Colonial Americans placed a high value on work. While the great majority of people in the colonies lived in the countryside as farmers or hunters, the towns and cities had a growing population of artisans, craftsmen, and laborers. These people used their specialized skills to produce goods for sale. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, each piece was crafted separately by hand, but technological improvements and mass production techniques were transforming the manufacturing process. Larger colonial industries included mining, construction, and maritime commerce. These industries employed many people with specialized skills. Nonfarmworkers also included people who practiced the learned professions: ministers, doctors, and lawyers. Along with wealth, these workers helped create the self-reliant attitudes that led the colonies toward independence.

The Artisan's Workshop

As on the farm, the family was the basic unit of production in a colonial workshop. Production tasks...