Please respond to christina: Second Industrial Revolution

Please respond to christina with 250 words

The Second Industrial Revolution impacted people’s lives in several different ways. One way was the major boom in the railroad industry. With the rapid expansion of the trans-continental railroads, job opportunities exploded. mobility of people and goods expanded, and the country became more urban industrial. This resulted in an economic boom for many people as well as different industries. Another big impact was the surge in technological development. Before the Industrial Revolution, many things were done by hand, such as cotton looming, which was a painstakingly slow process. With the invention of the electrical loom, production was much faster and more efficient. Electricity was a huge advancement, enabling the use of the light bulb (Thomas Edison), and industrial machinery.

These are both very positive impacts, but there was also the striking division between the classes. With a newly realized Working Class separated from the Middle and Upper class elites. The working class were distinctively poorer, unskilled, and denied access to basic necessities such as healthcare, medicine, livable wages, education. The death and injury rates were high due to the dangers of the employment. They worked long hours with little rest and no set pay rate. Working class people were stigmatized as being at fault for their own poverty, being less intelligent, lazy, and “unclean”.

While the working class were suffering, the middle class enjoyed the fruits of their new-found wealth. Mainly white professional men, they formed social clubs where they could participate in leisurely activities. They also were presented with better opportunities through familial connections and class affiliations. They were afforded higher education through Ivy League schools and elite institutions. All while discriminating against anyone considered “beneath” them.