Labor and Technological Change in the U.S. Iron Industry, 1800-1868

FAIN: FB-51838-05

Anne Kelly Knowles
President and Fellows of Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT 05753-6004)

This is the first comprehensive study of the American iron industry's transition from small-scale production to large-scale, modern manufacturing. Its focus on the role of skilled iron workers and labor-management relations at pioneering firms brings out the cultural dimensions of technological and economic change. A historical GIS of iron works across the country provides context for analyzing eleven detailed case studies that represent the diversity of labor, management, and technology in the period.