Changing American Society

Massive changes in industry altered how Americans lived and worked. Even farms became mechanized, meaning that fewer farm laborers were needed to feed the nation. Out-of-work farmers and their families moved to urban areas to find work, especially in the increasingly industrial North. Many moved to manufacturing centers that had sprung up around growing factories or industries. The mass production of goods meant that these new urban dwellers had easy access to clothing and supplies that they would have had to make by hand in the past. Yet they faced higher costs of living, were dependent upon cash wages to buy food, and performed repetitive work in factories.

Thinking About the Environment

In the early 1800s, few worried about how industry might affect the environment. However, by the late 1800s, industrial waste had risen dramatically and mining had begun to destroy the land. In the Midwest, increasing agricultural production had led to soil erosion and dust storms. People began to raise concerns about protecting natural resources. Congress responded by setting aside protected lands that would eventually become part of the National Park Service. Its creation of Yellowstone Park in 1872 was one of the first federal responses to concerns about the environment.

Checkpoint What impact did industrialization have on Americans?

A Pleasant Scene An attractive 1879 print of a Massachusetts factory gives no hint of the pollution the factory regularly produced.