VOCABUIARY
lnd u str i a l
Revolution
collon9rn
interchangeable
parts
reaper
steamengrne
ca n a l
PEOPLE
S a m u e5l l a ter
Eli Wh itn e y
Francis
C.Lowell
Cyrusivlccormick
JohnDeere
RobertFulton
DeWittClinton
PeterCooper
ffiHAmCru&
STE{ATE6V
Make
a cha(likethis
onetolistinventions
and
inonecolumn
inventors
intheother.
How did the lndust dl Revolution
chongelife in the
Unitedstdtes?
Lesson Outline
. TheFirstAmeri(anFactory
ChanEe
Our Natic" Machines
. NewWaysto Travel
.steam Locornotives
r l l ' 1 .!l .," i- I,. :r _ :ltl' 1 ,= l
TheSpinningJennyis a largewoodenmachine
that twistsfiberinto thread.It wasthe first
machineusedin a newkindof manufacturing.
Before1800,everythingwasmadeby individual
workersin shopsor homesusinghandtools,
beganto replacehand
After1800machines
Thisdramaticchange
workersin manyindustries.
from makinggoodsby handat hometo making
in factoriesis calledthe
themwith machines
lndustrialRevolution.
YouAreH€r€
1780-1860
THE FIRSTAMERICANFACTORY
The IndustrialRevolutionbeganin
Bdtainin the late 1700sin the textile,or
doth-making, industry. The first
machinesusedwaterpowerto produce
doth cheaply.The Bdtishpassedlawsto
If,eventthe exportof machinesor plans
wanted
br machines.Bdtishbusinesses
E, keepthe new technologya secret,
tnerican FreeEnterprise
could
In the United States,businesses
decidefor themselveshow bestto use
Americanbusinesses
*eir rcsources.
factodesto
mnted to stad their o\,\,.rr
uake cloth. An Englishmannamed
heardthat businessor,nrrEs in the United Stateswould pay well for
6e new technology.Slatermemorizedthe
plansof the Britishspinningmachines.
In 1789,Slaterslippedout of Britain.
$Bhode Islandmerchanthired him to
build spinningmachines.By 1790Slater
hadbuilt the first Amedcancottonspinningmachines.
The price of cotton was high for the
new factory On cotton plantations,
aslaved workerspulledcottonseeds
ftom the fibers by hand. It was a slow
ad difficulttask.In 1793
iBventedthe cotton gin, a machine
Thegin,
dat removescottonseeds.
fadory(left)inRhode
JimuelSlater's
frame
invention
l&nd;thespinning
averyshong
fight),whi(hmade
wastheprototype
ottonthread,
which is short for "engine,"could cleanup
to 50 times more cotton than workers
conld by hand.
The cotton gin changedthe economy
ofthe South.It madecotton and slavery
profitable.Many planterswerenow
determinedto protectslavery
""$
Why did Slatercometo the
United States?
Powerfor Machines
beganwith
invenRevolution
TheIndustrial
w€redever
industry.
Machines
tionsinthetextile
dothquidly.Thebiggest
t0spinandweave
oped
for
wasthe
s0ur(e
ofpower
dange
tednologi(al
these
madines-water.
housing
many
large
building
Afadory,a
orstream.
swiftriver
madines,
wasbuiltneara
thefa(alaqewheelin
Therushing
waterturned
manymadines,
tory,whidpowered
hadmany
Factorywo*
hadto(ome
to
effeds.
Workers
ofwo*ingat
thefadoryinstead
longhours,
Theyworked
home.
paidmore
buttheywerc
soon,
money
thanfarmwork€6.
dtiesas
fadoryvillages
became
(ameto
people
Iindwork.
were
Explain
whyfadories
olstreams
builtneardvets
wat€r.
withswift-noving
factory
machines,
frr many
369
I
1. Whywasthe mill locatednearthe
river?
2. Whatis the machineusedbYthe
womanat the right?
CHANGEOURNATION
MACHINES
In 1798,Eti\ ,{litneycameuP with a
new way to manufactureproducts.He
agreedto make 10,000guns,calledmuskets,for the U.S.army.He createdtoolsto
makeeachpart of everymusketthe same,
or standard.Theseinterchangeable parts
w erem a d el o f i t an) of themus k eL5 .
ri meandc os t\dfoppe d .
Ma n u fa clu r i ng
States."Mill girls,"the youngwomenilaol
worted at Lowell,lived in boarding
housesand worked12-to 14-hourda":
for six daysa week.Thewageswere
higherthan on localfarms.
