Industrial Revolution

Most important reasons New England led the way in industrialization:

1. Necessity of economic survival in absence of agriculture

2. Geography of rivers for power and transport

3. Origins of industry

Initially beginning in Rhode Island with the development of the first cotton mill, industry grew rapidly but did not venture much out of New England. Although the rivers, streams, and waterways of the northeast eased the industrial market by providing energy, it was necessity that was the mother of invention. After the War of 1812, cash crop prices began to soar sending many men South and West to prospect agricultural wealth. The abundance and fertility of land in Alabama and Mississippi made cotton wealth seem easy. On the other side, New England's population had grown so fiercely that its land could barely support the family farmers let alone a flow of cash crops. This promoted the growth of industry in this area, where young men and women were lured away from the traditional farming family, to work in factories for wages.

Although England had a superior military in size and weaponry, they were unable to capitalize on their advantage for several reasons. First, travel was slow and costly. With Britain's considerably larger debt and distance, mobilizing the entire force was problematic. Second, tactics were slightly more advantageous for the Americans. While most of both armies fought with similar "head-on" tactile, the colonists had the advantage of terrain knowledge and occasionally used guerrilla tactics to optimize their smaller group attacks. Third, America had a goal. With fervor for an ideal, colonial militants were united with what is now known as espirit-de-corps, the undeniable camaraderie that comes from earnestly achieving as a team. These reasons attribute to the

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