The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution Section 1 – 362-365

• By the mid 1700s the way that goods were produced in Great Britain began to change.– People wanted manufactured goods b/c:

• They were cheaper.• They were easier and quicker to get.

– Machines replaced many artisans b/c they worked faster and for longer periods of time.

• Because of the increased demand for goods the First Industrial Revolution was born.

– The 1st I.R. = the rapid growth in the use of machines for manufacturing and production.

The Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution• Textile manufacturing was the first product to be

affected by the I.R.– Two British inventions used to increase textile

production were:• Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame = both

were used to increase thread production.– The water frame became the primary method of

textile production.» It required a power source, so merchants

built water-powered mills to accommodate those machines.

The Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution

• The British Parliament made it illegal for skilled mill mechanics or mill building plans to leave Great Britain.– They wanted to keep G.B. ahead of other countries

in the I.R.– Samuel Slater – mill mechanic, disguised himself

as a farmer and sailed for America in 1789. • He had memorized the designs for textile mill

machines and built his first spinning mill in Pawtucket R.I. in the early 1790s.

– His work set the standard that others would follow and soon textile mills began to sprout up all over New England.

Mass ProductionMass Production• In 1798 Eli Whitney created a new form of mass

production using interchangeable parts.– With interchangeable parts, each part of a product is

produced exactly the same so that a product can be built quicker.

– This method of production would be used to mass produce firearms, thus making them cheaper and more readily available.

Mass ProductionMass Production• American manufacturing grew slowly in the early 1800s

until:– The Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812.

• These events prevented Americans from buying British goods.

– American manufacturing then began to greatly expand in response to the increased need for domestic goods.

– By the 1830s the I.R. was fully underway in the U.S. by the late 1830s, and the U.S.’ dependence on foreign good diminished.

• As the I.R. progressed, many mills were built or converted to steam power. – The need to have mills located by swiftly moving

rivers was no longer necessary.

Factory WorkersFactory Workers• Two “systems” developed in mass production/mills.

– Rhode Island system: Samuel Slater’s approach in hiring entire families (including children) to work in the mill. Everyone would be assigned particular tasks and the mill’s costs could be kept low.

– Lowell system: • Francis Cabot Lowell created a mill that created

thread and wove it into cloth all under one roof. Slater’s mills only created thread.

• Many young, unmarried women worked in Lowell’s New England mills = Lowell Girls.

Factory WorkersFactory Workers• Lowell mill work schedule • Lowell Girls “Offering”

– A collection of poems, short stories, informative essays and other writings produced by the Lowell Mill’s female employees.

Factory WorkersFactory Workers• As factories became more common, so did:

– Accidents b/c of dangerous machinery.– Longer work days.– Artisans and skilled workers having to compete with

factory production = longer work days.• Artisans and skilled workers began forming trade

unions = organizations with members of a particular trade.

– The purpose of the unions was to improve working conditions, increase wages, and decrease hours.

– When employers didn’t meet the unions demands, the union members would go on strike = a group of employees that refuses to work.

The Transportation Revolution The Transportation Revolution Section 2 – 366-371

• During the early 1800s the U.S. experienced a period of rapid growth and improvements in transportation = Transportation Revolution.– New inventions and the use of steam as a

power source helped to create and continue the T.R.• Water travel was the first method of

transportation to be affected by new technology.

– In 1807, Robert Fulton successfully navigated his steamboat the Clermont up the Hudson River.

The Transportation RevolutionThe Transportation Revolution

• By the 1840s, more than 500 steamboats were navigating the Mississippi River– They were flat-bottomed, shallow draft boats

that were propelled by one or more large paddle wheels.

– A trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans took two weeks as opposed to the usual five weeks on a conventional sailing vessel.

The Transportation RevolutionThe Transportation Revolution

• Steam powered locomotives became popular in the U.S. in the 1830s. – American inventor, Peter Cooper designed and built

one of the earliest locomotives = Tom Thumb.

• By 1840 there was 2,800 miles of track .• By 1860 = 30,000 miles

Gibbons v. OgdenGibbons v. Ogden• Steamboats were quickly outfitted to carry

manufactured goods as well as being used for human transportation.– The growth of this shipping industry led to the first

Supreme Court ruling in interstate commerce (business and trade between states).• Thomas Gibbons held a federal license to operate

his steamboats between NJ and NY.– He didn’t have a license to travel in NY waters.

• Aaron Ogden had a NY state license and therefore had a monopoly on transportation in NY waters.

– Ogden sued Gibbons for infringing on his business territory.

» Ogden won and Gibbons appealed the case which eventually went to the Supreme Court.

Gibbons v. OgdenGibbons v. Ogden

• The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons b/c they said he had the right to operate in NY b/c his business crossed state lines. – The Court explained that federal law overruled

state law b/c the Constitution gave only Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.• Therefore, Gibbons’ federal license had

priority over Ogden’s state license.

