THEORY AND PRACTICE: VIEWING INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION AS A PROCESS THROUGH AN EXAMINATION OF THE CREATION OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF MANUFACTURING

Abstract

Despite the vast research on industrial innovation in the United States, little shows innovation as a process from the theoretical origins to its practical application. The image that emerges from the overall literature is one showing only the importance of applied innovation. This thesis argues that historians need to reevaluate how manufacturing advancements are studied in the United States. Using the creation of the American System of Manufacturing as a case study, this study focuses on innovation as a connected process from its theoretical origins to its applied state. This study focuses less on the individuals involved and more on the system itself. This accomplishes two points. First is that it shows that the idea is more important than the peoples. Second is that this thesis provides a greater understanding of how the American System of Manufacturing came to fruition. By examining these two points, this thesis demonstrates that historians need to look beyond the traditional application-only focus that has plagued the study of technological history. Instead historians must show industrial innovation as both the creation of the theoretical concept and the systems practical application.