The Industrial revolution
Introduction
In the mid to late 1700s a series of new ideas and inventions transformed the way people did things. One idea was the establishment of a capitalist system with a free market economy. In a capitalist system, people have the right to own property, become entrepreneurs (work and own a business), and make profits with little or no government interference. People with capital, or money to invest in business in order to make a profit, are called capitalists.
A new revolution began to sweep across the United States in the late 1700s. This revolution had no battles or bloodshed. Instead, it was a long, slow process that completely changed the way goods were produced. It was known as the Industrial Revolution. Goods that were once made by hand were now made by machine, which allowed for increase of production at a cheaper cost. The Industrial Revolution not only changed the way goods were made it also affected the way people lived and worked.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and was triggered by a series of inventions that transformed the way things were made.
Inventions
Water Frame
Richard Arkwright took this process one step further. He invented a machine that could spin one hundred spindles of thread, but it required a lot of energy to run this machine by hand so he invented a water frame. The water frame used fast moving rivers or streams to push a wheel (seen in the picture) attached to a cog system to power the spindles to make the threads. After the threads were made they had to be woven. A loom was needed for this process. |
Water Powered Loom
Edmund Cartwright built a water-powered loom. Using this new machine a worker could produce 200 times more cloth. These power looms transformed the textile industry and provided new job opportunities for young women. The only draw back for these mills was that they had to be located on the water. Notice how every machine is attached to some sort of bar or axle near the ceiling. They are all interconnected to such a system as described above. |
Samuel Slater
Great Britain kept their inventions secret and passed laws forbidding anyone from sharing their factory secrets. In 1789, Samuel Slater, a mechanic memorized the plans of one of the mills he worked in and after traveling to the United States, was hired by Moses Brown to build a factory. On December 20, 1790, the first American spinning factory opened in Rhode Island. Once the mill proved successful, hundreds of northern capitalists built factories and hired hundreds of workers to run the machines. |
Factory System
Bringing workers and machines together in one place to produce goods is known as the factory system. Instead of spinning and weaving in their homes, people went to work in the factories. In factories, everyone had to work a certain number of hours each day. Workers were paid daily or weekly wages. From this point on machines replaced hand-made items. |
Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney a young man from Massachusetts invented two things that changed the course of history. In 1793, Whitney invented the cotton gin. This machine was created to clean the cotton of its seeds. Before the cotton gin it took lots slaves many hours to hand clean the cotton. As factories grew in the North the demand for raw cotton grew. Southern cotton growers could not keep up with the demand. A Georgia plantation owner had hired Whitney to tutor his children, but when he learned of the problems facing the planter, he put his mind into inventing the cotton gin. The cotton gin was simple, but its effects were enormous. A worker using the gin could do the work of a 1,000 people cleaning cotton by hand. Because of the gin, planters could now grow more cotton at huge profits. With the profits planters bought more land and slaves. Cotton became “king” in the south. |
Interchangeable Parts
In the early 1800s, Whitney came up with an idea that transformed the way goods were produced. Parts to machines and guns were still being made by hand. If a part broke on a machine or a gun the part had to be hand-made. This took forever and was costly. Whitney wanted to create a way to build machines to make parts that were exactly alike, so that when a part broke it could be easily replaced. He developed interchangeable parts as a way to solve this problem. The idea of interchangeable parts spread rapidly. Machines were designed to make parts for everything. Before long, goods were being produced faster and cheaper than they ever had been before. Whitney did not know it, but he also introduced the idea of mass production, the manufacture of goods in large amounts. |
Sewing Machine
Elias Howe changed the way clothing was made. Howe invented the sewing machine. Clothing makers bought hundreds of them. Workers could make dozens of jackets faster than a tailor could sew one by hand. The sewing machine was one of many new inventions that changed life in the North after 1820. Keep in mind, it wasn't electric! |
Lightweight Plow made of Steel
John Deere found that cast-iron plows were not working very well in the tough prairiesoil of Illinois and remembered the needles he had previously polished by running them through sand. Deere came to the conclusion that a plow made out of highly polished steel and a correctly shaped moldboard (the self-scouring steel plow) would be better able to handle the soil conditions of the prairie, especially its sticky clay. |
Mechanical Reaper
In 1831, Cyrus McCormickinvented a mechanical reaper. A reaper was a horse-drawn machine that mowed wheat and other grains. A reaper could cut 28 times more grain that a single man could by hand. Using interchangeable parts, McCormick built a reaper factory in Chicago where he produced several thousand reapers a year. By making it easier to plant and harvest large quantities of grain with fewer farm workers Deere and McCormick revolutionized farming. |
Telegraph
In 1840, Samuel Morse patented his “talking wire” or telegraph. The telegraph was a device that sent electrical signals along a wire. The signals were based on a code of dots, dashes, and spaces and were called Morse code. Morse’s invention was an instant success. Businesses especially gained from being able to send messages over long distances in minutes. Using the telegraph, factory owners, merchants, and farmers could access information about supply, demand and prices of goods in different areas. |
Steam Power
Steam power was invented in England and traveled across the Atlantic to the United States. This invention changed the way machines were powered and revolutionized transportation. The first railroads were built in the early 1800s. The first steam powered engine traveled at 30 miles per hour, an amazing speed for the time. In just a few short years railroads were linking eastern cities to western markets. Railroads boosted business in the United States. This was especially true for northern manufacturers who supported the building of more rail lines to increase business. To increase trade outside of the United States steam powered boats were invented. These vessels carried more cargo and traveled faster than ships with sails. The steamship helped open markets all over the world for American traders. Factory owners soon realized that steam power could be used to run machines. Steam powered machines were powerful and cheap to run. Steam power also allowed factory owners to build factories almost anywhere, not just alongside swift-flowing rivers or streams. |
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Conclusion
Anyone touring the northern part of the United States was impressed with the burst of industry there with all the textile factories, shipyards, and iron mills. Northern industry grew steadily during the 1800’s. That growth was largely due to new methods, inventions, and developments.
Improvements in farming technologies bolstered huge agricultural growth in the south. The cotton gin, especially, expanded slavery, and sectional differences between the north and south grew.
Anyone touring the northern part of the United States was impressed with the burst of industry there with all the textile factories, shipyards, and iron mills. Northern industry grew steadily during the 1800’s. That growth was largely due to new methods, inventions, and developments.
Improvements in farming technologies bolstered huge agricultural growth in the south. The cotton gin, especially, expanded slavery, and sectional differences between the north and south grew.
THINK ABOUT IT:
1. What is the connection of the Industrial Revolution to these roads and canals? Why are they an offshoot of the Revolution?
2. Explain the thought behind making these roads and canals go through major cities such as Chicago, New York, Baltimore and Charleston?
3. Give an explanation as to why there are no principal canals located in the Southern part of the United States.
1. What is the connection of the Industrial Revolution to these roads and canals? Why are they an offshoot of the Revolution?
2. Explain the thought behind making these roads and canals go through major cities such as Chicago, New York, Baltimore and Charleston?
3. Give an explanation as to why there are no principal canals located in the Southern part of the United States.