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Free Enterprise.
The capitalist economic system of the United States helped spur industrial growth in capitalism, individuals and businesses own property and decide how to use it. The people control capital, which includes the buildings, land, machines, money, and other items used to create wealth. -
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The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution reached the United States in around 1800. Changes began in New England because of its georgraphy. New England's poor soil made farming difficult. People willingly gave up farm work to earn wages elsewhere. New England's many rivers and streams offered the water power needed to run the factories and their machinery. The area had many ports. These ports allowed the shipping in of raw materials, such as cotton, and the shipping out of finished goods, such as cloth. -
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The Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution reached the United States at around 1800. Changes began in New England because of its geography. New England's poor soil made farming difficult. People willingly gave up farm work to earn wages elsewhere. New England's many rivers and streams offered the water power needed to run factories and their machinery. The area had many ports. These ports allowed the shipping in of raw materials, such as cotton, and the shipping out of finished goods, such as cloth. -
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Technology in the U.S.
At the heart of the Industrial Revolution was technology. New machines changed the way people made cloth and many other goods. Compared to making thread or cloth by hand, the machines saved time and money. Other inventions, such as the cotton gin and interchangeable parts for guns, changed manufacture forever. -
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Agriculture Moves West
While many New Englanders went to work in factories in the early 1800s, most Americans still live and worked on farms. In the Northeast farms were small, so the family could do all of the necessary work. Farmers in the usually sold their products locally. Agriculture moved west along with the American settlers. Western farmers in the region north of the Ohio River found land that could support a thriving agriculture. Many farmers concentrated on raising pork and cash crops, such as corn. -
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The Growing of Corporations.
In the 1830s, changes in the law paved the way for the growth of corporations. A corporation is a type of business that can have many owners. Because of their legal status, corporations can grow to a large size. They sell stock to raise the money to build factories and expand their business. Large corporations began to appear in this era, and their great size helped drive industrialization.