America Becomes More Democratic
The last unit explained how the U.S. political system changed in the early 1800s. However, many other things changed the
nation in the early to middle 1800s. This was a time of growth in industry. Many inventions changed the way Americans did
things. Immigrants came to America to seek a better way of life. Education and literature helped to shape the nation's culture.
In this unit, we will learn how inventions, education, literature, and the growth of industry changed the nation.
Learning Targets:
1. Identify major inventions and how they contributed to the growth of industry
2. Describe the developments and changes in land and water transportation
3. List major developments in communication and explain their importance
4. Describe how immigration contributed to population growth
5. Identify the contributions of several early American educators and writers to American culture
Industries Develop Slowly
- The growth of industry in the United States was slow as there was not a good market for __________________ items
- Between 1790 and 1840, about 90% of the American people lived in ______________ regions
- Farmers had little money to spend and most of the manufactured goods were not necessary things for them
- Merchants made little profit from sales to farmers as American manufacturers would not compete with ___________ industry
- Great Britain had many more years' experience at producing most goods
- In many cases, American factories could not make things as well or as ___________________
- People in the United States found British items easy to obtain at good prices
- In addition, American cities did not have enough _____________
- The West continued to attract settlers who could not pass up the ____________, fertile _______________
- As the country expanded, cities remained small
- Money for starting a factory was difficult to get
- Bankers were not eager to lend money to would-be manufacturers because the risk of ________________ was so high
- Without a loan, most people could not afford to buy ____________________ or materials
How Did Industries Begin to Grow?
- The United States began to change into an industrial giant in ________________
- The roots of this change go back to ___________________
- Born in Great Britain, he became a skilled mechanic, and he accepted an offer to go to America
- The British law would not permit anyone to take ____________________ out of the country
- Nor would the British allow any plans to leave the country that showed how the machines were built
- While still in Great Britain, Slater ______________________ the parts of a machine he was using in a cotton factory
- Later, in Rhode Island, he gained the financial support of Moses Brown
- Slater was able to build a _____________ ______________ from memory
- With the aid of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, the textile industry was changed during a few years in the 1790s
- Americans were able to produce a good product ______________ and ____________ than ever before
- They could begin to compete with other industrial nations
- In addition to inventing the cotton gin, Eli Whitney helped develop the idea of using _____________ ______ in manufacturing
- Manufacturer John Hall used many of Whitney's ideas to mass produce _________
- In time, others were using the same ideas to produce clocks, sewing machines, stoves, and countless other products
- A method of burning coal as a fuel in making iron was developed in the _________
- Demand for ____________ in manufacturing was very high
- As industry became able to make its own iron, industries that made machines, farm tools, rails & railroad cars _____ ________
- Early farming equipment was very simple as plows were made out of wood and could break easily
- Every step in the crop-growing process was done by __________
- In 1834, Cyrus McCormick invented a machine that could harvest _______________
- His new machine (the ________________) made farming possible on a much bigger scale
- Shortly thereafter, John Deere invented the _________, which helped farmers to convert the hard prairie sod into usable land