Answer:
the growth of capitalism and industrialization affected american democracy directly. the government saw both as necessary for economic progress and as such was content to have a laissez-faire economy for most of the nineteenth century. Even when they passed some regulatory laws like the Sherman Anti-trust act, they were not effectively enforced. In fact, they were often used to suppress the ordinary people like the Unions fighting on behalf of the workers. In effect, it was a time when the capitalist biases of the government became clear, and social and economic inequalities increased despite the improvements in the standard of living. Industrialization also brought with it a wave of immigrant workers who were looking for better opportunities or escaping persecution or poverty in their own countries. it changed the american demographic as well as the workforce. Most of them joined the stream of industrial workers who lived and worked in terrible environments, working extremely long hours for very little pay. there were no government regulations to protect the rights of these people and if not for the unions, it would have been that way for a lot longer.
