Key Idea: Case studies of countries that industrialised after Britain: the United States, then Japan, Russia and Brazil. You compare how they did it and what it cost.
The United States
| Theme | What to know |
|---|---|
| Drivers | Coal, iron and oil; 30 million immigrants (1815 to 1915); railroads; stable politics |
| Eli Whitney | Cotton gin (1793); interchangeable parts (1798) |
| Railroads | First transcontinental line finished at Promontory Summit, 1869 |
| Fordism | Moving assembly line (1913); $5-a-day wage (1914) |
| Labour | AFL (1886); Homestead (1892) and Pullman (1894) strikes; Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911) |
Japan, Russia and Brazil
- Japan (from 1868): the state built railways, mines and mills, then sold them to zaibatsu like Mitsubishi and Mitsui.
- Russia (Witte, from 1892): French loans, tariffs and the Trans-Siberian Railway pushed heavy industry up fast. With no reform, discontent fed the 1905 Revolution.
- Brazil: coffee wealth in São Paulo and immigrant labour after slavery ended in 1888; Vargas turned to state-led import-substitution from 1930.
Outside Western Europe, the state usually drove industry; in the United States, private business and huge resources did.
Did growth come before the hard working conditions in the USA? No. Growth and harsh conditions happened at the same time.
How did Japan pay for heavy industry? With silk and cotton exports.
Which country industrialised more slowly, and why? Brazil. It grew first from coffee exports; the state only stepped in from the 1930s.
What were Whitney's two inventions? The cotton gin (1793) and interchangeable parts (1798).
What price did Russia pay for fast growth? Political discontent with no outlet, which fed the 1905 Revolution.