Hello Kimikazu,
I hope you don't mind seeing me again on another question. Here I
shall attempt to briefly discuss the points you raised on your
question, though it is from my own view.
In a sense the United States derives its industrialization from
England, because the latter was the first every country to be in the
Industrial Revolution, and some transfer of technology did happen
between it and the United States. The problem was that at first it was
hard to get technology from Britain, but later on the technologies
founded by Richard Arkwright and James Watt were acquired by the
Americans. But with inventions like the cotton gin and the finding of
resources in other parts of the US, the country was able to stand on
its own in industrialization.
An industrial revolution happens not only when machines take over some
jobs of people, but also people move from scattered rural areas near
farms to crowded urban centers (cities) to be closer to the factories.
This would them contribute to the rise of the great American cities we
know today. This also tended to pack together people in poor and
crowded conditions. In addition, certain ploblematic conditions, like
the spread of disease as well population explosions, could be
attributed to this institution of urban centers, since so many people
were now living close together.
Immigration benefitted the American Industrial sector since the
immigrants included skilled laborers and smuggled machinery (here's to
show that many things in history depended on illegal activity to be).
Later waves of immigrants were also tapped or exploited as workers in
the factories that were being put up. Since industries were being set
up and workers were in demand, immigrants were seen as a pool for
obtaining workers. Of course, there was also the slave-trade at the
time, and the black populace was still a source for labor.
About war, from the top of my head, I recall a saying that war is the
time when technology usually advances. In the case of the US Civil
War, it seemed to have been more of a setback for industrial
development. The economy slowed, as is expected during a war, and the
only industries that thrived were those needed for war - cotton (for
uniforms) and metal (for weapons).
Several industries were boosted by the appearance of machines. One is
Eli Whitney's cotton gin, which changed the cotton industry since
then. Samuel Slater is the one credited to be the "father of American
manufacturing", since he instituted a spinning mill for a company,
which could be considered the "first factory" in the US. He also laid
the foundation for the ways industrial companies would be organized.
Iron is another industry which saw rapid growth in the 1800's. The
introduction of coal-fired machinery also stepped up the coal industry
in the United States. So with the rise of machines, what commodities
were the most important changed during the American Industrial age.
Also, some products, like soap, certain "classy" textiles and other
products were cheaper and now available for the average American.
On the geographical side, America's inland rivers provided a
convenient way to transfer goods using steam-powered cargo vessels.
Railways were a necessity since the United States was big and had so
much ground to cover. The expansion of the railways soon led to the
spread of US colonization from the east coast to the west coast. The
railways also brought people to areas where more resources would be
more found, and more industrial centers would be set up.
This is as much as I can do now to cover the points you mentioned in
your question. I hope you will find a lot more points from the sources
I have quoted below, and what results will come out when you try the
search terms mentioned below.
Resouces referred to:
Was The Nineteenth Century American Industrial Revolution Solely
Dependent On The Transfer Of British Technology? - Article from
University of Bristol
http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/home/mothomps/invind2.htm
- This is the page I take most of my views from.
American history 2 - The Industrial Revolution
http://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/history/ah2/People/rjm/lectures/ir.htm
Factors contributing to the Industrial Revolution - The revolution in
general
http://www.klbschool.org.uk/interactive/history/industrial.htm
On The Industrial Revolution: "Myths and Realities"
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/BluePete/IndustRev.htm
- Another general commentary on the Industrial revolution.
War and social upheaval: Industrial Revolution
http://histclo.hispeed.com/essay/war/war-ir.html
- Lists and elaborates on major aspects and changes during the
Industrial Revolution.
Industrial Revolution - List of links to various sources
http://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/Industrial.html
Effects of the Industrial Revolution on Working Life
http://www.knology.net/~watson/termpapers/effectsoftheindustrialrevolution.html
The Skills of the Unskilled in the American Industrial Revolution
(Adobe PDF Document)
http://www.researchoninnovation.org/skills.pdf
- Paper about how the skills of people changed because of the
introduction of machinery in the Industrial Revolution.
Links to Industrial Revolution Pages
http://www.42explore.com/industrial.htm
Industrial Revolution - lists some key points, but most of the links
do not works
http://www.naschools.net/teachers/industrial%20revolution.htm
Unit IV Notes - Industrial Revolution and Reform
http://members.aol.com/mrremm/private/USHIST/precivilwar.html
Other sources:
Geometry.Net - Basic_I: Industrial Revolution Workers - some books
relating to the Industrial Revolution in America
http://www.geometry.net/basic_i/industrial_revolution_workers.php
Some sample term papers for sale on the net by AcaDemon
http://www.academon.com/lib/essay/industrial-revolution.html
Google search words used:
factor american industrial revolution civil war
factors american industrial revolution
factors america industrial revolution
america industrial revolution effects
american industrial revolution effects
I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you need anything else,
or have a problem with the answer, do please post a Request for
Clarification and I shall respond as soon as I can. Thank you. |
