The Process of Industrialization Essay Example
Nolan Kruse
Father Ed
APUSH period 1
January 4, 2012
Research Paper
The Process of Industrialization The term industrialization is defined as the process in which a society or nation transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Industrialization is largely a product of “laissez-faire” capitalism as the market runs the economy instead of it being government-run. It served not only as a process to reach a more modern society but also as an ideal that would spur on a rising group of thinkers and inventors to put their plans into action. Industrialization has affected every nation in the world to some extent and has changed the American society into how one would know it today. American industrialization stemmed from a greater movement in Europe. The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century changed how the majority of the population viewed science and understood the world around them. Religious-minded people converted to accept a more tangible philosophy on how the world worked. Those who were “enlightened” such as Francis Bacon sought empirical tests to decipher between what was absolute fact and what was not. These Enlightenment thinkers had to create new tools and processes to test their hypotheses. Many of these tools acquired practical uses that not only aided their inventors, but also the society as a whole. There is no set date as to when the actual start of industrialization commenced but most has attributed it to the creation of the steam engine that dates back as far as 1689. Thomas Savery, an English military engineer and inventor, patented the first crude steam engine. The steam engine arose out of an attempt to pump water out of coal mines and was improved many times over as years progressed. Thomas Newcomen together with John Calley improved upon Savery’s design in 1712 with an engine that relied on atmospheric pressure as opposed to just the pressure of the steam. But in
Father Ed
APUSH period 1
January 4, 2012
Research Paper
The Process of Industrialization The term industrialization is defined as the process in which a society or nation transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Industrialization is largely a product of “laissez-faire” capitalism as the market runs the economy instead of it being government-run. It served not only as a process to reach a more modern society but also as an ideal that would spur on a rising group of thinkers and inventors to put their plans into action. Industrialization has affected every nation in the world to some extent and has changed the American society into how one would know it today. American industrialization stemmed from a greater movement in Europe. The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century changed how the majority of the population viewed science and understood the world around them. Religious-minded people converted to accept a more tangible philosophy on how the world worked. Those who were “enlightened” such as Francis Bacon sought empirical tests to decipher between what was absolute fact and what was not. These Enlightenment thinkers had to create new tools and processes to test their hypotheses. Many of these tools acquired practical uses that not only aided their inventors, but also the society as a whole. There is no set date as to when the actual start of industrialization commenced but most has attributed it to the creation of the steam engine that dates back as far as 1689. Thomas Savery, an English military engineer and inventor, patented the first crude steam engine. The steam engine arose out of an attempt to pump water out of coal mines and was improved many times over as years progressed. Thomas Newcomen together with John Calley improved upon Savery’s design in 1712 with an engine that relied on atmospheric pressure as opposed to just the pressure of the steam. But in