Machinesfor Farming
In i832, Ctrus Mccormick built an
improved reaper, a machine with shar?
bladesto cut gnin. It could cut up to ttt{[
timesasmuch grainashandworkers.
The FactorySystem
In 1B37,an lllinois blacksmithnamed
Aftervisitingfactoriesin Bdtain,
John Deere improved the Plow so it
FtahcisC.Lowell and his partnen built a
would cut throughthe tough rootsof
tertile factoryin waltham,Massachusetts,
praidegrass.He fashioneda steelsa\\
in 1813.All the stepsolcloth-making
into a plow shape.
took placein their factoryfrom making
threadto weavingcloth.
Explainhow machines
In 1817,a factorytolul, Lowell,
changedthe American
wasbuilt, It wasthe lirst
Massachusetts,
way of life.
plannedtown for workersin the United
w
370
in 1860
Transportation
the 1800s'
grewin the UnitedStatesthroughout
Industry
openedwheretherewaswaterandlatercoal
Newfactories
on this
Studythe graphics
to powerthe machines.
for steam,
page.
Thenanswerthe questions.
120,000
110,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
. Se Norlh:22,000
0
Noilh sourh
9,000
- :heSouth:
o
g
QUESTIONS:
Did the Northor Southhavegreaterindustrialproduction?
Howdid industrialproductionaffectthe milesof railroad?
aboutindustry
qf Lookat both graphics.Makea generalization
in the Northand South,
To leam more,
visitout Website:
www,mhschool.com
SteamPower
Until the early1800s,the easiestway to
In 1800,public transportationwas
travelwas on America'srive$. Mostpeoslowand uncomfortable.Most roads
ple and productstraveledon rafts
were na[ow dift trails filled with
or flat-bottomedboats.The
potholesand treestumps.\Arhen
crewsoftheseboatsusedlong
it rained,theseroadsbecarne
polesto push them downmuddy swamps.Evenon a
stleam with the curent. It
goodjourney,travelon these
was a much hardertaskto
roadswas painfirlly slow.It
pushthe boat upstream
took four days,for example,
againstthe cunent,An
to makethe
for a stagecoach
Amedcanpainterand inven215-miletdp ftom Bostonto
tor named Rob€rt Fulton
is a
NewYork.A stagecoach
learnedofa steamenginedevelcarriagefor
large,horse-drar,r,'r.t
opedin Scotland.Fultonthoughi
passengers,
and mail.
baggage,
Robert
Fulton that this steamenginecouldbe
In 1811,the federalgovernment
usedto powera boat upstream,
started buildins the National Road
Fultonworkedfor yearson his design.
from Cumberland,Maryland,to Vandalia,
In August1807,Fulton'ssteamboat,the
Illinois.This stoneand gravelroadlinked
Clermont,was rcady to run up the Hudthe Eastwith what wasthen theWestem
son River from NewYork City to Albany.
frontier,This roadwasa greatimproveFulton'sboat waspoweredby two large
ment in transportation.
paddlewheelsconnectedto a steam
Transportationimprovedevenmore
engine.Somepeoplecalledthe boat "Fulafterthe invenrionofrhe steamengine.
ton'sFolly,"but the 150-miletdp tookjus:
A steamengineusesthe energyftom
32 hours.Otherboatstook from B to 11
steamto powerits engine.It can produce
daysfor the sametdp.
much greaterpowerthan a teamof
horses,soit cal pull heavierloads.
The ErieCanal
ln October1825,the governorof Ne\^York,Dewitt Clinton, stoodon the deck
ofa smallboat bobbingon the wavesof
NewYorkHarbor.He poureda bucket
ofwater from LakeEde into the Hudson
River.The ceremony,calledthe "wedding
of theWaters,"markedthe openingola
human-builtwaterway,or canal.
NEWWAYSTO TRAVEL
I
gotstu* ona
lfa stage(oad
passengeff
muddy
roadrthe
hadtogetoutandpush.
372
1, Whywerethe mules
neededon the canal?
2. How did locksraiseor lower
the levelof the canal?
'Clinton's Ditch"
The Erle Canalconnectedthe port of
\ewYork with the GreatLates. Governor
Dewitt Clinton'scritics calledit "Clinton's
Ditch."Theythoughthis ideaof a 350-mile
man-madewaten,Iaywasimpossible.
It alsoseemedimpossibleto raisethe
s7 million costofthe canal.The governor
askedEuropeaninvestorsto buy shares.
-\n investoris a personwho puts money
into a projectto makea profit. By luly 4,
18I7,Clintonhad raisedthe moneyand
rvorkbeganon his "GrandCanal."
