<P> As demand for silver increased and large - scale manufacturing techniques emerged, silver products became much more standardized . For special - order objects that would likely only be made once, silversmiths generally used lost - wax casting, in which a sculpted object was carved out of wax, an investment casting was made, and the wax was melted away . The molds produced in this manner could only be used once, which made them inconvenient for standard objects like handles and buckles . Permanent mold casting, an industrial casting technique focused on high - volume production, allowed smiths to reuse molds to make exact replicas of the most commonly used items they sold . In creating these molds and developing standardized manufacturing processes, silversmiths could begin delegating some work to apprentices and journeymen . For instance, after 1780, Paul Revere's sons took on more significant roles in his shop, and his silver pieces often included wooden handles made by carpenters more experienced with woodwork . For even some of the most successful artisans like Revere, artisan was not a profitable enterprise compared to mass - production using iron or bronze casting . Creating products that could be replicated for multiple customers, adopting new business practices and labor policies, and new equipment made manufacturing more ultimately efficient . These changes, in tandem with new techniques and requirements defined by changing social standards, led to the introduction of new manufacturing techniques in Colonial America that preceded and anticipated the industrial revolution . </P> <P> Late in the colonial era a few silversmiths expanded operations with manufacturing techniques and changing business practices They hired assistants, subcontracted out piecework and standardized output . One individual in the vanguard of America's shift towards more industrial methods was Paul Revere, who emphasized the production of increasingly standardized items later in his career with the use of a silver flatting mill, increased numbers of salaried employees, and other advances . Still, traditional methods of artisan remained, and smiths performed a great deal of work by hand . The coexistence of the craft and industrial production styles prior to the industrial revolution is an example of proto - industrialization . </P> <P> In the mid-1780s, Oliver Evans invented an automated flour mill that included a grain elevator and hopper boy . Evans' design eventually displaced the traditional gristmills . By the turn of the century, Evans also developed one of the first high - pressure steam engines and began establishing a network of machine workshops to manufacture and repair these popular inventions . In 1789, the widow of Nathanael Greene recruited Eli Whitney to develop a machine to separate the seeds of short fibered cotton from the fibers . The resulting cotton gin could be made with basic carpentry skills but reduced the necessary labor by a factor of 50 and generated huge profits for cotton growers in the South . While Whitney did not realize financial success from his invention, he moved on to manufacturing rifles and other armaments under government contract that could be made with "expedition, uniformity, and exactness"--the foundational ideas for interchangeable parts . However, Whitney's vision of interchangeable parts would not be achieved for over two decades with firearms and even longer for other devices . </P> <P> Between 1800 and 1820, new industrial tools that rapidly increased the quality and efficiency of manufacturing emerged . Simeon North suggested using division of labor to increase the speed with which a complete pistol could be manufactured which led to the development of a milling machine in 1798 . In 1819, Thomas Blanchard created a lathe that could reliably cut irregular shapes, like those needed for arms manufacture . By 1822, Captain John H. Hall had developed a system using machine tools, division of labor, and an unskilled workforce to produce a breech - loading rifle--a process that came to be known as "Armory practice" in the U.S. and the American system of manufacturing in England . </P>

When did the united states experience its first large industrial expansion
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