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The Rise of Industry
There are no accidents in history. It is impossible to make something out nothing. History is not made in a vacuum any more than oak tree is made out of thin air. Every historical movement or event is the result of something that happened earlier just as the oak is dependent upon the acorn , the soil, moisture, and proper weather conditions. And in its turn every such historical movement or event helps to determine the future. This is true of the rise of industry.
The roots of American industry extend backward into the past. One of its main roots is that of invention. Factories could not run without the wheel, which was one of the first inventions, and one of the most important inventions, ever made. They could not run efficiently without thousands of other inventions which have been made as the centuries have passed by. Another main root is the idea of interchangeable parts. This meant that instead of making an entire machine, automobile, or rifle as a unit in one factory, largely by hand and at great expense, the small individual parts might be manufactured in separate factories or shops in mass production at a much lower cost. A third main root consists of the discoveries of our scientists who harnessed electricity, found new ways to use petroleum and other natural resources, and unlocked secrets through chemistry. A fourth great root consists of our natural resources. Without iron ore, copper, oil, timber, fertile soil, and similar natural resources large industries could not exist.
The results of the rise of industry have been tremendous. The lives of each and every one of us have been affected profoundly by the products of factory machines. Industry has caused the great migration from country to city. We were a nation of farmers before the rise of our industry. In 1790, 95 per cent of the population of the United States lived on farms. But this picture changed rapidly as people living on farms moved to factory towns to work at the new machines erected there. The work seemed easier than what they had done on the farm, the wages paid looked attractive, and life in the factory towns appeared more exciting. By 1870 there were about as many workers in the factories as there were on the farms. By 1930 about eighty per cent of the workers were in the factories and only about twenty per cent on the farms. Whereas in 1790 most American workers were engaged in farming, today most workers are employed in industry. Thus there has been almost a complete about-face in the type of work done by the average American a fundamental change that resulted largely from the rise of industry.
The thousands of new factories have been largely responsible for making us the wealthiest nation that the world has ever seen. All sections of our population have benefited. By 1860 the per capita income of the average American had risen to $ 500; by 1930 it was more than six times as much. The people who owned these factories sometimes made great profits and became very wealthy. During the latter part of the nineteenth century some Americans became millionaires; soon they became common in our larger cities. The workers in the factories also benefited in time. In the early factories it was not unusual for a worker to receive only two dollars per week, consisting of six days of employment from dawn to dark. John D.- Rockefeller, who became one of the wealthiest of Americans, once worked as a bookkeeper at $ 12. 50 per month. Today the income of American laborers for much shorter hours is by far the greatest in the entire world. It is not always easy to compare incomes received in one period of our history with incomes received by some other generation because the value of the dollar varies. Today a dollar will not buy nearly as much as at other times in the past. But, despite these variations, the American worker has much more wealth than he possessed before the rise of industry.
The Rise of Industry
There are no accidents in history. It is impossible to make something out nothing. History is not made in a vacuum any more than oak tree is made out of thin air. Every historical movement or event is the result of something that happened earlier just as the oak is dependent upon the acorn , the soil, moisture, and proper weather conditions. And in its turn every such historical movement or event helps to determine the future. This is true of the rise of industry.
The roots of American industry extend backward into the past. One of its main roots is that of invention. Factories could not run without the wheel, which was one of the first inventions, and one of the most important inventions, ever made. They could not run efficiently without thousands of other inventions which have been made as the centuries have passed by. Another main root is the idea of interchangeable parts. This meant that instead of making an entire machine, automobile, or rifle as a unit in one factory, largely by hand and at great expense, the small individual parts might be manufactured in separate factories or shops in mass production at a much lower cost. A third main root consists of the discoveries of our scientists who harnessed electricity, found new ways to use petroleum and other natural resources, and unlocked secrets through chemistry. A fourth great root consists of our natural resources. Without iron ore, copper, oil, timber, fertile soil, and similar natural resources large industries could not exist.
The results of the rise of industry have been tremendous. The lives of each and every one of us have been affected profoundly by the products of factory machines. Industry has caused the great migration from country to city. We were a nation of farmers before the rise of our industry. In 1790, 95 per cent of the population of the United States lived on farms. But this picture changed rapidly as people living on farms moved to factory towns to work at the new machines erected there. The work seemed easier than what they had done on the farm, the wages paid looked attractive, and life in the factory towns appeared more exciting. By 1870 there were about as many workers in the factories as there were on the farms. By 1930 about eighty per cent of the workers were in the factories and only about twenty per cent on the farms. Whereas in 1790 most American workers were engaged in farming, today most workers are employed in industry. Thus there has been almost a complete about-face in the type of work done by the average American a fundamental change that resulted largely from the rise of industry.
The thousands of new factories have been largely responsible for making us the wealthiest nation that the world has ever seen. All sections of our population have benefited. By 1860 the per capita income of the average American had risen to $ 500; by 1930 it was more than six times as much. The people who owned these factories sometimes made great profits and became very wealthy. During the latter part of the nineteenth century some Americans became millionaires; soon they became common in our larger cities. The workers in the factories also benefited in time. In the early factories it was not unusual for a worker to receive only two dollars per week, consisting of six days of employment from dawn to dark. John D.- Rockefeller, who became one of the wealthiest of Americans, once worked as a bookkeeper at $ 12. 50 per month. Today the income of American laborers for much shorter hours is by far the greatest in the entire world. It is not always easy to compare incomes received in one period of our history with incomes received by some other generation because the value of the dollar varies. Today a dollar will not buy nearly as much as at other times in the past. But, despite these variations, the American worker has much more wealth than he possessed before the rise of industry.
