Final answer:
The growth of industrialization in the United States occurred in large factories and cities as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Urbanization accelerated due to workers needing to be close to their places of employment. Technological advancements such as the steam engine and electric lighting made it possible to locate factories near urban centers, contributing to the growth of cities.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Europe, the growth of industrialization in the United States occurred in large factories and cities. During the Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain and rapidly spread to the United States, there was a significant shift from rural communities centered around agriculture to urban areas geared towards industry. Manufacturing initially began with textiles in New England and swiftly moved into other industrial sectors like steel in Pennsylvania and Indiana, and later, automobiles in Michigan. Urbanization was a direct result of the need for large numbers of workers in these growing industries, leading people to move from rural farms to the cities where factories were located.
The development of the steam engine and commercial electricity allowed factories to be situated away from water sources, much closer to urban population centers. This spurred the rapid growth of urban areas as workers sought employment in new urban factories. Consequently, factories became heavily concentrated in towns and cities during this era, fundamentally transforming the distribution of population from primarily rural to significantly urban.
Migration to cities was facilitated by a range of technological advancements and economic factors, including the rise of powerful machinery and new electric lights that enabled factories to operate around the clock. Intense industrial labor was often the trade-off for workers leaving behind declining prospects in preindustrial agriculture or for immigrants escaping adversities in their homelands. Eventually, from 1880 to 1920, the number of industrial workers exponentially increased, and the urban population doubled, reflecting the significant urbanization of American society.