This introduction to the industrial revolution in America provides general information about specific industries and their impact upon one another. Each of the volumes in this series is divided into "Origins and Development," "Innovations and Inventions," "Major Entrepreneurs and Companies," "Lives of the Workforce," "Labor Organizations and Reform Movements," "Environmental Impact," "Societal Impact," Gilded Age Literature and Art," and "The Modern Area. A few inset boxes provide additional information. References to primary documents, black and white illustrations, an extensive bibliography, and a subject index help readers expand their knowledge. The weaving together of the labor organizations and movements and their environmental impact with the lives of those involved make fascinating reading and should encourage further research when social studies, economics, and history teachers learn of their existence. These titles may warrant one set for the circulating collection and another for reference.
Industrial Revolution in America: Automobiles. 1 vol. 297 p.
High school car enthusiasts will enjoy the black and white drawing of the "Selden Patent" from 1895 which covered most of the elements needed for a gasoline powered automobile. That and the photo of the Duryea's horseless carriage lead into the photo of the smog layer over Los Angeles. The vast spaces in the U.S. made it a perfect place to create a means of transportation to travel among the far-flung cities. The government followed the trend and created the highways to carry the traffic, and the population had the financial resources to purchase what was created by Henry Ford and others. With the increase in individual ownership, trains lost much of their passenger business. The threats by automobile manufacturers outside the U.S. who are taking away from the Big Three here are in the news at the present time, and that impact on the economy is under discussion. This provides an excellent overview of the industrial revolution in automobile transportation.
Industrial Revolution in America: Mining and Petroleum. 1 vol. 305 p.
The growth of factories in the U.S. was made possible by the abundance of anthracite coal and oil. Coal from Pennsylvania transformed the sleepy village of Pittsburgh into the steel capital of the world while the discovery of gold in both California and Alaska focused on fortunes made and lost or never made. A great deal of attention is paid to the author, Jack London, and his saga of success as an author reached after less successful journeys to seek the non-existent frontier.
Industrial Revolution in America: Textiles. 1 vol. 282 p.
Students investigating the roots of the industrial revolution in American will find it started in the textile industry. A further boost was given with the growing of cotton and the invention of the cotton gin, which freed America from importing raw material from elsewhere. It also meant the fight to maintain slavery and later, while providing a place for women in the workplace, this started as the exploitation of young women in factories in New England. Students who have seen the 1979 film "Norma Rae" will be particularly interested in the information they will read here.
