This information can also be found in the textbook if you're interested. Check on pages 192-208.
Industrialization is the process by which a society transforms from one that has an economy based on farming to one that focuses on producing manufactured goods. It can be a very long process and the time period we are studying in this unit comes at the end of almost one hundred years of industrialization. What we call the Industrial Revolution began in Europe with simple but very efficient machinery, steam power, and the development of factory systems in the late 1700’s. By the mid-1800’s the process of industrialization started to speed up with the development of more complex machinery as a result of scientific discoveries in the fields of chemistry and physics.
America’s growth as it industrialized in the mid-1800’s and became a much more powerful nation economically and politically did not include everyone. The wealth and prosperity of some masked the poverty and suffering of others. But to understand why this time period is called the Gilded Age and why it was followed by a time of reform and change in the Progressive Era we must first understand the factors that made industrialization possible in the first place.
FACTOR #1
Industrialization requires abundant natural resources.
Natural resources are anything that come from the land and can be used by human societies. Some of these resources are used to create products, others are used to build machinery, and some must be refined or processed from their raw form into something more valuable or functional. Trees, minerals, water sources, other plants, and the land itself are all invaluable natural resources.
FACTOR #2
Industrialization requires innovations in the development of technology and science.
The first big developments in industrial technology benefited the textiles industry. Machinery like the spinning jenny, water frame, spinning mule, and power loom all made the processing of natural resources like cotton into thread then into cloth and clothing more efficient, less laborious, and more profitable. The same benefits resulted from the introduction of new ideas in the steel, railroad, and mining industries as well as any industry that used factories to produce goods like paper, meat, and automobiles. New technology also benefited from advances in chemical and physical sciences as discoveries were applied to the use of chemical dyes, the process of combining minerals and metals into alloys, creating more efficient engines, and making use of electromagnetism. Many of these innovations combined and mingled to lead to further developments in technologies and sciences that contributed to industrialization.
FACTOR #3
Industrialization requires money and business leadership.
Capital is the money needed to invest in business and industry. Someone must be able to pay for the resources and machinery needed to produce or process anything. The business leaders of the Gilded Age were called many things – industrial capitalists, tycoons, magnates, captains of industry, robber barons, entrepreneurs, and more – but regardless of their name they played an important role in bringing together the necessary money, resources, buildings, tools, machinery, and workers required to do business and grow industries.
FACTOR #4
Industrialization requires a labor force.
Of course, no industry can function without laborers to do the work. For the most part, the industries of the Gilded Age needed unskilled manual labor. This means workers who used their hands but needed less training or experience than a skilled laborer. The need for an unskilled labor force was the result of mechanization, the use of machinery, in the factories and the further development of the assembly line process.
Industrialization is the process by which a society transforms from one that has an economy based on farming to one that focuses on producing manufactured goods. It can be a very long process and the time period we are studying in this unit comes at the end of almost one hundred years of industrialization. What we call the Industrial Revolution began in Europe with simple but very efficient machinery, steam power, and the development of factory systems in the late 1700’s. By the mid-1800’s the process of industrialization started to speed up with the development of more complex machinery as a result of scientific discoveries in the fields of chemistry and physics.
America’s growth as it industrialized in the mid-1800’s and became a much more powerful nation economically and politically did not include everyone. The wealth and prosperity of some masked the poverty and suffering of others. But to understand why this time period is called the Gilded Age and why it was followed by a time of reform and change in the Progressive Era we must first understand the factors that made industrialization possible in the first place.
FACTOR #1
Industrialization requires abundant natural resources.
Natural resources are anything that come from the land and can be used by human societies. Some of these resources are used to create products, others are used to build machinery, and some must be refined or processed from their raw form into something more valuable or functional. Trees, minerals, water sources, other plants, and the land itself are all invaluable natural resources.
FACTOR #2
Industrialization requires innovations in the development of technology and science.
The first big developments in industrial technology benefited the textiles industry. Machinery like the spinning jenny, water frame, spinning mule, and power loom all made the processing of natural resources like cotton into thread then into cloth and clothing more efficient, less laborious, and more profitable. The same benefits resulted from the introduction of new ideas in the steel, railroad, and mining industries as well as any industry that used factories to produce goods like paper, meat, and automobiles. New technology also benefited from advances in chemical and physical sciences as discoveries were applied to the use of chemical dyes, the process of combining minerals and metals into alloys, creating more efficient engines, and making use of electromagnetism. Many of these innovations combined and mingled to lead to further developments in technologies and sciences that contributed to industrialization.
FACTOR #3
Industrialization requires money and business leadership.
Capital is the money needed to invest in business and industry. Someone must be able to pay for the resources and machinery needed to produce or process anything. The business leaders of the Gilded Age were called many things – industrial capitalists, tycoons, magnates, captains of industry, robber barons, entrepreneurs, and more – but regardless of their name they played an important role in bringing together the necessary money, resources, buildings, tools, machinery, and workers required to do business and grow industries.
FACTOR #4
Industrialization requires a labor force.
Of course, no industry can function without laborers to do the work. For the most part, the industries of the Gilded Age needed unskilled manual labor. This means workers who used their hands but needed less training or experience than a skilled laborer. The need for an unskilled labor force was the result of mechanization, the use of machinery, in the factories and the further development of the assembly line process.
This video discusses the industrialization of American society and touches on our other Learning Targets as well. Watch it if you'd like to learn more about the Gilded Age and Learning Target #1:
- Describe each of the four factors in your own words and demonstrate your understanding by providing a specific example of each factor or by drawing a related image.
- Research technology and other innovations developed during the industrialization process and explain it by relating it to each factor that made industrialization possible: the steam engine, electrification with alternating current, the telegraph, the incandescent light bulb, the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin steel refining processes, the internal combustion engine, or the automobile.
- Research an industrial capitalist and relate their achievements to each factor that made industrialization possible: Jay Gould, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, George Pullman, John D. Rockefeller, or Andrew Carnegie.
- Watch the "Crash Course" video posted above. Take notes which indicate when the video discusses each factor that made industrialization possible.
- Determine why a meaningful food source provided by a productive system of farming is necessary for any industrialization to take place and relate this to each factor.
- Complete two or more of the Proficient Mastery tasks.
Any of the following resources can help you develop your mastery of this Learning Target and assist you in demonstrating that mastery. Share any excellent resources that you find for the benefit of all learners!
Resource
Always remember there are plenty of books in the class library as well!
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- words
Always remember there are plenty of books in the class library as well!