History Homework - Coursework Example

History Homework What factors led to rapid urbanization during the late 19th century? What role did immigration and industrialization’s demand for cheap labor play?The factors that led to rapid urbanization in the late 19th century were the development of capitalism, growth of export and raw materials, railroad expansion, affordable steamship fees, immigration, and industrialization. Immigration and demand for cheap labor sped up urbanization because majority of new immigrants stayed in cities, and industrialists, who were mostly found in cities, drew on the global workforce for cheap labor. 2) What were the effects of mechanization on American industry?

What was the family economy, and what role did women and children play in it?Mechanization, or the process of replacing human labor with machines, divided skilled labor into minor, unskilled work. Mechanization has the greatest impact on the garment and textile industry. Family economy implied the need for the inputs to the family income of all members of the family. Children already took part in paid labor, and wives worked as domestic helpers and factory laborers. 3) What was ‘domesticity?

’ What did it mean to both working-class and middle-class women?Domesticity was the process whereby the home becomes the independent domain of the mother and wife. Working-class provided domestic help to the middle-class. Because of the availability of domestic services middle-class women were freed of domestic responsibilities and had more time for leisure. 4) Explain Americans’ ambivalence about large cities, and explain why Chicago’s White City best exemplifies that ambivalence.Chicago’s White City symbolizes Americans’ ambivalence about large cities because of its promise of leisure and entertainment for the upper and middle class, and work for the lower class.

However, large cities also oppress the working class and signify the very wide gap between the rich and the poor.