The Industrial Revolution: A Complete Shift towards the Growth of the United States

        My first venture into the Industrial Revolution will explore the many advances towards transportation. Transportation is essential to the growth and spread of any idea of product. Goods are exchanged, sharing vast information across land, sea or even air. During the late 1800’s James Watt improved on the function of the steam engine. He is also known for the Watt light bulbs and “horse power” of speed in automobiles. Only through a convenient and efficient energy source could major methods of transportation transpire and prosper. The steam engine gave way to the usage of steamboats and the first railroad. In 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was completed which linked the east to the west (Sacramento, California to Council Bluffs, Iowa). This also replaced the previous mailing system of the Pony Express. A major invention was telegraph in 1844 by Samuel F. B. Morse. The first transmission was a 40 mile line across Washington to Baltimore. This was to dispatch news of the Mexican-American War fronts, coordinate Union soldier battle plans during the Civil, relay stock and commodity prices of the economy market, and conduct diplomatic negotiations. Later in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone which could transmit and reproduce actual sound of voices over cable lines. Now every home has at least one land line telephone. We also have the luxury of the cell phone. We can talk to each other from practically anywhere without cords or cables. This is one of the many technological advancements which originated from the Industrial Revolution.

        During the late 1800’s came the rise of the first automobile or “horseless carriage”. However, the earliest cars were very bulky and expensive, as well as unnecessary. Henry Ford revolutionized the manufacturing process through the use of interchangeable parts on assembly lines. Interchangeable parts are components of any device designed to specifications which insured that they will fit within any device of the same type. Assembly lines were usually run by many people to a single line. This became the beginning of industrial mass production. On the rural roads, automobiles could not travel because of the rough terrain. Many poor and middle class people started leaving rural areas for a more urban and modernized lifestyle. The number of farmers working dropped by a third from its original workers. This was facilitated by new farming techniques as well as agricultural mechanization. Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper in 1834. With this device, farm labor productions of harvesting had quadrupled in efficiency. This was an example of the replacement offhand labor by mechanization advancements. Another agricultural innovation was the steel plow by John Deere in 1857. This made things faster by pushing away soil from the plow in the prairies. Obviously with all of these changes the food distribution method would also become mechanized by easier transportation, thus leading to an increase in demand and prices.

        During the early 1800’s, textile industries were just beginning the Industrial Revolution. The textile industry had previously been based on labor-intensive production methods and was becoming mechanized. The first of this string of technological advances began in 1789. Eli Whitney developed the cotton gin reduced the laborious task of the original process. This made a huge profit for Southern cotton growers. As the turn of the century passed, the industry grew to have a marvel of new techniques to improve upon the old methods. These include the spinning jenny, water frame, and spinning mule. They was actually some of the only few beneficial devices towards the southern methods of economic growth.

        As I stated before, the discovery of using electricity was revolutionary all in itself, and came during the Industrial Revolution. Benjamin Franklin is famous for flying a kite with a key tied to it to prove that lightning is a form of electricity. Thomas Alva Edison used previous inventors’ works to develop a long lasting incandescent lamp in 1880. Soon a protégé of his created an electric motor, which replaced the steam engine. This did not require complex transmissions or water sources to operate it. It quickly became the power supply for factories around the world. This also led to the hydroelectric dam which produces electricity by hydropower.

        As the nation grew in its feats of technological advancements, it was hard for people to keep up. Previous manual labor workers such as artisans and craftsmen became useless and were replaced by specialized workers and engineers who knew the machinery and would also use it to shorten days of work to mere hours. This process was proven to produce at a much more rapid and efficient pace. Although, this caused a spur of many problems of job availability. With less people needed to operate machines, less people had jobs and thus created a larger poor and even homeless population. Ironically, it can be stated that this glorious “golden age” could have lead to the chaotic lifestyle that occurred during the Great Depression. However that dilemma of United States history will be held as a theory to what could happen as of the 1800’s.

        During the late 1800’s, there was a massive expansion of drilling and refineries. One main resource was oil. John D. Rockefeller became an extremely wealthy man by eliminating all of his competition. He controlled 90% of United States oil through his Standard Oil Company. As the century came towards an end, demand rapidly increased as people were reliant on oil as heat and light for homes, the internal combustive engine, and to keep the machinery in factories running smoothly. Another major resource was steel. In 1868, Andrew Carnegie used recent advancements to build up his Carnegie Steel Company. By 1900, it produced more steel than all of Britain. It was used in the construction of railroads, mines and steam boats. These industries grew large enough to form monopolies. This is where a company has no competition, being in high demand and making their own prices. They forced the passage of the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act which made the government take action to rid of any existing or future monopolies.

        Surprisingly or not, the Civil War actually progresses the growth of industry. During wartime, American arms manufacturers had a huge business regimen, for both sides. Means of new age transportation also demonstrated their modernized traits of a so-called “modern warfare”. Supplies were transferred to troops through the railroad systems. News and battle plans were exchanged to create tactical procedures using the telegraph. Usually wartime stimulates the economy by the need for constant supplies. This opens up opportunities for more jobs as either soldiers or laborers for support.

        Throughout the span of history, the Industrial Revolution is considered to be one of the most influential periods of all time. There was a major shift in the way people act in their daily lives. The technological and industrial advancements changed the general focus towards a more mechanized aspect. Without the modernization of the Industrial Revolution, the technology we use every day of our lives might not exist.

Bibliography

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Crafts, Nicholas “The Economic Journal” Volume 114 Issue 495

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Kelly, Martin <>

Laux, James M. The Automobile Revolution: The Impact of an Industry University of North Carolina Press North Carolina 1982

More, Charles Understanding the Industrial Revolution Routledge London 2000

Olmstead, Alan L. “Induced Innovation in American Agriculture: A Reconsideration” Journal of Political Economy 1993

Sterns, Peter N. The Industrial Revolution in World History Westview Press Boulder, CO 1998

        

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