The American Industrial Revolution (1877–1919) was an era in which the nation was transformed from its agrarian, rural roots to an increasingly urban, mechanized, and innovative power. Marked by the escalating use of machines to perform work, expansion of transportation services and available markets, and the birth of labor UNIONs, the Industrial Revolution shaped the future face of American business.

In the face of the overwhelming power of trusts and big business, the labor movement took root as tensions between workers and employers increased. The Knights of Labor was the earliest influential group, founded in 1869 and designed to unify producers’ interests.

Improved railroad transportation allowed inexpensive coal delivery, which fueled steam-powered factories and freed factories from waterpower restrictions. As a result, factories spread throughout the Northeast. Manufacturing gained the largest benefit from technology, as business insisted on new processes, machines, products, and distribution methods.

While the Industrial Revolution signalled America’s decreasing reliance on agriculture for its WEALTH, agriculture nevertheless remained prominent. Wheat, cotton, flour, and meat products held the greatest export value for farmers and were the bulk of U.S. exports, which rose in annual value from $590 million in 1877 to $1.37 billion in 1900.

America’s first transcontinental railroad was completed by the Union and Central Pacific railroads in 1869. The nation boasted of 79,082 miles of railroad in 1877, and with the addition of five cross-country routes and extensive building of secondary and feeder tracks, railroad track mileage tripled to 240,293 miles by 1910.

CAPITAL fueled the Industrial Revolution. The roots of change in the banking industry were planted by the federal government’s search for Civil War financing, which led to the National Banking Act of 1863 and the revised act of 1864. The 1863 act established a uniform national currency of federally chartered bank notes, backed by federal government BONDS to be sold to state banks.