Answer

Why America’s First Factories Started in the Northern Countryside

America has undergone a tremendous industrial revolution over the years to become one of the most industrialized countries and arguably the global power. The concepts of manufacturing and factories started in England before spreading to other parts of the world. In America, the first factories started in the northern countryside due to various factors. 

Industrialization began in New England, a town in the north, before spreading to other parts of the country after the civil war (US History, n.d.). The region was home to wealthy merchants who promoted the building of factories to meet their needs. They built water-powered textile mills in towns and along the rivers. The mills introduced new mechanized production methods that heavily relied on water power and steam to drive them. Other innovations associated with the mills included specialization and assigning tasks to wage laborers (US History, n.d.). The changes replaced the traditional conventional production methods with more basic and sophisticated approaches that would become the basis of manufacturing in the country. 

American society was predominantly agricultural before the civil war. More than 90% of Americans worked in farming by the end of the eighteenth century (Investopedia, 2020). However, unlike the central and southern regions that had fertile soils and a mild climate favorable for agriculture, the northern rocky soils and cold winters were not suitable for farming. As an alternative, the inhabitants switched to manufacturing and working in the factories to earn income to support their households. 

Additionally, the north had more resources available for setting up and running the factories. Skilled migrant workers from Great Britain who migrated to the US in the hope of profiting from their knowledge ended up in the northern countryside where they found rich merchants to fund their projects of setting up new mills and other factories (US History, n.d.). The good ports and transport network made it easier to trade and ship products. Also, there was readily available labor which included migrants that settled in the north to get jobs in the factories.

In conclusion, different factors determined the economic activities of Americans. The south and north were completely different in terms of climate, available resources, and economic activities. These factors made the north more suitable for industrialization and manufacturing.