Middle

Industrialization changed the nature of work, working conditions and the composition of the American workforce. Labor's struggle to organize, management's fierce resistance to their efforts, and the status of the American worker at this time are analyzed.

Millions of immigrants, as well as thousands already in America, moved to the city in the decades following Reconstruction. The living and social conditions of the huddled masses during this era are examined, using the cities of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

This episode establishes the course themes of American identity, freedom, and equality at the end of Reconstruction, then examines the reasons behind the large scale industrialization in the late 19th century.

Every line on the U.S. map tells a story. Every border reflects our history -- our struggles for independence, our internal conflicts over states rights and slavery, our westward expansion, and the mastery of our natural resources. We are so familiar with the map of United States, but do we know why our states look the way they do? Every shape on the map tells a great story about our past.