One of the main reasons for the rise of administrative agencies was the array of social and economic problems created by the industrialization of the United States which began in the late 19th century. Since legislatures generally lacked the time and expertise to deal with these problems on an ongoing basis, the creation of specialized and expert agencies was almost inevitable. Administrative agencies gain the ability to legislate through a delegation (or grant) of power from the legislature. Agencies are normally created by legislation that specifies the areas in which the agency can legislate and the extent of its power in each area. Often, these statutory delegations are worded so broadly that the legislature has in effect merely flagged a problem and given the agency broad powers to address problems.