Traces the development of American industry from its roots in eighteenth-century England through its decline around the time of World War II. From the steam engine to the telegraph to the motion picture industry, McCormick shows how, in less than two hundred years, the Industrial Revolution was able to transform the United States from an agricultural country of small farmers to the richest and most powerful industrial nation in the world.
Content Note
A century of progress -- The revolution begins -- Industry in America -- The factory system -- Roads, boats, and railroads -- New ways to communicate -- The age of big business -- Life in the late 1800s -- Into the twentieth century -- The industrial legacy -- Timeline -- Chapter notes -- Further reading -- Index.