Monday, March 23, 2009

Chapter 20: Industrial Society

During the times of Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford economic growth in the United States was heralded among all other countries as new innovations like the assembly line, mass production, and unskilled workers allowed for industrial grwoth to occur at astonishing amounts. However with the rise of an indutrial society also came the rise in the gap between the rich and poor. Especially on immigrants was this gap seen as many were exploited or were denied jobs based on their race and ethnicity. For example the "Chinese Exclusion Act" declared that there would be no more immigration from China as people started to fear that their jobs were being taken.
The idea of eugenics during this time was also seen. Known as "quasi-science," it supported the idea of racial hierarchy. The goal was to increase the fitness of a nation by increasing birth and immigration amongst the fit and decreasing the amount of people who were unfit.

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