believe that women deserve a job that does not require them “abandoning what is specific to them and at the expense of the family.”

The second quote talks about the relationship that should be developed between the workers and the managers. In any type of job, people must be able to cooperate and learn how to work with one another in a civilized manner. People don’t just go to work for their own benefit; instead, each person represents a piece of the puzzle and must work with one another to complete the project. I agree with the quote because I believe that in order to build an understanding and peaceful atmosphere, workers and managers should try to see each other as respectful individuals and try to create a sense of community. That is the only way to inhibit the feeling of inequality that fuels strikes, labor violence, and the formations of labor unions.

The third quote talks about workers’ right to medical care. Although the industrialization led to so many advancements in America, a lot of the workers had to face the dangerous conditions at work. Back in the days, work places did not take cautious steps in preventing accidents from occurring. So there were many injuries and deaths resulting from the lack of care and improvements. I believe that the government made the right decision to allow workers to get medical care and “various social benefits intended to ensure the life and health of workers and their families.” By looking after their well-being, workers will feel safer and more satisfied with their jobs and, as a response, put in their best effort in whatever they do.

Chapter 17

            Chapter 17 took on a more depressing view of the Transformation of the Trans-Mississippi West. It described the ruined lives of many Native tribes that had to give up their home and connection to their land because of the ambitions of white men. The federal government forced Native Americans onto reservations. Although there were a few groups who peacefully agreed to do so, many fought back. For the Plain Indians, life revolved around extended family ties and tribal cooperation. They relied on hunting and farming to feed their families. However, army commanders saw this as a chance to undermine Indian resistance. They encouraged the slaughter of buffalo in order to reduce the food source of the tribes, leaving them with no other choice but to move. I find their actions very disturbing because of the many innocent lives that were lost. It seemed unfair because the Indians were the first people who settled on those lands. They had been there for awhile, minding their own businesses, and did not plan on disturbing anyone else. But for some reason, the government found it okay to violently claim the land and pushed the Indians onto reserves. The killings even went as far as massacring women and children of peaceful bands of Indians in order to quickly clear the land or to pose as a warning for other tribes who refused to cooperate I mean, what gave them the right to do so without any shame?

            Also, I wanted to mention the picture on page 404 in the “Enduring Vision” textbook. That picture puts such a shameful image to America. Seeing the way those American men stood proudly around a pile of frozen, dead Indians was horrific. Reading the text about the Wounded Knee massacre painted a cruel picture of what the Natives had to go through, but seeing the actual picture made it so much more real. I can never understand that period in history when Americans thought their superiority justified their actions in treating other ethnic groups in such an unfair and malicious way!

Chapter 13: The West and Beyond

            What initially shocked me while reading chapter 13 was the number of immigrants between 1815 and1860. The textbook gave an incredible amount of 5 million European immigrants. I’ve always known that immigration played a huge role in the history of the United States, but to put a number to that topic really painted a picture of exactly how many people actually took part in this. What I also found was surprising was the large number of Germans and Irish. I thought that the Irish being one of the largest groups to come to America was not surprising because of the well-known Great Famine of Ireland, during which multiple harvests of potatoes were destroyed and resulted in the death of a million people due to starvation. What I did not know, however, was that Germans made up the second largest group of immigrants.

These Germans constructed the idea of residing in small groups or clans of their own ethnicity in America. Although many people thought of these clans as a negative, I was able to look at it from a more positive perspective. Being an immigrant traveling to a new country was difficult and intimidating because of the language barrier, new environment, and strange culture. But having a small community made up of people from the same ethnicity or background probably made it easier to adjust to their new home. Germans were able to find neighbors that spoke their language, practiced the same customs, and did not need any outside help because everything that was necessary for daily life was supplied within that community. Thinking about all the immigrants and their rough history made me wonder how I would react and what I would do if I were in the same situation as them, one in which I am forced to leave the comfort of my own home and immigrate to another country as an “alien.”

I was also interested in reading about the expansion towards the west. The section about the overland trails spoke of the difficulties Americans had to face during their move. These trails were routes leading westward to Oregon and California, and were followed by thousands of people. Because the path consisted of walking on Indian killing grounds, these travelers had to be on the constant lookout with weapons by their side. However, I found it ridiculous that these stories were false and that “they were more likely to shoot one another than to be shot by the usually cooperative Indians, and much more likely to be scalped by the inflated prices…” (Boyer, 299). I recall hearing about the Donner Party from my U.S. History teacher in high-school, and how gruesome their situation was that led them to resort to cannibalism. I must admit that these individuals were so courageous in their decision to follow this trail, despite not knowing anything about the route and solely relying on guidebooks that contained false information.



 



The Old South and Slavery

Chapter 12 had a lot of interesting topics that related to slavery. I have always been interested in reading about the lives of slaves and the cruelty that they had to endure. While reading this chapter, there were several things that stood out to me. The first one would have to be the section on king cotton. I knew that cotton was one of the primary cash crops, but did not know the particular reason as to why. After reading, I realized that it was because of the high demand of cotton due to the growth of British textile industry. This demand led to an increase in slaves because they enabled a planter to harvest large fields of cotton at a quicker pace. This idea of raising cash crops and owning slaves were some of the main reasons that contributed to the difference between the North and the South. While the North prospered in industry work and became more urban, the South thought that it wasn’t worth investing their time and money into, and continued to preserve the practice of growing and selling cash crops.

Another section that caught my attention was the one titled “Life Under Slavery.” In this part, I got a glimpse of the daily routine of a slave. They would wake up before sunrise and continue to work even after the sun went down. Since darkness made it impossible to do fieldwork, they toted bales to the ginhouse, gathered wood for supper fires, and fed the mules. After all the tasks were completed, they didn’t even get to sleep in a comfortable room or bed. They had to sleep in log cabins or wooden planks. I know for sure that I would not be able to last one day in their position.

Towards the end of the chapter, I thought it was very creative how the slaves developed their own language, known as pidgin. Also, they developed songs and dances for recreational purposes, which left me in awe at their attempt to remain optimistic, despite having to go through so much suffering.