mineral fuels and metals. Substantial quantities of

resources of almost every description lay ready to be

converted into man-made material wealth, and advances in

transportation and communications were drawing together

a large and rapidly growing population with both the

desire and the wherewithal to insure not only a national,

but an international market for large quantities of

standardized goods. Social systems and institutions

were amenable to the requirements of large scale

production and large scale enterprises, and a spirit of

industry and advance had gripped the people. Finally,

technology was yielding methods that would allow standard-

ized parts to be produced and assembled quickly by

mechanical means.

 The subsequent evolution tof mass production and
 mass consumption during the 19th century was the
 result of advances in two major areas of American
 economic and social development. One was progress
 in invention and technology which affected the
 rate at which improved machinery and equipment
 became available for production. The second was
 the growth and characteristics of a market that
 provided an outlet for an expanding volume and
 variety of standardized products.(16)

 Mass production depended upon precise measure-

ment so that parts could be fitted together at random

as they were made. It depended upon the availability

of machine tools, upon timely utilization of power and

upon breaking down complex tasks into simple ones, the


 6Harold F. Williamson, "Mass Production for
Mass Consumption," in Technology in Western Civilization,
I, ed. by Melvin Kranzberg and Carroll W. Pursell, Jr.
(London: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 678.