Summary:
Development of manufacturing in the United States.
Early development of manufacturing in the United States was the gateway to the technologies and advances society knows today. Several factors contributed to the aforementioned developments. Population increases, Transportation advancements, industrial advancements, and a great deal of support from the National Government were all cardinal factors culminating in the ultimate development of manufacturing in the U.S.
The early development of manufacturing in the states was contributed to by the increase in labor pool from 1820 to 1860. It is easy to infer that the immigration rates were rising almost until the end of this specific time period. The accounts of the New England farm family also suggest that the birth rate had grown as well as the labor pool. The job opportunities offered in the New England mills were numerous, and if it had not been for such a great influx of immigrants and young people, not all the jobs would have been filled. At the same time, had there not been so many immigrants, not as many jobs would have been created at the start. So this economic circle of personnel versus vocations produced an ideal situation for the mills and factories of this manufacturing era.
During the early 19th century, there were many advances made in transportation. The creation of canals, railroads, and steam engines was an important asset to the new age in transportation. Among the most prominent of canals was the Erie Canal. This canal had a huge impact on American economics. The project was financed by the National Government, but it more than paid for itself with use. The ruling in the court case Gibbons v. Ogden resulted in the ability of free reign of waterways. Railroads proved to be the most notable improvement on the transportation system as well as the economy. Trains were said be able to go through any kinds of weather, and any types of terrain; they were miraculous machines at the time. Despite all the hype about trains and canals, it was the steam engine that made it all really possible at one point or another. Vessels had them installed and, as a result, were a safe and quick way to travel. Trains also started to become steam engine trains instead of coal. This made trains safer and more effective.
Manufacturing was developed early on due partially to the industrial growth in the United States. Much of New England was now turning to the factory system for jobs. There are reasons given for moving to a mill town in 1843. The inventions of Eli Whitney, Samuel Slater, and others made the Southern enterprises easier to manage, and manage with fewer personnel. Due to this, it was hard to find sufficient work on a farm, so many farmers and their families moved to factory, or mill, towns.
One of the most important factors to the early development of manufacturing in the U.S. was a tremendous amount of support from the National Government. We are aware that the blueprints for the entire industrial revolution were unfurled in Henry Clay's American System earlier on. From his ideas sprung the beginnings of the transportation revolution, the textile mills, and many other various industries. Congress had the power to further the study of these industries. Not only did congress support the industrial ideals of the time, but they were prepared to fund them as well. In document I, the investment capital for the early factory system is said to have come from both public and private sectors. Both the state and federal government invested in all forms of transportation as well as manufacturing firms in order to advocate the economy. Active promotion of industrial growth was accomplished in many ways. Establishing tariffs, reestablishing the Bank of the United States, creating laws, and building educational facilities were all areas in which the government pushed. Lastly, the ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden and Dartmouth College v. Woodward protected waterways and contracts from harsh rule of the individual states.
Maybe it was the transportation that really took the country for a trip. It could have been the National Government's support that exceptionally paid off. Then again, maybe it was just that the country's industrial advances rapidly produced mass amounts of U.S. citizens. Regardless of what the primary reason was for the early development of the manufacturing systems in the States, they skyrocketed between 1790 and 1860.
This is the complete article, containing 724 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
