HIST 2057 Chapter : History 2057 Textbook Chapter 20
Document Summary
Within three generations after the civil war, the predominantly rural nation burst forth as the world"s preeminent industrial power. The industrial revolution created huge corporations that came to dominate the economy- as well as social and political life-during the late nineteenth century. Many factors converged too help launch the dramatic economic growth after the war. The nation"s unparalleled natural resources along with a rapidly expanding population were crucial. Inventors and business owners developed more efficient, labor-saving machinery and mass-production techniques that spurred dramatic advances in productivity and efficiency. Federal and state politicians actively encouraged the growth of businesses by imposing high tariffs on foreign manufacturers as a means of blunting competition and by providing land and cash to finance railroads and other internal improvements. He federal government issued massive land grants to railroads and speculators, as well as farmers, through the homestead act of 1862.
