The late nineteenth century is remembered as a time of industrialization in America, when business, industry, and cities grew at a pace never seen before. North Carolina, too, saw new industries emerge. Factories processed tobacco into cigarettes, cotton into clothing and blankets, and timber into furniture. With these changes, North Carolina led the way into what some reformers called the "New South." In this chapter we’ll learn about the growth of industry and of cities and consider why North Carolina became the home to so much new industry.

Section Contents

• Growth and Transformation: the United States in the Gilded Age
• Henry Grady and the "New South"
• Industrialization in North Carolina
• The Growth of Cities
• Immigration in U.S. History
• Railroads in Western North Carolina
• The Dukes of Durham
• The Tobacco Industry and Winston-Salem
• The Textile Industry and Winston-Salem
• Small-Town Businesses, 1903
• New Machine Shop in Plymouth, N.C.
• The Belk Brothers' Department Stores