Industrialization and the Transformation of American Life: A Brief Introduction

This book provides a descriptive, episodic yet analytical synthesis of industrialization in America. It integrates analysis of the profound economic and social changes taking place during the period between 1877 and the start of the Great Depression. Ten topics--varieties of industrialization, questions of labor, immigration, urbanization, the Westward movement, the environment, transportation, power, politics, and the organization of work--are examined with each subject illustrated by three case studies. The 30 case studies were selected as examples of the underlying principles of industrialization that cumulatively convey a comprehensive understanding of the era.