The Industrialisation of the US 1880–1920: using the opportunity provided by mass immigration

US Census Statistics is amazing — in a sense that it goes way back to 1790, narrating a country built on resilient philosophical foundations, amalgamating cultures of incoming migratory flows.

While some would discount the Max Weber’s theory of a “protestant ethic”, it at least correlated with the institutions and tools (capital during Reconstruction after the Civil War) ready to accept and prime the skills of (low-paid incoming migrant stock — itself displaced by rapid industrialisation in Europe).

The 1880–1920 years were therefore formative for the systematic application of original inventions of predominantly European science, going from so-called “descriptive” (witnessing a phenomenon) to “prescriptive” (understanding the ingredients to successfully replicate it).

The robustness of capital markets in the US provided both the M&A capital for railroad and mining barons to venture in other businesses — and integrate scientific functions to improve output. The building of factory towns around the sprawling road network gave a further boost to industrialisation.