The Industrial Revolution
EQ: What impact did the Industrial Revolution have on the United States?
Industrial Revolution: A movement that began in the late 18th century and
early 19th century in which factory machines began replacing hand tools and
manufacturing replaced farming as the main form of work.
Before the industrial revolution the production of cloth was done by hand using
a spindle and distaff, or later with the assistance of spinning wheel.
• Ancient and Medieval cloth production was very slow and tedious.
The Industrial Revolution began with innovations that initiated the development
of the Textile Industry.
• Textiles: fabric or cloth.
In 1764, James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny, which was a device
that reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn.
In 1769, Richard Arkwright invented the water frame, which was powered by
water and could produce dozens of threads at the same time.
• Development of the water frame led to the rapid production of textile mills
near rivers and streams.
In 1784, Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom, which completely
mechanized the process of weaving cloth.
Factory System: A method of production that brought many workers and
machines together into one building.
• Most factories were built near a source of water to power the machines.
• People began to leave their farms and crowd into cites where the factories
were.
• Wage Labor: Workers worked for wages on a set schedule.
Think-Pair-Share
New England quickly became the industrial heart of the U.S.
• New England had many fast-moving rivers with which to power factories.
• New England also already had a thriving shipping industry with which to
transport newly manufactures goods to market.
Samuel Slater built the first spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1790.
• Slater’s mill manufactured spools of cotton thread from raw cotton.
• Slater’s strategy of hiring families and dividing factory work into simple tasks
became known as the Rhode Island System.
In 1813, Francis Cabot Lowell built a factory in Waltham , Massachusetts that
manufactured cotton thread and used power looms to manufacture bolts of
cloth.
• The Lowell System utilized extensive use of power looms and was based
on water-powered textile mills that employed young, unmarried women from
local farms.
Later, Lowell built a factory town called Lowell, MA.
•
•
The Lowell Mills employed local farm girls who lived in company-owned
boardinghouses.
The Lowell girls worked 12½ hour days and earned between $2 and $4 a week.
Think-Pair-Share
In 1797, the U.S. government hired Eli Whitney to manufacture 10,000
muskets for the army in 2 years.
•
•
•
Previous to this, guns were manufactured separately by gunsmiths, and no two guns
were made exactly the same.
In order to meet his deadline, Whitney created a new form of production in which all
of the components of his guns were created to be exactly the same.
Interchangeable Parts: All of the parts of a product are made exactly the same, and
are thus interchangeable.
–
The introduction of Interchangeable Parts led to the development of mass production.
In 1807, Robert Fulton utilized the steam engine to create the first steamboat,
which could be used to travel upriver or against the wind.
• Fulton’s steamboat used a steam engine to turn two paddle wheels that
were mounted on either side of the boat.
In 1830, Peter Cooper built a small but powerful locomotive called the Tom Thumb.
• Cooper raced his locomotive against a horse drawn railcar and was winning the
race before his engine broke down.
• Despite losing the race, the power and speed of his locomotive led to the rapid
production locomotives and railroads in the U.S.
• By 1840, there was 2,800 miles of track in the U.S.— more than existed in all of
Europe.
In 1837, Samuel F. B. Morse invented the telegraph, which was a machine
that could transmit long and short pulses of electricity along a wire.
• With the telegraph it took only seconds to communicate with someone in
another city.
•
•
In 1845, Elias Howe pioneered and patented the first American made
sewing machine.
In 1851, Isaac Singer was given a patent for sewing machine that improved
upon Howe’s design.
In 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes and Carlos Glidden developed the first
commercially successful typewriter.
Think-Pair-Share
In 1839, Charles Goodyear invented and developed a process to produce
vulcanized rubber.
In 1835, Samuel Colt patented a design that allowed for mass production of
the single-action revolver.
Thomas Crapper developed nine patents that improved upon the flushing toilet
design, or water closet.
In 1836, blacksmith John Deere invented the steel plow, a lightweight plow
with a steel cutting edge.
• Deere’s plow made the process of tilling the soil much easier for farmers.
In 1834, Cyrus McCormick developed the mechanical reaper, which made
the harvesting of grain much faster and easier.
Scottish engineer Andrew Meikle invented the threshing machine, which
mechanically separated wheat kernels from husks.
New technology created during the Industrial Revolution served to link together
different regions of the U.S. and contributed to national unity.
•
•
•
Midwestern farmers grew food to feed Northeastern factory workers.
Northeastern factory workers sold their manufactured goods to Midwestern farmers.
Southern cotton planters sold their cotton to Northern textile mills.
Final Question & Summary