Legacy of the First Industrial Revoluton (helped to cause America's Second Industrial Revolution--which is the focus of much of our course studies for your FL US History EOC) "In the late 18th century, the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain introduced the use of steam power & the mass production of goods in factories. The United States became the first nation to follow Britain's lead. By the 1850s, the use of steam power was firmly established in the United States. Northeastern states became the main centers of American manufacturing. Steamboats & railroads began linking together distant regions of the country. In teh South, railroads and steamboats led to an expansion of the Cotton Belt, producing raw cotton for export to British factories. The Midwest produced livestock and wheat for both the Northeast and the South."