The Embargo: The Cause Of The American Industrial Revolution

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Introduction The term industrial revolution refers to a period in history during which there was a gradual transformation of rural, agricultural-based societies, into industrial, urban societies. Before the industrial revolution, textile and agricultural production was chiefly done manually, at home, but industrial revolution brought about a shift towards machine powered, mass production in factories (Montagna, 1981). This important epoch in human history is rightly labeled “revolution” since it had overarching changes on various cultural, social, economic and political aspects, but as Montagna (1981) notes, the term should not be taken to imply abrupt changes since the “revolution” was rather gradual, transcending two centuries; 18th and 19thcentury. Although industrial revolution began in Britain, it didn’t take long before other nations caught on to it with Germany and the United States taking the lead and subsequently spreading to Japan and the rest of the world. At the center of this remarkable revolution was the mechanization of textile production,…show more content…
The embargo has its roots in an incident involving the Chesapeake, whereby British troops attacked the ship after being denied the permission to search it. In the process, they seized four Americans and hung one in accusation of desertion. The resultant public outrage and the ensuing embargo act meant poor ties with Britain and probation of imports from other countries. Te ultimate outcome was the 1812 war with Britain. At this point it became apparent that America needed to improve its transportation systems and enhance its manufacturing capacity. This led to great emphasis on manufacturing. American industrial revolution involved three key stages during which transportation, electricity production, and finally production systems took center stage (ushistory.com, no
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