Industrialization was the expansion of the United States' industry, spurred by new advances in mechanical technology during the mid-to-late 1800s. This brought the construction of railroads that were needed to transport these fascinating, incredible inventions to and fro, as well as a huge influx of workers (some of whom were immigrants, others hopeful Americans who dreamed of finding work and starting better lives for themselves). However, rough and dismal working conditions, unfairly low salaries, and long working hours continued to stare these poor and determined people in the face. And if life wasn't fair enough for them, an unequal distribution of wealth between business owners and their workers arose in this era, as well.
One man named Henry George, weighs both the pros and cons of industrialism and stresses the hardships it has taken on the poor, even though sudden invention production was suspected to improve the lives of everyone . He is as quoted in American Vision: Modern Times, "...where population is densest, wealth greatest, and the machinery of production and exchange most highly developed - we find the deepest poverty, the sharpest struggle for existence, and the most of enforced idleness." Another man, David Wells, describes how the introduction of factories has changed the stereotypical American Dream of hard work and dedication has changed as workers have transformed into "robots" and "...the individualism or independence of the producer in manufacturing has been in a great degree been destroyed the pride which the workman formally took in his work..." Andrew Carnegie, however, has a more lively approach to the development of industrialism. He believes that the spread of goods to different states is helpful to the economy of the U.S. and that "Among the rural communities, the change in the conditions is mainly seen in the presence of labor-saving devices, lessening the work in house and field" and adding to higher productivity and improved transportation costs.
There's no doubt about it that industrial workers had it rough. Absolutely no sympathy was given to them, if someone lost their finger in a sewing machine- "Oh well." A ten-year-old can't push the cart filled to the brim with coal- "Tough luck." Haughty business owners only cared about one thing: making a high profit. Eventually, many fed-up workers would rebel against the unjust treatment inflicted upon them. I believe that workers should have been paid as closely as possible to the business owners, because technically, the workers were the ones doing most of the work.
Sources: http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/ModernWorldHistoryTextbook/IndustrialRevolution/IREffects.html
http://wathatcher.iweb.bsu.edu/childlabor/
