Industrialization of American Society
The Industrial Revolution precipitated the world's second great increase in economic productivity. The first occurred 15,000-20,000 years ago during the Neolithic Revolution, when small communities became less nomadic and began to base their existence on animal husbandry and agriculture. The Industrial Revolution, which began in the mid-1700s and lasted into the mid-1800s, was similarly a revolutionary experience. It increased material wealth, extended life, and was a powerful force for social change. It undermined the centuries-old class structure in Europe and reorganized the economic and philosophical worldview of the West.
Preindustrial Europe was static and based upon privilege. The most powerful social group was the aristocracy. Its power came from the ownership of the means of production; this consisted of possessing the land and the mills that transformed the crops into material that could be processed into food. The class that labored to produce the agricultural wealth was the peasantry. They were at the bottom of society, and their lives were dictated by both the seasons and the direction of the landowner. They worked the noble's land and used his mills to process their grain. The lord also had the right to impose a tax demanding a certain number of days' labor from the peasants. The construction and repair of roads, dams, windmills, and canals were completed as a result of this tax.
Directly above the peasants were the artisans. These were highly skilled craftsmen who produced the utensils of the preindustrial world. They had far more control over their destiny than did the peasants. Most of their power rested in the right to form professional organizations known as guilds. These groups controlled standards, prices, and wages. The guilds were also a social welfare organization that had the responsibility of looking