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In  the  early  1800’s,  over  80  percent  of  the  United  States labor  force  was  engaged  in agriculture.  Sophisticated  technology  and machinery  were  virtually  nonexistent.  People who lived in the cities and were not directly involved in trade often participated in small cottage industries making handcrafted goods. Others cured meats, silversmiths, candle or otherwise  produced  needed  goods  and  commodities.  Blacksmiths,  silversmiths,  candle makers, and other artisans worked in their homes or barns, relying on help of family.

[A] Perhaps no single phenomenon brought more widespread and lasting change to the United States society than the rise of industrialization. Industrial growth hinged on several economic  factors.  First,  industry  requires  an  abundance  of  natural  resources,  especially coal, iron ore, water, petroleum, and timber-all readily available on the North American

continent.  Second,  factories  demand  a  large  labor  supply. Between  the  1870’s  and  the First  World  War  (1914-1918),  approximately  23  million  immigrants  streamed  to  the United States, settled in cities, and went to work in factories and mines. They also helped build the vast network of canals and railroads that crisscrossed the continent and linked important trade centers essential to industrial growth.

[B]  Factories  also  offered  a  reprieve  from  the  backbreaking  work  and  financial unpredictability associated with farming. Many adults, poor and disillusioned with farm life,  were lured to  the  cities  by  promises  of  steady  employment,  regular  paychecks, increased access to goods and services, and expanded social opportunities.

Others were pushed  there  when  new  technologies  made their  labor  cheap  or expendable;  inventions such  as  steel  plows  and  mechanized  harvesters  allowed  one  farmhand  to  perform  work that  previously  had  required  several,  thus  making  farming capital-intensive  rather  than labor-intensive.

[C] Whereas cottage industries relied on a few highly   skilled craft workers who slowly and carefully converted raw materials into finished products from start to finish, factories relied on specialization. While factory work was less creative and more monotonous, it was also more efficient and allowed mass production of goods at less expense [D]