The Industrial Revolution

Chapter 11 Section 1p. 382

Section FocusHow did the new technology of the Industrial Revolution change the way

Americans lived?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF7-vN-aLOM

Then vs. Now● Up until this point:

● Most people worked as farmers

● Men worked in the fields to produce food for their families

● Women helped in the fields and made simple goods at home

● This is all about to change with the Industrial Revolution

A Revolution in Technology● In the 1700s, a great change began that is known as the Industrial

Revolution

● The Industrial Revolution is the gradual replacement of many hand

tools by machines. Much of the power once provided by man and horse

began to be replaced, first by flowing water and then by steam engines

● This revolution began in England in the textile (cloth-making) industry

● Since making cloth was so time consuming, they wanted to figure out a

faster way

Machines and Factories● In the 1760s, the spinning jenny speeded up the thread-making process

● This allowed one person to spin

many strands at once

● However, it is still being done by

hand

● In 1764, Richard Arkwright

invented something new...

Machines and Factories● This invention, the water frame, used running water rather than human

energy

● Other inventions began speeding up

the process

● Since these machines were so large,

manufacturers began building

textiles mills on the banks of rivers

Machines and Factories● The new mills created a new way of working, known as the factory

system

● The factory system brings workers and machinery together in one place

● Instead of working at home, workers had to go to textile factories and

work specific time frames

● They had to keep up with their machines instead of working at their own

pace

Machines and Factories● Because of the expenses of new buildings and new machines, owners of

the mills turned to capitalists for money investment

● A capitalist is a person who invests capital, or money, in a business to

earn a profit in return

● This proved to be a good investments as workers began producing 24

times as much thread as they had in previous years

● Here is why that is a good thing...

Machines and Factories$$ Invested into

infrastructure and equipment

Job opportunities

People Make money

People buying products

Businesses/ Investors

making money

Steam Power

Steam Power● Building factories on riverbanks had disadvantages also...

● In dry seasons, the machines had no power

● Most factories were in rural areas, far

away from cities and the population

● In 1790, Arkwright built the first

steam-powered textile plant

Steam Power● This invention allowed factories to be built away from riverbanks

● Now they could build in cities, where young women and children

provided cheap labor

● This invention allowed factories to be built away from riverbanks

● Britain did not allow their workers to talk about the secrets of their

industrial success and the skilled workers were not allowed to leave the

country

● How did the Industrial Revolution change

the way work was performed?

● How did the factory system work?

● Who was the great inventor of water

powered machines and steam powered

machines?

● What advantage would the steam engine

have given to a manufacturer over

competitors who depended on water

power to operate their machinery?

The American Industrial Revolution● In 1789, a young apprentice in one of Arkwright’s factories decided to

immigrate to the United States

● Samuel Slater knew that his knowledge of Arkwright’s machines could be

worth a fortune

● He studied and memorized the plans and boarded a ship for New York

● Once in the U.S., Slater joined forces with Moses Brown, a wealthy

merchant who was already renting a textile mill

● Based on memory alone, Slater constructed a spinning machine and

began producing cotton thread at an unheard of rate in the U.S.

The American Industrial Revolution

American Industry Grows● The success of Slater’s mill marked the beginning of American

industrialization

● Industrialization began in the Northeast U.S.

● This was home to many people (Capitalists) who had enough money to

invest into factories and buy raw materials

● It wasn’t until after the War of 1812 that American industry began to

grow

The Lowell Mills● Francis Cabot Lowell was another pioneer of the American industrial

revolution

● Before the War of 1812, he had visited England and seen the latest

machinery

● Upon his return, he and his associates set out to build an improved

version of the English machines

● Along with several other capitalists, he opened a mill in Waltham,

Massachusetts

The Lowell Mills

The Lowell Mills● This mill was organized in a more efficient way

● Instead of different buildings, Lowell’s factory brought together spinning

and weaving into one building

● Upon his death, his cohorts decided to expand the business and built a

new town around the factory

● The town was to better the lives of the employees and included boarding

houses, a library, and a hospital

● The town was named Lowell

Lowell Girls● The new factories were staffed with young

women from nearby farms

● They were deemed “Lowell Girls” and lived in the boarding houses under strict supervision

● After work, they could attend lectures or visit libraries

● One positive is that they were becoming more educated than they would have on family farms

● Why did Samuel Slater have to build his

machines from memory?

● What sparked the growth of industry in

the United States after the War of 1812?

● Why did Lowell’s mill town have boarding

houses, a library, and a hospital for it’s

workers?

● How was the Lowell factory system

different from the European factory

system?

The Revolution Takes Hold● Americans were ready to begin experimenting with new methods of

manufacturing

● One of the most important developments was mass production

● Mass production is the rapid manufacture of large numbers of identical

objects

● Before this point, manufactured goods were handcrafted which required

extra time and effort to create and maintain

The Revolution Takes Hold● In the 1790s, American inventor Eli Whitney devised a system to cut

some of this time called interchangeable parts

● Interchangeable parts are identical pieces that could be assembled

quickly by unskilled workers

● These parts contributed to more efficiency when manufacturing

products and caused the prices of the goods to drop

Cheaper Prices

More customers

More Money

Business expansion

More Jobs

Child Labor● On the surface, the idea of mill towns seem to be a positive for the

worker; unfortunately, that was not always the case

● Just as the women had done, children (who worked on family farms

previously) were being employed in the mills as cheap labor

● Being employed at as young as 7 or 8, these children had no opportunity

for education

● These children were also

exposed to very unsafe

working conditions

Child Labor

Factory Conditions● Working conditions in the factories were appalling!

● Poorly lit● No fresh air● Unsafe equipment

● As a result, there were many injuries on the job

● There was no protection/compensation by the employer if the employee

was injured on the job

● Long work days

● What were some advantages of

interchangeable parts?

● What do you think craftspeople thought

of mass production?

● What problems did workers in factories

face?

● Why do you think people were willing to

work in such poor conditions?

Homework● Check Your Progress● p. 387● 1-5