Title: The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview
The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview
The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview

Content: Americans who entered the century riding horse-drawn buggies could, by the end of its first decade, drive cars and dream of someday flying in a plane. Many of the workers who were employed by the nation's expanding industrial base were immigrants. Nearly nine million immigrants journeyed to America during the decade, with most arrivals coming from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The record year for immigration was 1907, when 1.29 million people entered the United States. By the end of the decade, the U.S. population had risen to 91 million. Men and women rarely competed for jobs, primarily because of division of labor according to gender. In the industrial sector, men had opportunities and could claim jobs that required physical strength, while women were confined to lowpaying jobs using light machinery. Although by 1910 one-third of the workforce was female, half of these women workers were involved in agriculture or domestic service, leaving little female representation in industry. Children were often exploited as workers. Until regulation ended the practice, child labor was common.