Answer:
During the Gilded Age, the government passed legislation to actively help people, help small businesses, and give the government ownership of new industries.
Explanation:
When the industrialized North defeated the agricultural south in the Civil War, large industries began to develop on the East Coast and the Great Lakes. The United States was rapidly industrialized because of the abundance of raw materials, good transport links, the American society being entrepreneurial and equal, the country conducting free trade and its profits from migration. In particular, the textile, slaughterhouse and coal and steel industries grew. John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie were some of the best known industrialists in this Gilded Age.
Industrial efficiency was based on large production units, serial production, mechanization, large markets and standardization. By 1900, US output per worker was 2.26 times higher than in Britain. American companies' desire to improve efficiency was due to high wage costs. The real wage of the factory worker was about double that of France. However, the pay gap was large both by region and by industry. Unskilled immigrants often had to work in conditions less favorable than those in Europe.
Expanding factories weakened the position of workers, especially the low standard of living of mixed workers compared to, for example, England. Between 1880 and 1920, more workers were killed in work-related accidents in America than in any other industrialized country. The textile industry was plagued with dust, which was responsible for several life-threatening fires. In coal mines, poor air caused lung disease and weak structures caused mine collapses. Throughout the industry, dangerous machines carried limbs, causing disability and death. Working days were long, up to 12 hours, and child labor was widely used.
