Here at Home, Economic History Repeats Itself Please respond to the following:

The Industrial Age gave rise to unprecedented disparities in wealth and living conditions in cities. Government did not provide assistance to the needy; there were no safety laws in factories; and, more children worked in American factories than in any other country. American industrial workers, however, earned the highest industrial wage in the world. In America today, the spread between haves and have-nots is again on the rise with the decline of the middle class and loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs.

• Americans have prided themselves on societal equality since the country's founding. Why, then, did Americans reject Marx and Engel's revolutionary theories for achieving equality?

• Describe industrial conditions and tragic events in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. (See Instructor Insights).

• Take a position on whether you think the level of political corruption in America today is the same as corruption in the late 1800s as reported in The Politics of the Industrial Age. Give evidence for your opinion.

To answer this question fully, make sure to state Marx and Engel's theories.