<P> By the 1840s it was the center of the American anti-slavery movement , and was the leading force in American literature and higher education . The region was the scene of the first Industrial Revolution in the United States , with many textile mills and machine shops operating by 1830 , and was the manufacturing center of the entire United States for much of that century . It played an important role leading up to , during , and after the American Civil War as a fervent intellectual , political , and cultural promoter of abolitionism as well as civil rights for Freedman and harsh treatment for former Confederate leaders . </P>
new england became americas first industrial region in part because it had
textile mills and machine shops operating by 1830 , and was the manufacturing center of the entire United States for much of that century