Industrializing America: The Nineteenth Century

by Walter Licht and Professor Walter Licht

Book Overview

Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title

Previous books on the industrialization of America have focused either on the industrial revolution in the first half of the nineteenth century or on the rise of big industry in the second. In this groundbreaking study Licht provides a new perspective by focusing on industrialization first as a product and then as an agent of change. As population expansion and greater market...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801850142
• ISBN13: 9780801850141
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A well-rounded ntroduction to American Industrialization

Licht's oft-repeated thesis is that American industrialization is characterized by complexity and diversity, yet he still synthesizes a coherent narrative and argument in his book. Plus, he deftly summarizes (and takes sides in) debates regarding several major questions about U.S. industrialization: Did labor scarcity create more mechanization? Was the late nineteenth century a second industrial revolution? Was what transpired a continuation of earlier initiatives or a fundamental shift? Licht's book is appropriate for an undergraduate classroom, or a graduate seminar in which a quick introduction to industrialization is needed. It presents the major themes of American industrialization, and has enough teeth to leave room for debate, especially if students are prompted with questions before they begin reading. Licht approaches industrialization from many angles--labor, capital, robber barons, government, craftsmen, factory workers--and gives the reader a solid introduction to the issues. Instead of footnotes,the book concludes with a strong bibliograpic essay for each chapter. The book is not intended for advanced scholars of industrialization, but some specialists may find Lichts reframing of American industrialization in a social history lens useful. I did.Most succinct summarizing quote: "Complexity and diversity marked the whole process of industrialization. The growth of manufacture occurred in different countries, regions within countries, and trades in a remarkably uneven fashion; the timing and pace of change varied widely, as did choices of technology and managerial arrangements. Industrialization destroyed certain skills and occupations but created others; the process similarly generated both small- and large-scale enterprise. In the United States, agricultural expansion, not contraction, accompanied industrial development; professional, clerical, and service sector employment grew alongside." (21)