Abstract
Industrialization is process driven. It is a steady process by which manufacturing industries develop from within a predominantly agrarian society. Through industrialization, social and economic changes are prevalent. This is followed by an increase in input and output at a per capita income level. Industrial growth in the US bloomed in the early 1800s. After the Civil War between 1861 and 1865, the American industry was still small, rural based, with limited capital. Its trade and business area comprised of sole proprietorships which were widely dispersed. It was not until 1880, that agriculture was the chief source of wealth in the US. Moreover, hand labor was still widespread and rampant. This accordingly limited the production capacity of the industry at large. However, the industrialization process accelerated at an alarming pace during the last thirty years of the 19th century and the US soon emerged as a highly complex and dynamic industrial economy. This had a dramatic impact on every aspect of life in America. A significant reformation occurred when industrialists began to dominate many aspects of the nation's future, including social and political affairs. However, the question that arose was how did the US gain industrial leadership? A careful reflection has confirmed that there are three groups that together played an important role in the process of industrialization and whose actions led to the strong foundation of the industrial leadership in the US. To elucidate further, the three groups were the inventors, the trendsetters (in terms of business and management) and the government.
