The American Ecosystem
The chemical waste of modernizing industry and large factoires had major impacts on the lives of many Americans working and living near large industries. Living conditions were ruined, the population began to rise drastically, and new diseases made their way across the country through the air and water.
Rivers were a vital part of American life ever since the beginning of the nation. They were sources of water, bloodlines for trade, and cities had sprout all along many of the major rivers. As a result people had flocked to the major cities that were built around rivers for the jobs at the factories. With such a high amount of people in such a small amount of space, it resulted in very large amounts of sewage and waste being dumped into the rivers. The rivers that once were home to many aquatic wildlife were now void of life. The waters were filled with bacteria and parasites. The major problem was that those same rivers that were being used to dump sewage were also sources of fresh water for the population. At this point, diseases started to take form; thus began the decline of human sanitation standards.
One of these diseases was cholera, a deadly sickness that developed inside the small intestines of patients. Cholera was an unusual disease at that time, because it passed through water, and the water that people used to drink came straight from the rivers. At this time, there were no filters to separate the sewage from the water, which was clearly unsanitary. As a result, many developed cholera and typhoid, as water carrying illnesses, while the bacteria destroyed the immunity of plants and crops. However, the main killer of people was a disease known as tuberculosis (TB). TB was a disease that attacked the lungs of its victims, and spread through the air. A person was liable to obtain the disease if another had the virus, and the person breathed in the "exhaled sputum" of somebody else. Records say that diseases had killed almost 74% of the entire children population in the United States. These negative effects of the increasing American industry was causing devastation to the American people.
Rivers were a vital part of American life ever since the beginning of the nation. They were sources of water, bloodlines for trade, and cities had sprout all along many of the major rivers. As a result people had flocked to the major cities that were built around rivers for the jobs at the factories. With such a high amount of people in such a small amount of space, it resulted in very large amounts of sewage and waste being dumped into the rivers. The rivers that once were home to many aquatic wildlife were now void of life. The waters were filled with bacteria and parasites. The major problem was that those same rivers that were being used to dump sewage were also sources of fresh water for the population. At this point, diseases started to take form; thus began the decline of human sanitation standards.
One of these diseases was cholera, a deadly sickness that developed inside the small intestines of patients. Cholera was an unusual disease at that time, because it passed through water, and the water that people used to drink came straight from the rivers. At this time, there were no filters to separate the sewage from the water, which was clearly unsanitary. As a result, many developed cholera and typhoid, as water carrying illnesses, while the bacteria destroyed the immunity of plants and crops. However, the main killer of people was a disease known as tuberculosis (TB). TB was a disease that attacked the lungs of its victims, and spread through the air. A person was liable to obtain the disease if another had the virus, and the person breathed in the "exhaled sputum" of somebody else. Records say that diseases had killed almost 74% of the entire children population in the United States. These negative effects of the increasing American industry was causing devastation to the American people.