Summary
Between 1820 and 1870, the United States underwent a dramatic economic transformation as new technologies, infrastructure, and business practices shifted production from home-based crafts to factory manufacturing. This Industrial Revolution concentrated workers in urban centers, created new transportation networks like railroads and canals, and replaced skilled artisans with machine-operated mass production. The changes began primarily in New England's textile mills and spread westward, fundamentally altering labor patterns, family structures, and the pace of American life. By 1870, the United States had emerged as a rising industrial power, though still behind Great Britain in overall manufacturing output.
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