From the very beginning,the Ede
Canalwas a big;ob. It wasnot easyto
find enoughpeopleto do the digging.The
fust workerswerelocalfarmers,but there
rverentenoughfarmersand they had to
takecareoftheir crops,Theycouldwork
onlypart ofthe year.This problemwas
solvedby hidng immigrantsftom Europe.
Another problem quickly becameobvious.Land alongLakeEriewas 565teet
higher than land alongthe HudsonRiver
That meant the canalhad to dlop more
thar 500feetftom westto east.Thesolution was a seriesof locks,A lock on a canal
is like an ele\,?tor.It useswater to Iift or
lower boatsto the nert levelon the canal.
CanalFever
problems,
rhe frie
In spileof Lhese
Canalopenedin 1825with a $eat celebntion. GovernorClintonrodethe first
boat ftom LakeEde to NewYorkHarbor.
The Ede Canalwasan instantsuccess.
Farmersfrom Ohio,Illinois,and lndiana
wereableto ship their cropsquicklyand
cheaplyto the East.Factodesin the East
wereableto ship their productsto the
Midwest.Tradeboomedand NewYork
City becamethe Iargestcity in the country and a centerfor shippingand trade.
ffi
madeit
Whatdevelopments
easierto travelby 1840?
I
STEAMLOCOMOTIVES
Canalferer grippedthe Uniled Stareq.
Hundredof miles ofcanalswerein useb]'
the 1830s.Therewereplansfor many
more.However,thesecanalswould soon
be replacedbv a brand new inventionthe raihoad.
The first "rail roads" had been coaches
Conokond
NovisobleRivers
l. Whichcitywasthe farthe5twest
on the cumberlandRoad?TheFall
LineRoad?
2. Whichwerethe navigablerivers
in 1860?
3. Whichcity hada canal,navigable
river,and a major road?
374
set on iron railsand pulledby horses.In
1829,an Englishinventorreplacedthe
horsewith a locomotive,a rail car powercdby a steamengine.This wasthe
samekind of steamengineusedby Fulton on the Clermont.
In 1830,PeterCooper,a NewYork
broughtthis English"iron
businessman,
horse"to Amedca.Cooperconvincedthe
Ba1timorcand OhioRailroadCompanyrc
rcplaceits ho6es with steamlocomotives.He built a smalllocomotiveand
namedit Tom Thuml2,after the tiny characterin the children'sstory.
FewpeoplebelievedTomThumb
slagemove.A Balfimore
couldactualJy
coachcompanychallengedthe little locomoliveto a race.tom Thumbwasdoing
quite well until somethingwent \'\tong
P/dflet
arrivesin
Thesteam
engine
inth€1800s.
a NewJerseytown
IT TOGETHER
PUTTING
,\-ithone of its parts.Althoughthe little
:nginelost the race,it led the way for the
the United
afuoadsthat c sscrossed
liatesin the next one hundredyears.
'".(,m
Howdid the railroadchange
travelin the UnitedStates?
The IndustrialRevolutionchanged
technologyin the UnitedStates.It also
broughtnew and grcatwealthto some
entrepreneurs(ahntruh pruh NOOR).An
entrepreneur is a person who organizes
and runs a new business.The Industdal
Revolutionalsobroughtchangesto ordinary people'slivesand to different
regionsof our nation.Peoplepaid lessfor
someproducts,but the workersin the
new factoriesworkedlong hoursin difficult conditions.Transportationbetween
regionsimproved.However,the new
technologycreateddifferencesbetween
the Nodh and the South.
for eachvocabulary
1. Writeonesentence
{erm.
reaper
cotton gin
IndustrialRevolution steamengine
interchangeableparts
Lookat the mapson page374.Draw
howa farmerwouldget
a mapshowing
farm
in Michigan
to a marwheatfroma
ket in NewYorkCity.
2. Whydid mo5tpeopleandproductstravel
on America's
rivers?
in the UnitedStates
caused
3. ldentifu
chanqes
bythe Industrial
Revolution.
City
4. Howdidthe ErieCanalmakeNewYork
intoa centefoftradeandshipping?
ownerswereexcitedaboutthe
5. Plantation
invention
ofthecottongin.Howmighttheir
pointofview differfromthatofan enslaved
person?
€
v. Writea poemor letl.er
the
describing
workday
thata millgirlin Lowellmight
Use
havewrittento a friendor relative.
detailsfrom the lessonto makeyourwritingrealistic.
375