See yesterday’s post on why Britain and American led the Industrial Revolution.

Freedom: A History of US. Webisode 4: Wake up, America | PBS
http://www.pbs.org
Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

The cultural differences among America and Britain and many other European nations led to a rapid industrial growth. One thing we saw in America (and not in the other countries) was the well educated upper classes promoted the delving into the sciences. They financed and supported many early advancements, such as the steamboats. 

Business improved in America, not only because of improvements in products, but also in the way correspondence, transportation, finance, and marking were developed. The American workforce created an atmosphere where the business dealings were faster and more financially sound than what was occurring on the European continent in the early 1800s. The key was the fast delivery of products from maker to purchaser. 

Both American and Britain were graced by craftsmen who knew their trades well. However, there was a distinct difference in how these craftsmen performed. In Europe, the craftsmen were highly skilled in only one area. With the American migration and the need for every item in a house or a community to be built from scratch, the craftsmen in the “new world” were more of a jack of all trades than a master. This “mobility” presented the workforce with more options. Instead of only being a furniture maker, a man might build a mill or a watershed or a house. The Americans were not as well educated or trained in their skills, but they knew how to place “a square peg in a round hole.” The built effective (although likely crude) machinery. 

No. 2694: The Second Industrial Revolution
http://www.uh.edu
Inspired invention led the charge during the industrial revolution. But science and invention go hand in hand. When intellectually curious inventors discover something by trial and error, they’re led to ask “why?”

Another characteristic which sped the improvement of the industrial outlook was how the American court system favored business enterprises. According to Morton J. Horwitz in The Transformation of American Law 1780-1860 (Harvard University Press, 1979), the initial change came in the form of land deals. The law system did not favor the absentee investors (mainly from England) or the traditional rights of land owners. English and European law was steeped in the idea of primogeniture and inheritance, while American law rested upon the idea of expansion and improvements to the land. In addition, in America guilds and artisan craftsmen associations never found the kind of footing they did in England. Journeymen and apprentices had more freedom to develop their skills. After the Revolutionary War, there was greater protection of investments and less interference accepted as a State right over contracts. 

An connection between business and technical skills grew quickly in the late 1700s with the expansion of America’s western borders into Kentucky, Tennessee, and the like. Urban centers grew because there was a need for men to interact with those who could provide the necessary services. The only thing that could slow the progress was the threat of war and the loss of resources.