The American Industrial Revolution was a time in the history of the United States of innovation and rapid growth. Growth that led to changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology. These changes affected the social, economic and cultural conditions during the nineteenth century and shaped the countries' future. The Industrial Revolution and the rise of a great nation. The American Industrial Revolution was a period of technological innovation, agricultural advancements and economic growth that propelled social and economic changes throughout the country.
The USA started exporting and importing goods with other countries. So, to keep up with demand, we had to produce more, which led to factories and labor unions. Also, the Railway Act that President Lincoln signed helped spur the Industrial Revolution
Industrialization also caused an increase in urbanization. Social, political, and economic changes were caused by rapid increase in industrialization and urbanization that took place in the United State. The United States had industrialized and urbanized rapidly between 1890 and 1920, which caused many social changes in society. According to Jacob Riis, urbanization had caused tenements to develop in major cities. The build up of these tenements led to the rise of gangs (Doc 1).
According to DBQ 13, document 4, it states, “Your houses are better built, your clothes are cheaper, you have an infinite number of domestic utensils. You can travel cheaply from place to place, and not only travel at less expense, but travel ten times faster than two hundred years ago.” Therefore, stating that the advancements in technology and the competition created by the new businesses caused prices to drop and a rise in productivity. Because of the manufactories that were built to sustain the constant creation of the product, many people were hired to make more things at a faster speed. DBQ 12, document 2, states, “People left their occupations and came to spinning for the sake of the high wages.” People left the farming to the factories for more
This can be demonstrated through the examination of urbanization, the rise of new classes, theories (by Smith, Malthus and Ricardo), and factory conditions. The industrial revolution began with tinkers introducing new inventions that were going to dramatically improve the way people produced goods. These new machines (such as the water frames, cotton gins, power looks, and the spinning jenny) enabled different industries (like the Textile industry to produce products in mass quantities. In consequence, these new methods of production made other approaches such as the cottage industry obsolete. These new techniques may have allowed for ample production of goods and prices of goods to drop, ultimately increasing consumerism; inevitably though, it had a destructive effect on the old-fashioned methods of production.
It also had a stable government, which allowed for the people to begin industrializing in the first place, harbors for trade, a very large population resulting in a very large workforce, and many water ways throughout the country to transport materials and products as well as to use for water power at mills. There are several reasons why the Industrial revolution started in the first place. One reason being that there was widespread resistance to disease in Europe as well as a reliable food supply, allowing for steady population growth, which in return created more demand for products, which in turn resulted in new ways of producing products more efficiently in response to demand. As a result of Industrialization, a new economic philosophy arose. Capitalism called for the lack of government intervention in the economy.
It made it more apparent that heavy industries, factories and coal mining were becoming more and more important. As stated above the railroads made the trade of goods, coal and steel easier which lead to the growth of steel production as well as the growth of large corporations in the oil, sugar and meat industries. With the arrival of new machine driven factories, the need for skilled workers was dramatically reduce, creating more opportunities for unskilled workers. These laborors were hired to clear lands, build and repair tracks and build the trains needed to supply the new demands. With the promise of learning a trade and becoming more wealthy a new class of people was appearing in the cities, the middle class.
Disregarding the heavy social costs of the Industrial Revolution, its material benefits outweighed them. This thesis will be defended by analyzing the benefits of the division of labor, how discipline in the factories allowed for successful industries, and most importantly the future technological advancements to create more efficient machinery. “The greatest improvement in the productive powers of Labour…seem to have been the effects of the division of labour” (The Division of Labor, 132). The division of labor played a role in the increase in mass production of goods by allowing different tasks to be completed concurrently. With the creation of the assembly line as well as the division of power, many workers would be able to complete a certain tasks simultaneously, thus increasing the production rate of goods and calling for a more efficient way to produce goods.
At this point in time, roads got improved and underwent repair on a larger extent; the production of railways skyrocketed in the German States. The expansion of railways increased industrialization and provided many raw materials, which could only be accessed to industries from far sources. Just like Zollverein, this made connections with one another (the German States) easier and promoted freedom, independence and prosperity. Germans began to see unity in factors other than language.
Although there are many key elements of the rapid industrialization during the 19th century that aided in producing the outcomes (Urbanization, Social Classes/Living Conditions, Inventions), the most significant features that gave life to industrial and social progression were the introduction of mechanization, and the improvements made to transportation during the era of the Industrial Revolution. Mechanization: The first and one of the most important positive aspects of the Industrial Revolution was the mechanization of most labor methods, which allowed for a higher rate of production for and contributed greatly to the economic expansion and development of Western societies. The first example of mechanical introduction during the early years of the Industrial Revolution was that of the cotton textile industry. Prior to the inventions of Elias Howe (sewing machine) and