The Effect of the Iron Industry on Alabama’s Economy

The mining of iron ore, coal, limestone, iron production in northern Alabama in the 19th century had a major impact on Alabama's then economy. It offers the opportunity to expand railways and work. The city was born in this industrial boom. All of this contributes to the economic growth of Alabama. Alabama: History of the documentary of the country in 1900 "The civil war that changed the economic life of the south is self explanatory" (Griffith, Alabama: documentary history until 1900)

For the last century, Etowa County, where rich mountains of iron ore in the northern Alabama province is one of the most important industrial centers in the state. Today, departing from Gadsden's front yard in August, best known as the starting point for the world's longest garage sale, following Interstate 127 for 4 days and 690 miles in Michigan State. Somewhere is gradually disappearing. This factory, once prosperous, was contracted to the Goodyear tire factory and several chicken processing plants. The population is much more white than the rest of Alabama, but not so rich. After graduating from a four-year college, the residents are likely to graduate about half of the whole US.

I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. The mine - coal and iron ore and its steelworks were widely known as "southern Pittsburgh" because they continued to work during the deco industrialization process of the 1980s. Many of my friends' fathers work at these mines and factories. It is recently that black miners and steel workers I met in my childhood inherited the position of a black criminal who was forced to do this work under the leasing system in the industrial development of Birmingham there were. As Curtin observed:

Industrialization and modernization of technology have overwhelmingly influenced the development of mining and mining. Mines are used for coal mines, copper, iron, gold and silver. Technological progress and the new machine tool industry have provided new drilling machines that accelerated industrialization. The working conditions of the miners are shocking. Mine workers need to deal with many dangers, working in dark, poorly ventilated and wet tunnels. Dangerous working conditions have brought many strikes to raising wages, improving working conditions, establishing safety rules, and shortening working hours. Natural resource development and management deficiency also caused protection movement.