Making iorn was important to american industry because ...

Because iron and steel-making at the time consumed more coal than iron ore, the steel mills moved closer to the coal mines to minimize transportation costs

Making iron was so important to American industry because it was used for infrastructure development which then generated lot of job opportunities for the Americans.

Explanation:

The industrial development in those periods was at steady increasing phase. So need for iron was the foremost priority of that era because it will be used to manufacture steel which will then be used in all industries like manufacturing of machinery and thereby facilitate the export of finished goods will earn revenues in terms of export earnings, taxation and subsequent sales in the local market.

The economic development of people and their standard of living as played a vital role in consumption steel. Because of these the iron and steel industries played an important role in the development of American society as a whole.