HIST 405N Week 5 Discussion: Industrialization, Imperialism, and America s Entry Into WWI

Week 5 Discussion: Industrialization, Imperialism, and America’s Entry Into WWI Describe the basic industries of America's Industrial Revolution. Explain what made the men who controlled them so successful, and analyze the role of immigrants in industrialization. America’s rapid industrialization took off in the late nineteenth century despite being latecomers compared to other nations such as Europe. America had a large amount of raw materials such as coal, wood, silver, gold, copper, cotton, and oil along with cheap labor from a rise in immigration and American-born workers who moved to industrialized areas (Keen, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012). Also, the railroad industry according to Keen et al. (2012), “… played a key role I transforming the Unite States into an industrial power” (p.472). Immigrants also played a big role on industrialization as they were a cheap source of labor, worked hard, and didn’t complain about hard working conditions. The sheer number of immigrants in America during this time helped with the industrialization of America as there were more people in the labor force. Steel was another important material that boosted America into an industrial society. One of the biggest businessmen during this era was Andrew Carnegie, who used steal to create “… the largest corporation in the world…” (p. 476). Other influential businessmen during this time were John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men who dominated the industry during this time were referred to as “… ‘robber barons,’ greedy capitalists who grew rich by devious business practices, exploitation of workers, and political manipulation (Keen et al., 2012, p.476). These men were so successful due to their drive, methods of cutting costs to eliminate their competition, and acquiring new technology which reduced the number of skilled workers needed and increased the amount of production. These men also secured secret deals with railroad companies to weaken their competition, used unethical practices, and used their wealth to manipulate the government and laws (Keen et al., 2012). Despite their cut-throat business practices, some were also very philanthropic such as Rockefeller. According to West (2002), Rockefeller provided “…continuing money and support for what would become Atlanta’s Spelman College, renowned for the education of black women” (p. 75) Rockefeller founded the University of Chicago, and the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller Institute) that helped modernize medical research (West, 2000). How did imperialism play a critical role leading up to World War I? Discuss the foreign policy of the US and the events that drew the country into World War I. According to Keen et al. (2012), imperialism is defined as “… colonizing foreign nations and lands, relying primarily on business, political, and military structures rather than settlers to rule colonized peoples and exploit their resources” (p. 562). Prior to World War I, Britain was one of the “… world’s largest, richest and most dominant imperial power…. occupied one-quarter of the globe” (Llewellyn, Southey, & Thompson, 2017, para. 2). The other significant imperial powers were France, Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and Spain (Keen et