Reasons and impact of industrial growth in 1865-1877

Question 1

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The impact of the Civil War

Answer 1

1) It stimulated the demand for manufactured goods, as the army needed guns and clothing as well as transport.
2) The war provided the necessary financial infrastructure to stimulate economic growth.

Question 2

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• Availability of land

Answer 2

With increased westward settlement, it had created a market for manufactured goods and encouraged further railroad development.

Greater demand for food, expanding export market and encouraged greater mechanisation in agriculture.

Question 3

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• Population

Answer 3

Provided an ample source of cheap labour for economic expansion.
In 1860, the population of the USA was 31.5 million but this had increased to 50 million by 1880.

Question 4

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• Transport

Answer 4

Railroad provided a fast and efficient means of transporting raw materials such as coal from the West Virginia.

Question 5

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The availability of capital

Answer 5

The huge profits generated by the Civil War had encouraged the emergence of a highly developed stock market.

Question 6

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The availability of capital - facts

Answer 6

By 1865, the annual turnover of the New York Stock Exchange was over $6billion, and by 1890, it had become the second largest money market in the world.

Question 7

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The role of government

Answer 7

Minimal government interference

Businessmen had substantial freedom in running their enterprises.

Question 8

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The role of government - example

Answer 8

There were no laws restricting hours of labour and there were no taxes on profits.

Question 9

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

•The role of government - tariffs

Answer 9

Congress imposed protective tariffs to ensure that foreign-manufactured goods were more expensive than home-produced goods.

Question 10

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The role of government - trade unions

Answer 10

Businesses did not have to deal with trade unions and were free to manage their workforce any way they wanted.

Question 11

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• The role of government - industrial disputes

Answer 11

Employers were often supported by state and federal authorities who would use troops to deal with workers’ demands for better pay or shorter working hours

Question 12

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• Corporations

Answer 12

It led to the growth of big industries in the USA

Corporations could own a number of businesses and could hire the management it wanted to run the corporation.

Question 13

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• Trusts

Answer 13

Designed to avoid state laws within the legal framework.

Question 14

Reason for industrial growth 1865-1877

• Technological innovation

Answer 14

Andrew Carnegie and the Bessemer Converter, which made the process of steel production much cheaper.

Question 15

The Depression of 1873

• Causes

Answer 15

1) The poor state of the American banking system. Anyone could set up a bank and operate it independently.
2) Local banks kept their deposits in larger privately owned banks.
3) It was the principal investor of the Northern Pacific Railroad and its failure led to the collapse of hundreds of other companies

Question 16

The Depression of 1873

• Example

Answer 16

1 in 4 labourers in New York were out of work in the winter of 1873-1874 and nationally one million became unemployed

Question 17

The impact of industrial growth

• Urbanisation

Answer 17

Industrial development brought massive changes to towns and cities.
Before 1860, there were only 16 cities in the USA with a population of 50,000 or more.

Question 18

The impact of industrial growth

• The spread of slums

Answer 18

The rapid influx of workers led to the hasty construction of poor quality housing, often overcrowd and polluted slums

Question 19

The impact of industrial growth

• Agriculture

Answer 19

Farmers did not prosper in the same way as industry in the years after the Civil War.

Question 20

The impact of industrial growth

• What happened to farmers

Answer 20

Farmers incurred debts due to borrowing for the purchase of land and mechanisation and being over-dependent on unreliable overseas markets.