Industrialization and its Effects on America

Industrialism is the process in which a society or country transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Individual manual labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production and craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines. Characteristics of industrialization include the use of technological innovation to solve problems as opposed to superstition or dependency upon conditions outside human control such as the weather, as well as more efficient division of labor and economic growth.
Industrialization had many effects on America. It changed family structure, moved people out of rural areas and into cities. It made the United States a global power. It structured a forty hour work week, rapidly advanced technology, made goods cheaper and after a long time increased overall standard of living. It contributed to child exploitation, which then led to laws set up to protect children. It made transportation faster and helped America better integrate with the rest of the world, mainly the European economy.
The life of an industrial worker was horrible. It was dangerous and unsanitary, and there were no laws on how long a person could work.  People would work grueling hours for little to no pay. These conditions led to the formation of labor unions that have brought the American worker so many things they take for granted, like a 5-day, 40-hour work week. A lot of workers were treated very badly. There bosses and managers did not care about them at all. I think that the workers should have been treated better. They should have gotten rid of the extremely long hours and dangerous working conditions. The unions basically fixed these problems over time though, which is really good in my opinion.