National Gallery of Art

By Michael A . Martorelli

In articulating his vision for a second term , President Joseph Biden continues to emphasize his efforts at revitalizing the country ’ s manufacturing base . He fondly recalls the strength of many industries that led the world in producing highquality products in the post-World War II years . It is not clear whether he or his advisors fully appreciate the story of

Eli Terry clock ( left ) and clock mechanism ( right ), drawn in 1940 by Herman O . Stroh . how individuals and companies developed what came to be known as the American System of Manufacturing ( ASM ). The key elements of that concept were the use of specialized machinery to make parts of manufactured goods and new policies regarding the division of labor . Incorporating these features enabled manufacturers to fashion end products assembled with interchangeable parts .

The ASM did not spring up spontaneously . It evolved unevenly over many decades thanks to the efforts of entrepreneurial inventors and mechanics . Its development during the early- to mid-19th century is best told through the stories of a selection of products whose makers most effectively used its elements .

Clocks

Clockmakers were the first craftsmen to adopt the ideas that characterized the ASM . In 1786 , Eli Terry started a six-year apprenticeship with experienced clockmaker Daniel Burnap . By 1795 , he was ready to open a shop in his home in Plymouth , Connecticut . Like his counterparts , Terry laboriously produced the working parts of a handful of ( mostly ) wooden and brass clocks each year . ( Cabinetmakers typically made the clocks ’ heavy cases that averaged six feet tall , nine inches wide and nine inches deep .)

In 1806 , Terry opened a new factory that used waterpower to speed production . It included specialized machines

38 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2023 | www . MoAF . org