The Industrial Revolution in the US began its first phase in the 1750s and continued to its next phase from 1850 to 1914.
In 1800, The US struggled to improve methods to move products to market. Roads were built for wagons to carry ox carts. Tracks were added to paths to move trees by ox cart to lumber mills. The steam engine was added to locomotives to replace oxen. Canals were planned to move cargo. The US added cotton to its export list. Steam engines were in use to power locomotives, steamboats and replace water wheels to power factory machinery. The emphasis was to produce cloth for clothing. The cotton gin was invented in 1793 to remove cotton seeds. Refrigeration was invented in 1835.
US Federal Government revenue came from tariffs and that enabled US manufacturing of furniture and all other goods to increase.
By 1850, movement to cities created water-born diseases. Vulcanized rubber invented in 1844. Steel production was improved in 1856. The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. The telephone was invented in 1877. The lightbulb was invented in 1879. The first Hodro-electric ower plant was turned on at Niagra Falls in 1896. The first Subway opened in Boston in 1897. First Airplane was tested in 1903. Ford Model T production began in 1908.
World War I began in 1914. The US entered in the war in1917 and the War ended in 1918. The Spanish Flu epidemic lasted from 1918 to 1919. In the 1920s the US added chlorine to drinking water to end water-born diseases and added sewer projects to improve river water. The Stock Market boomed and crashed in 1929. The Great Depression ran from 1929 to 1941. The US Dust Bowl midweat drought ran from 1930 to 1940. US Unemployment was 14% to 24%.
US manufacturing contracted due to the global depression, but continued to improve technology. From 1930 to 1940 we saw telephones, radios, movies, ice boxes, clothes washers and more home gadgets. War preparation in the US took unemployment from 9.9% in 1941 to 1.2% in 1943..
From 1940 to 1945, the helicopter was invented, US airlines were in business, MIT improved Radar, Jet aircraft were developed, nuclear energy was developed, the first calculator was developed, DNA was discovered. War Preparation took US unemployment to
The US dominated manufacturing after World War II, from 1945 through the 1950s. By the end of the 1950s, Europe was rebuilt, but US manufacturing remained dominant.
As labor and regulatory costs rose, US companies began to move their manufacturing operations to developed countries in the 1960s beginning with shoes and clothing, In the 1970s US auto manufacturers failed to build gas-efficient good quality cars and failed to deal with their unions. Foreign cars began to appear.
In the 1980s, Japanese cars began to replace US cars. Foreign countries we exported to began demanding that we set up manufacturing and distribution operations in their countries.
The 1980s ushered in the Electronics Boom with the PC revolution, telecom upgrades and microprocessor development to increase automation. Electronics allowed productivity increases and process improvement. Lean Manufacturing teams solved the quality problems. Drafting tables had been replaced by CAD machines. We developed Laser-reading Test Equipment, and Computer Integrated Manufacturing to allow milling machines to be run directly from 3-D models on CAD machines.
In the 1990s, off-shoring US manufacturing included chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In 1993 NAFTA prompted off-shoring autos and parts and all other manufacturing. Microprocessor development enabled internet access. Stealth military airplanes made their debut in 1990.
In the 2000s, US commercial electronics and appliances off-shored manufacturing to China for a 50% cost reduction. Flat screen TV costs dropped in half. Digitizing telephones, adding cameras and providing cell towers allowed for the development of smart-phones. The development of fiber-optic cable allowed for huge increases in data transmission volume. The mortgage melt-down in 2008 and the refugee invasion ushered in 8 years of stagnation and cost reduction. US Unemployment went to 9.9% in 2009.
The US off-shored its manufacturing and related engineering jobs in the 1990s and 2000s. This was the group who solved all the quality problems. They are retired now and it’s time to recruit and educate a whole new crop.
We do have time to train and prepare employees to take manufacturing jobs. Trump initiated the return of steel and military equipment manufacturing to the US, but companies continued to cling to their cheap foreign supply chains. Now the drums are beating to support the “sure to fail” electric car industry. Supply and demand is also out of kilter with power companies being forced to accept solar and wind hook-ups.
We have had economic Boom and Bust cycles in the US. We are now in a Bust cycle due to government initiated depression and inflation. We need to increase oil production and restore supplies to reduce costs. We also need to shut down illegal immigration and reduce Federal Government budgets.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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