was America better off due to the expansion of Big Business during this era, or were natural resources and workers exploited in return for enormous corporate profits?
Exploitation!!!
![Picture](/uploads/1/7/9/0/17902763/3470192.jpeg?269)
I personally feel natural resources and human workers were being exploited and harshly used for mere profit and greed. Business leaders would use up all resources until they ran out, and when it did, they would switch to another resource and do the same. This was know as social Darwinism.
Particularly in the Industrial Revolution and up through the middle of the 20th century, some people excused careless, neglectful or mass murderous behavior through reliance on Spencer’s theories, which had never been proven. For the most part, Spencer’s ideas have been discarded, though some people still argue his concepts had merit.
The underlying concept driving Social Darwinism is based on Darwin’s observations that weaker members of animal populations tend to be weeded out over several generations. Survival of the fittest ensures a stronger race, where the best qualities are selected and reproduced. When this idea is applied to society it justifies a variety of controversial viewpoints. First, it isn’t necessary to help people who struggle economically, socially, or educationally, because if they are truly fit, they will work it out and overcome whatever problems they have. If not, they sink to lowestsocial standing, and are less likely to reproduce; this is blatantly untrue as evidenced by high birth rates in disadvantaged populations.
Business leaders also would force workers to work long hours each day, have them work in extremely, harsh, unsanitary conditions with low pay. These caused many deaths and injuries to employes, ages from seven to fifty. These leaders did not even care about the health and care of their children workers. These conditions would soon change for the better
Even though their were some cons about how the leaders kept their building, their were some good things that came out of this. These businesses lead to innovations and inventions, like the telephone, the first airplane, electric motor, cable, cotton gin and telegraph. These inventions led our country growing more toward technology and electricity, in which a lot of countries have not done so yet. This lead us to be on top of all countries and would get us farther in the future.
Cited "[Regents Prep Global History] Change & Turning Points: Industrial Revolution."[Regents Prep Global History] Change & Turning Points: Industrial Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Cited: "Evolution of Business Series 6.0: Industrial Revolution." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Cited: SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Particularly in the Industrial Revolution and up through the middle of the 20th century, some people excused careless, neglectful or mass murderous behavior through reliance on Spencer’s theories, which had never been proven. For the most part, Spencer’s ideas have been discarded, though some people still argue his concepts had merit.
The underlying concept driving Social Darwinism is based on Darwin’s observations that weaker members of animal populations tend to be weeded out over several generations. Survival of the fittest ensures a stronger race, where the best qualities are selected and reproduced. When this idea is applied to society it justifies a variety of controversial viewpoints. First, it isn’t necessary to help people who struggle economically, socially, or educationally, because if they are truly fit, they will work it out and overcome whatever problems they have. If not, they sink to lowestsocial standing, and are less likely to reproduce; this is blatantly untrue as evidenced by high birth rates in disadvantaged populations.
Business leaders also would force workers to work long hours each day, have them work in extremely, harsh, unsanitary conditions with low pay. These caused many deaths and injuries to employes, ages from seven to fifty. These leaders did not even care about the health and care of their children workers. These conditions would soon change for the better
Even though their were some cons about how the leaders kept their building, their were some good things that came out of this. These businesses lead to innovations and inventions, like the telephone, the first airplane, electric motor, cable, cotton gin and telegraph. These inventions led our country growing more toward technology and electricity, in which a lot of countries have not done so yet. This lead us to be on top of all countries and would get us farther in the future.
Cited "[Regents Prep Global History] Change & Turning Points: Industrial Revolution."[Regents Prep Global History] Change & Turning Points: Industrial Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Cited: "Evolution of Business Series 6.0: Industrial Revolution." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Cited: SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.