Technology, immigration, investment, governmental support and internal improvements aided in the growth of the American economy. Prior to the early industrialization age the Embargo Act took place. The Embargo Act prevented all trading between America and other nations. America soon realized that creating its own resources remained a vital key to America’s success and survival for that matter. The Non-intercourse act that took place in 1809, stated that America could trade with all nations except Britain and France.
Different technological advances helped America grow rapidly in the idea of industrialization. Technology such as the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, helped separate the cotton from the shell. This sped up the process of cotton manufacturing. Eli Whitney also came up with the idea of interchangeable parts for machines, firearms, etc. These various interchangeable parts were created to substitute broken pieces for pieces that would work, without having to recreate new pieces for broken machinery. The cast iron plow made working the land easier and more efficient. Morse code, invented by Robert Morse, used a series of dots and dashes, short and long to communicate. This made trading and communication quicker and more adequate. Technology played an important role in how America’s economy grew. As new ideas arose so did the number of inventions. Not only did the inventors gain a bit more money but our country became more eager to advance in technology. These inventions made life simpler and much easier to accomplish daily tasks. The inability to trade with Britain and France made America realize that the time had come to step up to the plate and create its own farm related tools and equipment.
Immigration laws in the U.S. were almost non-existent, however, due to a flood of immigrants the U.S. had to come up with laws to slow down expansion. From 1820-1860 immigration had grown at an intense rate. The population of immigrants in the U.S. had soared to 5-7 million. The Irish left Ireland by the hundreds of thousands due to the potato scarcity. They worked for little or no wages, lived on the streets, had little education and unfortunately, had nothing to give back to the American society. Immigrants were able to work in plantations, and contributed to the growth of the American population.
In 1811, New York passed a law that made it much simpler for businesses such as banks to raise money by selling shares of stock. Other states soon got the same idea and copied New York’s idea of buying and selling stocks. Owners of big corporations invested their resources into the stock market.
The government played an important role in the way that the U.S. was run. The government extensively supported the idea of inventions. The use of patents, a document granting ownership of an idea or product, increased greatly during this time period and gave people incentive to keep their ideas alive. All successful inventors were granted a gift of money for the unique ideas that would soon change the way America went about their daily tasks.
Transportation played a major role in how the U.S. accomplished trading, traveling and communication. The steam locomotive, the ferry, and waterways, known as canals, were used in the few means of traveling. The steam locomotive, invented by George Stephenson in 1812, helped the trade industry. It also helped speed letter delivery by getting communication to their destinations much quicker. Trading through the ferry helped as well. The ferry would float across small bodies of water and deliver mail and goods to the other side.
Technology, immigration, investment, governmental support and internal improvements aided in the growth of the American economy. All of the industrialization systems seemed just as important as the others. All took part in advancing America in a positive way. This time in history sets us up for the Civil War.