INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY Michelle Gilruth The Social Issue of Unions There are many social issues that have affected manufacturing over the years. Many of these issues led to the formation of unions. Before unions, unskilled workers did not fair well. They received half the pay of skilled workers like craftsmen, artisans, and mechanics. Many people moved to cities to work in industry and about 40 percent of those workers were low-wage earners.1 As industry grew, women, children, and poor immigrants found themselves the main targets for work in factories.
Most people who worked in the factories lived in the factories which had little living space, lack of proper ventilation and lack of proper hygiene (Wikipedia). Due to the poor living conditions and overcrowding people were subject to health issues and death related from communicable diseases. Along with the poor living conditions, hunger and malnutrition were common during this time. Labor laws did not exist. Workers worked long hours without breaks and children were also subjected to these cruel working conditions as they were often put to work alongside their parents.
Medieval Towns During the Middle Ages most of the population in Europe lived in the countryside as farmers, because farming methods were inefficient and many people were needed to work on the land. As these methods improved, fewer people were needed, so more of them were able to leave their farms to practice another profession, trade, etc. As these people got together, they formed towns. The inhabitants of towns were free. They owed no obedience to the lord as farmers did, but had to pay taxes to the lord who owned the land were the town stood.
Tenement houses within these cities became incredibly crowded and crammed along narrow paths or streets. Whole families were living in attics, cellars, or single rooms, with one house holding up to 60 people in multiple rooms. Sanitation was not common in a lot of cities even making clean water for the rich a luxury. Sewers ran down streets, wide-open, carrying water fouled with industrial and human waste. Tuberculosis, typhoid and cholera were diseases that developed in many cities killing thousands.
Joan Lee Period 1, AP Us History 5 January 2010 Chapter 25 America Moves to the City 1865-1900 Through industrial revolutions, many Americans began to abandon their agrarian farm lives and grasp the life of the City. Not only were Americans following this trend, many Europeans begun to desert farming and search for fresh job opportunities in the cities. This instigated a prodigious increase of city dwellers and minimized the amount of farmers in the U.S. I. The Urban Frontier (pages 557-560) a.
The population was estimated to have dropped 50-60%, so the prices of goods rapidly dropped, since there were so few people still alive to buy it. The lower levels of the social chain, like the peasants, serfs, farmers, and factory workers were struck the hardest. (Pollama) Since their living and work conditions were not very sanitary, and their living spaces were often cramped and dirty, they were the easiest targets for the plague. All of the jobs that these people had were now open, and available for people to take. Since the serf population had gotten ridiculously low, plantation owners were forced to start paying workers to tend the farms.
Perhaps one of the biggest flaws in the U.S. immigration policies over the past two centuries has been the fact that it is expensive to enforce immigration laws. Those coming to America have become aware of this issue and used it to their advantage. After all, cheap labor was initially popular with the slave trade when America was first being colonized. As a new nation, the lack of white indentured servants willing to work on plantations caused an array of problems in regards to building up the promising new territory. Thus, forced labor
Sudden population growth, crowding, and lack of municipal services made urban problems more serious than they had been in the past. Inadequate facilities for sewage disposal, air and water pollution, and diseases made urban life unhealthy and contributed to high infant mortality and short life expectancy (mainly for the poor). 3. Reports of the horrors of slum life led to municipal reforms that began to alleviate the ills of urban life after the mid-nineteenth century. B.
Poor people are moving into slums because the city design has no space for them and this lack of space causes slums to become more and more dense. Santiago, Chile recognizes the influx of population to urban areas.
Venezuela Economy in Comparison to Great Depression The American Economy has undergone a lot of controversial issues in the past couple years that has affected other economies in the world as well. When an economic crisis occurs in any given country, it is a common assumption that the country is at that stage due to financial problems. When we think about economic stages, most individuals relate it to the Great Depression. The Great Depression was the biggest economic downfall in history for America due to problems with politics, wages, and the nations capital being an issue during that era. However, can other countries have an economic crisis that could affect a country like America or is there a country out there that shows a Great Depression of their own?