U.S. History: Changes in the U.S - Essay Example

Task: U.S. History Introduction Industrialization that began in the late sixteenth century led to drastic changes in America. At first, the changes were beneficial to the American economy; but years after independence, industrialization led to divisions within the American society. The divisions arose from the differences in people’s perception towards certain economic activities. For example, in the South people preferred agriculture whereas industrialization activities were embraced in the North. According to Lansford & Thomas (1006), industrialization altered the America’s economic and social structure. Partly these changes are attributable to differences in people’s cultures and beliefs. Conservatism of a significant proportion of the inhabitants in the south contributed to the practices of agriculture, while in the north people relied on industrial activities apart from engaging in agriculture. Slavery was prevalent in the South compared to other regions of American territory. Changes in the US Changes that revolutionized America were preceded by the economic activities that took place in the Great Britain. Industrial revolution was characterized by technological novelty that targeted the activities of the industries. As such, industrial revolution affected farming as evident by different approaches that replaced traditional agriculture (Lansford & Thomas 1004). Indeed, farmers invented agricultural tools that were used in all regions of the country. Interestingly, agriculture advanced faster in the South. Prevalent slavery activities provided a cheap source of labor that enhanced revolution in farming. Lansford & Thomas (903) asserts that technological changes in America influenced people’s beliefs and family values. Regions of the South relied on farming as a means of sustaining their livelihood. As such, the citizens focused on developing agriculture. Farmers devised ways of conducting agricultural activities by embracing industrial revolution that begun in 1790’s. Industrial revolution The change in industrial revolution involved the use of machinery in production. As evident in farming, the revolution targeted large-scale farmers. Agriculture had to meet the needs of the ever-increasing population; thus, the need for modernized approaches to farming. Moreover, the political situations had impact on the changes in the late 18th century. Policies that influenced the activities of industrial revolution differed in the respective regions Differences existed amid the North and the South of the approaches to embrace in the revolution (Lansford & Thomas 909). Authorities in the south resisted activities that empowered the laborers. Bureaucracy in the south limited innovativeness of the farmers since they had to rely on their master in making decisions that influenced revolution. Civil rights movement strived to bring equality by challenging authority’s reluctance to embrace change. Americans embraced industrial revolution with the intention of empowering themselves. They experienced attacks that made them desire to control over their territories. Certainly, the passage of the embargo Act hindered trade between America and other countries yet the citizens had to sustain their needs. Therefore, the citizens had strived to sustain themselves they opted to engage in industrialization activities (Lansford & Thomas 915). Expansion in transportation was the first step in the development of industrialization activities. In turn, connectivity was improved throughout the United States whereas goods could be moved from the North to the South. Infrastructure development led to commercial of industries in the North; thus, promoting trade. However, colonial legislation restricted technological activities of the revolution that conflicted with the slave owners’ ideology (Lansford & Thomas 967). This limited expansion of the economy to agricultural activities in the south. However, the Southerners traded agricultural goods with the Westerners; this did not go well with the Northerners’ because of their difference in ideologies regarding trade. During the revolution, the demand for energy led to the invention of energy sources. There was the introduction of the use of electricity in industrial production. In the North, electricity was utilized as the chief source of energy. Consequently, industrial growth at the South was restricted to farming activities that uses less electricity (Lansford & Thomas 948). This prevented the expansion of non-agricultural related activities because the Southerners believed that economic activity should only be limited to agricultural activities. Yet in the North, the populace recognized industrial processes as beneficial to economic growth. The northerners manufactured equipments that facilitated production in other sectors of the economy such as mining. Families in the South reacted negatively to the activities of revolution, especially the slave owners who perceived the revolution as empowerment to the minority. The growing popularity of utilization of slave labor in South hindered the activities of industrialization in the South. As such, these constituted the reasons why the rights movements were fighting against in the south. Interestingly, slavery allowed the slave owners to proceed with farming activities. Subsequently, in the revolution the industrialization improved the mechanical processes that lead to the growth of industries. As evident in American history, the communication networks improved based on the activities of industrialization. For example, telegraph was a technological invention that contributed to growth of industrial revolution. Diversity in culture inspired innovations in the Northern regions (Lansford & Thomas 1000). It is fundamental to acknowledge that the British influenced the activities of industrialization in the northern territories. Thereafter, anti-slavery abolitionist movements influenced the changes in the US history politically. In the South, agriculture was a source of revenue for the majority of the populace; thus, the expansion of farming activities in the ninetieth century. The inventions focused on improving agricultural related activities such as the development of machineries for farming. Farmers in the South got their products in the northern markets. This made the Southerners to fully embrace agriculture in sustaining their economic needs (Lansford & Thomas 935). Governments investment in the transport infrastructure in the North contributed to a large extend in the development of other industrial related activities. The metropolis of the North demanded innovations to sustain the ever-growing demand of the population. This led to innovativeness during the revolution process that improved economic growth in the South. The South lacked the infrastructure necessary to enhance industrialization. The agricultural system in the South relied on forced labor instead of innovating ways that relied on mechanized systems. Furthermore, the slave owners invested significantly on human labor at the expense of mechanizing their farming activities. However, these slaves exuded less creativity since the systems in place hindered them from devising approaches for use in agriculture. The education and religious structures in the North encouraged innovativeness among populations (Lansford & Thomas 937). Authorities in the not advocated for the abolition of slavery activities during the revolution. This sentiments were similar those of the people in the West who discouraged slavery. Interestingly, most of the activities in the North targeted the reconstruction of the economy after the devastations brought about by the civil war. Authorities focused on empowering the country both socially and politically, instead of focusing on the use of slaves in providing labor. Conclusion The activities of industrial revolution were prevalent because of the social structures in place. Indeed, the cultures of the people in the north were different to that of the people in the south. The Northerners relied on industries and economic activities other than agriculture because of the diverse nature of the inhabitants in the North. The expansion of this revolution further expanded westwards towards the eighteenth century. The infrastructure was instrumental in meeting the societal needs such as the demand for energy and transportation services. However, expansion of slavery westwards resulted to tension between the north and the south. Work Cited Lansford, Tom, & Thomas E. Woods. Exploring American History: From Colonial Times to 1877. New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish Reference, 2008. Print. Read More