The period between 1865 and 1900 often referred to as the “Second Industrial Revolution” was an important time in American history, marked by technological advances that vastly improved production processes, leading to rapid industrial growth. The Second Industrial Revolution had three main consequences which significantly affected American society: the growth of large businesses and corporations, the emergence of a new middle class, and increased immigration.

The most significant consequence of this period was the growth of large businesses and corporations. Before this era, companies were mostly small family-owned operations that relied on manual labor for production. However, during this period entrepreneurs like Andrew Carnegie used innovative methods such as vertical integration to create monopolies in certain industries. This allowed them to benefit from economies of scale by producing goods at lower costs than their smaller competitors could achieve. These larger firms also had more capital available for investment into further improvements in technology or product development which gave them even more of an advantage over smaller firms who could not afford such investments. As these larger businesses grew they began replacing human labor with machines which allowed them to produce goods faster and cheaper than ever before while also making it possible for many products to become widely available due to reduced prices due to mass production techniques developed during this time period.