US History

Chapter 19 I. Urbanization A. Industrial Sources of City Growth 1. Until the Civil War, cities were centers of commerce, and factories were largely rural. 2. With the invention of the steam engine and the use of coal as a fuel, factories relocated to the places most convenient to suppliers and markets. a. The growth of factories contributed to urban growth; large factories employing many workers created small cities within their vicinities. 4. Many firms set up their plants near a large city so that they could draw on the city?s labor supply and transportation systems. 5. Sometimes a metropolis spread and absorbed nearby factory towns; elsewhere, the lines between industrial towns blurred and an extended urban-industrial area