We did have an "industrial" revolution but I doubt that it was widespread across the regions.
Consider too that eastern Europe had civilization 1,000 years old.
America was barely 300 years "settled" (and much less for the western regions).
Disagree. By this past century we were on top as far as development was concerned. (I'm not counting world-POWER status.) We were far advanced compared to almost all - by that period we owned most of the great inventions and monopolized on innovation. It was just our unlimited system that put it to that point.
The industrial rev in the US was already some 70 years old. The railroads were 2nd to none - on a HUGE country. That's plenty of time before 1900 to have great influence.
BTW, the SF earthquake was 1906. Not that I understand what natural disasters have to do w/status!