Describe the working conditions and roles of immigrants, women, and children in the New Age of American Industry.

First, the rapid industrialization that characterized the economy in the late nineteenth century was fueled by, among other things, immigrant labor. Millions of immigrants, many from Eastern and Southern Europe, toiled in American factories, sweatshops, and mills in Northern cities and in mines in the West. 

Immigrant labor was not widespread in the South, where textile mills came to dominate small-town life. But the labor of white women and children was. (Most mills refused to...

First, the rapid industrialization that characterized the economy in the late nineteenth century was fueled by, among other things, immigrant labor. Millions of immigrants, many from Eastern and Southern Europe, toiled in American factories, sweatshops, and mills in Northern cities and in mines in the West. 

Immigrant labor was not widespread in the South, where textile mills came to dominate small-town life. But the labor of white women and children was. (Most mills refused to employ African-American men and women). Women in particular made up a large segment of the textile labor force, just as they had in the Northeast before the Civil War. Many left the mills upon marriage, but many did not. Women were similarly employed in many industries throughout the nation, most prominently the garment industry. 

The almost total absence of regulation meant that children were employed alongside adults in almost every major industry in the United States. This was especially true in mining and textiles, where the small size of children was an advantage. Before child care was a valid option for most families, there was little choice but for children to work, often alongside their parents.

Whatever the industry, workers faced difficult working conditions. This was largely a result of the lack of legislation mandating work hours, workplace safety, and, for that matter, minimum wage. Thus the rapid industrialization of the United States was built on a large working class that toiled under very difficult circumstances for next to subsistence wages.