Running head: INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1

The Industrial Revolution in America

Seray Williams

February 9, 2020
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The Industrial Revolution in America

In the course of human history, there have been great waves of progress that have

radically and fundamentally transformed the very nature of human existence. The first of these

was the development by early hominid ancestors of the ability to build and use tools. This was

followed by the agrarian revolution where instead of nomadically hunting and gathering, our

ancestors could settle and raise crops and flocks. Then there was a lull for several thousand

years as progress slowed. However, at the end of the 18th century, there began, in earnest,

another paradigm shift regarding the nature of human society. It started in England and then

swiftly spread to the rest of the continent. Eventually, by 1790, it made its way to the new

country of the United States. This was, of course, the industrial revolution, without which most

of what is recognized as modern society could not exist. The development of the industrial

revolution in the United States and its impact is the focus of the present paper. It will begin by

identifying the important events and milestones of the revolution in the United States. It will

then discuss the various impacts that the revolution had. Finally, it will draw connections

between the changes that occurred during the industrial revolution and the current state of

American society and the changes on the precipice. After this examination, it will be clear that

just as society changed as a result of the industrial revolution, those changes are still exerting

perceptible influence even today.

Events and Milestones of the Revolution

One of the most pressing and nearly existential questions to historians regarding the

industrial revolution is did the changes in the world around the time of the revolution necessitate

the revolution and its innovations, or did the innovations that resulted in the revolution allow for

the changes in the world? There is a historical intersection of the beginning of the revolution,
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which began in Britain around the 1760s, with the status of empire and the global expansion.

The British empire was near, but not yet at, its zenith during the revolution and so there were

demands for the commodities that could be produced by the industrial revolution. This is one of

the arguments for the situation creating the need for revolution.

Setting aside the question of origins and causes, what can be ascertained about the

revolution is that it began in Britain in the 1760s and was focused primarily on two industries.

Those were textiles, or the creation and production of fabric, and iron. Iron was proving to be a

much better and much more ideal material for tooling and creating than was wood. As a result,

the global demand for iron was spiking. This combined with the advent of newer methods for

mining iron and for refining it led to the expansion of smelters and foundry operations. The

textile industry began to flourish as well because of the improvements in productivity and speed

that could be achieved by the use of new technology to drive automated machines.

This was all happening in Britain and was beginning to flow lightly into the continent in

places like France and Belgium (Stearns, 2018). However, in 1790, the first American factory to

utilize the factory model and industrial techniques was built. It was built by an emigrant from

England, Samuel Slater. He founded a cotton mill in Pawtucket Rhode Island that became

known as Slaters mill (Conrad, 1995). The experience Slater brought from his formal

apprenticeship in the English textile industry allowed him to bring the advancements of that

technology to the United States. This started a boom of industrial mills in new England such that

by 1802, there were over 1,100 wool and cotton and fiber mills in Massachusetts and Rhode

Island alone (Conrad, 1995).

However, the revolution could not be contained to the east coast. As the people of the

country spread inland, so too did the industrial revolution. The discovery of massive loads of
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both bauxite and pig iron around the great lakes had great potential. There were many iron and

alumina mines and foundries established here. The problem was that there was no effective

means by which to transport the goods and so the demand for inland markets stagnated

(Chandler, 1972). The solution to this would eventually be the development of the locomotive

for portage. However, in the interim, the various state governments started financing

infrastructure projects to develop canals. One of the most famous of these was the Erie Canal

which connected the town of Buffalo NY on Lake Erie with the Hudson river near Albany NY.

With the completion of this 363-mile water way, the cost of transporting goods from Buffalo and

the surrounding areas to market distribution points fell by 95% (Stearns, 2018). This had a

massive impact on the demand for goods to fuel growth and this too spurred the revolution.

Impacts of the Revolution

One of the most obvious and the first of the impacts of the revolution is the fact that

goods and commodities could be manufactured so much quicker and easier. This meant that

there was simply more of these goods to go around. Demand increased to keep up with supply

and the end result was that the revolution was self-sustaining for many years, but it also raised

the standards of production and of living. The people were better off because of the

industrialization.

Another significant impact of the industrial revolution was one already touched on

dealing with transportation. The need to be able to cheaply and efficiently move thousands and

eventually millions of tons of raw materials from the place of growth or collection to the places

of utilization for manufacturing meant there had to be new methods devised. The system of pack

animal portage was entirely inefficient for this new need of society. Because of this, the various
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local and state governments engaged in heavy investment in and subsidizing of the construction

of canals and bridges to allow for the easy transport of raw and finished goods.

However, the last and most important of the impacts of the revolution was the fact that

the states and the governments that were investing in these infrastructure advancements were

cash poor. They had to be able to finance these projects up front and then wait until the canals

and locks were in service before tolls and portage fees could be collected. Initially the federal

bank of the United States assisted in this by financing to the states. However, in 1811, the bank

was not reauthorized and so closed (Cowen, 2000). As a result, the states established charters for

over 200 new state banks by 1815 (Cowen, 2000). The result was that private capital was used

to fund public improvements on the promise of returned interest. This is how the industrial

revolution led to the banking revolution.

Connections to the Present Day

The two most important connections to the modern day from the revolution are the

establishment of banking and loans and credit systems, which is the heart of free market

capitalism, and the increase in the standard of living. America would rise to global status shortly

after the industrial revolution because of its ability to produce and manufacture, combined with

the unbridled capitalism it employed (Stearns, 2018). The ability of the market to determine

what was to be produced and what cost and profit would be associated with it were significant

milestones. However, while there is greater oversight through legislation today, the basic

principles of the capitalist system still are in place. However, with the rise of the businesses that

were the core of the revolution, there was also a rise in the demand for skilled and semiskilled

labor. To answer this rise in demand without a consequent rise in supply, the mill and factory
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owners started to pay their employees more. This led to a rise in the standard of living across the

world.

In conclusion it can be seen from the preceding examination that there were many

important impacts form the industrial revolution. However, the greatest of these impacts are still

prescient today. The world still largely runs on capitalist markets and the trend of increasing

standards of living has continued unabated for 200 years.

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References

Chandler, A. D. (1972). Anthracite coal and the beginnings of the industrial revolution in the

United States. Business History Review, 46(2), 141-181.

Stearns, P. N. (2018). The industrial revolution in world history. Routledge.

Cowen, D. J. (2000). The origins and economic impact of the First Bank of the United States,

1791-1797.

Conrad, J. L. (1995). " Drive That Branch": Samuel Slater, the Power Loom, and the Writing of

America's Textile History. Technology and culture, 36(1), 1-28.