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Technological Changes and Its Effects on Aspects of the U.S. Society

Effects of technological changes on urbanization

Settlement patterns in the U.S. society have significantly resulted from the scope and magnitude of transportation technology. Economic activities in the U.S. economy are based where there is a sufficient transport network to meet specified needs. American metropolitan areas have experienced and ever increasing inflow of people in search of jobs and business opportunities. This has led to industrialization in regions where transport technology is profound. The basic postulate of transport technology has eliminated the difficulties in access in turn attracting people to build cities in the regions Brian J.G., 2004()

Transport technology in the automobile industry shapes the configurations of metropolitan areas with a shift in location of residential areas. Streetcars brought about the initial shift from urban cores to suburban regions. People found the need to take advantage of comfort in staying away from the congestions in cities by relocating in residential areas around the city. The relocation brought about by ease of access to the cities reshaped the region's development direction. More dispersed towns are coming up to cater for the needs of the suburban dwellers Brian J.G., 2004()

Additional to the elaborate road networks the rail and air transport developments have facilitated the location of industries. Conventional need for firms to locate their manufacturing plants close to the market as was the case in the early nineteenth century is now obsolete Goldfield & David, 2001.

Manufactures have since shifted the need to locating plants close to the market and put into perspective other factors that avail considerable efficiency. Technological advancements have made transport cheep allowing manufactures to shift preferences from locating in regions closer to cities. Industries are now located in regions otherwise intolerable regions owing to efficiencies in cost that these regions offer. Migration of the urban population to these regions has since been observed and, it is attributable to transport efficiencies and other technological advancements Cross, Gary, Szostak, & Rich, 2004()

Urbanization has in the recent decades shifted to reflect a preference for regions away from the core central areas owing to advancements in transport technology Solon & Schatan, 1973.

The share of jobs and population is declining as a result of the transport advancements but, this has not seen a decline in the absolute numbers of the city population. Cities have subsequently been reserved for commercial activities.

Effects of technological changes on industrialization

Industrialization is considered to be a combination of manufacturing and service activities that replace to operations in farming and extraction of resources Pierson P. & Skocpol T., 2002.

Developments in industrialization seen in the United States are a function of technological changes related to energy. The 19th century industrial revolution of Northern America is linked to areas with ample energy supply. Technology has facilitated the need to explore avenues to sustain societal needs given its growth Martello R., 2010()

Rapid technological change in United States is attributable to the diversity of climate within the region, the availability of labor and land and the abundantly available natural resources. These aspects facilitated ease in extraction of energy, efficiency in transport and, combinations of productive factors. With the exploitation of the readily available resources, the nation easily transformed from an agricultural economy to become a global industrial power economy Pierson P. & Skocpol T., 2002()

Technological advancements being an innovation of human need to exploit the natural resources has significantly improved on the how industries function. At the early onset of the industrial revolution, industries relied highly on man power to undertake productive activities. The industrial setup has grown in efficiency through automation of the production process employing energy resources to reduce labor costs in the manual processes. Automation of industrial set up was facilitated by technological changes in the energy world that made it easy for firms to extract and process products efficiently Solon & Schatan, 1973.

Mass production arose in the United States that surpassed the much desired self sufficiency targets within the nation. The tremendous growth and efficiency led to increases in the number of industries located in the nation and, in other regions of the world Martello R., 2010()

Additional to producing for the local markets, technological advancement have made it easy for American industries to venture in the global market and sell their products. Technological advancements necessitated the companies to locate their industries in other countries...

The number of multinational companies whose footing can be traced from America's industrial is the largest in the world Cross et al., 2004()
Effects of technological changes on Agriculture

Technological advancements have complemented the sustainability of agricultural production in ways exceeding the obvious access to markets. According to Solon & Schatan, 1973()

, technology brought in an aspect of efficiency in terms of reducing cost and increasing per acreage yield. The average crop land harvest has declined by 30 million acres (from 350 million acres to 320 million acres) Solon & Schatan, 1973.

Crop and Livestock productivity has also been increased with development of hybrids that have been researched and adopted to suit the climatic conditions with the nation. Technology has made it possible for farmers to venture in farm production activities that would not thrive in some regions of the country. Productivity in farm produce has also been facilitated by development of farm equipments that reduce cost of using manual labor force. This aspect has markedly increased the potential of farming activities to produce, utilizing the land area to the maximum and, reduce waste both in the input and output.

The increases in agricultural outputs due to technological advancements have led to changes in agricultural systems from small scale to large scale production. Technology changes drive the cost of production down and reduce the market prizes. The fall in market prizes is a disadvantage to small farms unable to adopt the new technology. Consequently, small scale farming activities in the U.S. have slowly been edged out by advances in technology. This has paved way for large farms capable of adopting new technologies to control the agricultural sector Zimmerer, 1991()

The growth of Agricultural system from small scale farming to large scale farming has also made it possible to patent agricultural product innovations. There is a growing interest to shift from mass production and target high revenues through the development of patent rights.

Effects of technological changes on Environment

An increased focus on technology as a necessity and its impact on the environment have featured in many global development forums. There debate is that technological advancement has to a large extent contributed to environment degradation through extraction of fossil fuels and introduction of hazardous material to the globe. The use of non-renewable energy sources is a technological change that has come about as a result of technology advances seen in the recent decades Goldfield & David, 2001()

Concerns on the need to target growth through technological advancement have been met with fierce criticisms prompting a further evaluation of the technology. The advances in technology have contributed immensely to the care measures on the environment Cross et al., 2004.

The need to come up with sustainable production methods has led to the development of environmentally friendly production measures. Technology has also made assessments on environmental impact of productive activities and areas that need correction have been highlighted. The use of renewable, efficient energy in the U.S. industries and homes is facilitated by technological advancement. Production of wind power in the nation is one perspective that has been developed by technology. This is an effort to reduce the negative effects of other energy sources.

Changes in Elements of the U.S. Economy in 1865-1917

Changes in Agriculture

In the period 1865-1917, there were shift in the number of people living in the farms and of farms within the nation. In the early 1860s, the number of farms was two million and, it rose to above six million in 1905 Zimmerer, 1991.

People living on farms in the same period increased to thirty one million in 1905 from twenty two million in 1860s. The increase in occupation of the farm is also attributed to increase in land sales advertised through the railroads. This brought in farmers in thousands from Britain, Scandinavia and Germany.

Mechanical improvement in the nation contributed to increases in yield per area, and the volume of land under cultivation grew tremendously. The farmers in the United State continued to enjoy sustainable demand from the domestic market and advanced to venture in the global market. This move propagated increased growth of agriculture in the country with crops such wheat being sold at high prices when crop failure faced European regions Cross et al., 2004()

Within the same period, a movement by the name "Grange Movement" was launched by employees of the department of Agriculture in the U.S. This movement focused on representing the interests of the isolated farm families who blamed their low earning on the railroad owners. The movement encouraged participation of women and set up marketing systems that would guarantee small farmers higher earnings from their crop yield. The…