ABSTRACT
Without exaggerating the importance of the class of biography, it may at least be averred that it has not yet received its due share of attention. The cultural, religious and social characteristics of machine builders have, thus far, been neglected. Political behaviour emerges, we have suggested, out of industrial conditions. Wealthy mechanics, comfortable artisans and merchants founded the new branch of machine building. Most early workshop owners were native born, from unremarkable middle-class and petty-producer backgrounds. In Philadelphia and the small towns of eastern Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware valley there were large numbers of artisans and their sons who made the transition to machine building. The lure of profit and the promise of making a reputation also attracted young men from mercantile backgrounds. Sons of fathers who were in counting houses, retail stores and transportation businesses saw golden opportunities in machine building.
