Once someone told me that one of the best tools for consistently anticipating the future is a sound appreciation of the past.
American manufacturing has come from a meager colonial beginning to undisputed worldwide leadership in the mid 20th century. And it has gone through a period of decline in the 70s and 80s with a revitalization in the complex global environment of the 90s. It all began with a 
clean slate on a continent with unlimited resources and wide opportunities for development. Americans were free to write their own rules.
Law, government, cultural practices, and social ideas were all choices to be made in the great American experiment. These choices reflected the times in which they were made. Anti-monarchist feelings fueling the french revolution and other conflicts in 1776 pushed America to choose democracy. The end of an old mercantilist system was put forth in a book called Wealth of Nations. And in that, modern capitalism was described showing the benefits of the division of labor and the functions a self-propelled capitalism. This push us in the direction of the free market system.
Also in 1776, Watt began the first industrial revolution with his steam engine. And America took ahold of that first factory system and evolved it into a new style of manufacturing which led to transportation and communications technologies which sparked a second industrial revolution. English common law which originated from Roman law was borrowed and became an American way of life.
Americans did not invent these concepts from scratch. Instead, we borrowed them and transplanted them towards our needs. Let’s explore some of the forces that permeate our society in more posts. Scientific management and holistic-systems are next topics.
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