Industrialization... a Loss For Everyone

The small benefits that industrialization posed were not worth the terrible and inexcusable costs for many reasons. A poster made by Lewis Wickes Hine (1913-1914) shows the negative effects that industrialization had on children all across America. Industrialization revoked child labor and this informational poster shares the negative impacts of child labor. Child labor forced children into many harmful jobs that resulted in many injuries and sometimes death. The poster explains how employers would lure children to work with them by proposing high wages to them. Their wages quickly dropped and their lack of education made people believe that they were “junk” because they had no future along with no education. Nothing is worth a child’s life, future, or education so small benefits of industrialization were not worth the costs of child labor. Industrialization affected the environment as well. In a picture published by the Detroit Publishing Company, smokestacks tower above buildings as they pollute the air in New York from 1890 to 1901. The thick smoke that penetrated the air made citizens and wildlife sick as well as ruined the beautiful look of the city. In other instances, industrialization caused air pollution that was so heavy, that some cities needed to turn street lights on during the day so people could see. Not only did industrialization pollute the air, but it polluted the lungs of people and animals. The smoke caused diseases that raided people's bodies. No living thing should die because of air pollution and industrialization caused terrible air pollution. In this instance, small benefits of industrialization were not worth the costs of air pollution. In addition, industrialization killed and injured many people because of work related accidents. An accident report written in 1916 explains the amount of deaths in one year that all resulted from industrialization. In just one year, 526 men were killed from accidents which were caused by industrialization. Also, Allegheny County lost more than 500 hundred work men a year and most of those workers were young, skillful, and strong. These deaths could have been avoided if industrialization had been stopped. When workmen died, their families were sometimes left with nothing because no one was working or bringing in money for food, shelter, or any other essential items. The deaths of these workmen didn’t only affect them and their families, but all of society as well. Other families became worried about their loved ones who could also fall victim to industrialization. Society should never be ruined or distorted by anyone or anything, so the benefits of industrialization were not worth the costs in this situation. Overall, the small and over rated benefits of the industrialization were not worth lives being taken, illnesses being spread, the environment being destroyed, and air being polluted. Industrialization may have its benefits but none of them were even close to being worth the costs.