Roots of American Growth

Printable Version

Digital History ID 3835

Interpreting Statistics

Per Capita Levels of Industrialization
1750 1800> 1860 1900 1928 1938
Great Britain 10 16 64 100 122 157
United States 4 9 21 69 182 167
Germany 8 8 15 52 128 144
Russia 6 6 8 15 20 38

100 = Great Britain in 1900

Questions To Think About

1. How does the rate of increase in the level of U.S. industrialization compare with that of other countries? Was it faster or slower?

2. What barriers may have impeded industrialization in the United States in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? What factors may have encouraged rapid industrialization?

Share of World Manufacturing Output
1750 1800 1860 1900 1928 1938
Great Britain 1.9 4.3 19.9 18.5 9.9 10.7
United States 0.1 0.8 7.2 23.6 39.3 31.4
Germany 2.9 3.5 4.9 13.2 11.6 12.7
Russia 5.0 5.6 7.0 8.8 5.3 9.0

Questions To Think About

1. Describe the growth in America's share of world manufacturing output.

2. How does America's growth compare with that of other countries?



Copyright 2021 Digital History