Communication by WireCommunication by Wire• Because of the industrial and transportation

revolutions, there needed to be a faster way to communicate.– In 1832 Samuel Morse invented the telegraph, and

the code that is known as Morse Code.• A telegraph operator would tap a key that would

complete an electrical circuit. – The taps represented a series of dots and

dashes that coincided with letters and numbers.

– An operator on the other end of the line would write the dot/dash code down on paper and then translate it into understandable language.

Communication by WireCommunication by Wire• In 1844 Morse sent the first long distance message

over wire.– The first message : “What hath God wrought?” was

sent from the Capitol in Washington DC to Baltimore MD, a distance of about 40 miles.

• By the 1850s, telegraph companies had strung thousands of miles of telegraph wire along rail lines.– Info. for the government, newspapers, businesses,

and private citizens was sent over those wires.• In 1861 the first transcontinental line was completed.

Agricultural ImprovementsAgricultural Improvements• As industry, transportation, and communication grew,

people moved further west and began to settle and farm the land they settled on.– The thick rich soil of the Midwest was difficult to

plow with the iron-bladed plows of that time.• In 1837 John Deere a blacksmith, created a new

steel plow. – The design and hardness of the steel helped

Deere’s plow to be an immediate success.» By 1846 John Deere was selling 1,000

plows a year.

Agricultural ImprovementsAgricultural Improvements• In 1830 it took 20 hours to harvest an acre of wheat.• While John Deere was hard at work creating

implements that broke the soil, Cyrus McCormick was developing a mechanical reaper that could harvest wheat much quicker than swinging a scythe. – By 1850, McCormick’s Chicago-based steam-

powered factory was mass producing reapers.– Mechanical reapers could harvest an acre of wheat

in one hour.

Home TechnologyHome Technology• Inventions that helped to make life at home easier

also came about during the I.R.– In the early 1850s, Isaac Singer improved on an

early mechanical sewing machine and created the predecessor to the sewing machine of today.• Sewing machines became a symbol of wealth.• Many women purchased sewing machines so

that they could make a living by sewing clothing.

Home TechnologyHome Technology• By the 1830s the first forms of refrigeration became

available.– Iceboxes are the predecessor to the modern

refrigerator.• An insulated wooden box would hold a large block

of ice in one section and food in the other sections.

• Also available in the 1800s was the indoor water pump.– Now the kitchen sink could have a fresh water

source piped directly to it instead of having to go outside with pails to get water at an outdoor pump.

Southern Agriculture Southern Agriculture Section 3 – 372-376

• Southern agriculture originally consisted of three major products:– Tobacco, Rice, and Indigo

• Starting around 1790, cotton also became one of the South’s cash crops.– As the demand for cotton increased, so did the

demand for slave labor.• Unfortunately separating the cotton from its

sticky seeds was difficult. A slave could only process about a pound of cotton each day.

– In 1793 Eli Whitney developed the Cotton Gin = a hand-cranked mechanical device that separated the seeds from the cotton. A slave could then process 10x as much cotton each day

– By 1820 cotton had transformed southern agriculture, and the southern economy boomed because of northern and European demand.

The Cotton BoomThe Cotton Boom• Whitney’s cotton gin caused farmers to search

for more land to grow cotton instead of other traditional Southern crops. – These farmers settled in an area of the U.S. that is

known as the Cotton Belt. • South Carolina to East Texas

The Cotton BoomThe Cotton Boom• Throughout the South there was a drive to

improve crop production through scientific agriculture. – If crops, such as cotton are planted year after

year in the same area, the crops tend to deplete the soil of nutrients. • In response, scientists encouraged farmers

to rotate their crops so that the soil in a particular field would have a chance to renew its nutrients.

The Cotton BoomThe Cotton Boom• As the agricultural industry began to boom, the

South became a global trading power. – To meet the demand, southern farmers

revived the faltering slave trade, and slavery flourished.

– Port cities such as Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans grew to meet the overseas demand for Southern U.S. agricultural products.

The Cotton BoomThe Cotton Boom• As agriculture and cotton dominated the South’s

economy, industry grew at a very slow rate. – Lumber mills and iron works were able to

flourish b/c of a need for building materials and iron implements.• By 1860, the Tredegar Iron Works in

Richmond, VA was a factory that became one of the largest producers of iron products.

Southern SocietySouthern Society• Only about 10% of Southern families lived on

plantations and had 20+ slaves. Even still they:– Served as political leaders and had a huge amount

of economic power. • The husband on a plantation was known as the

planter and focused on raising and selling crops.• The wife managed the household, oversaw the

children’s education and oversaw the household slaves.

• These marriages were often arranged for business or political reasons.

Southern SocietySouthern Society• Most white southerners owned small farms and were

called yeomen farmers.– They worked long days and tended to every aspect

of the farm and home. They didn’t have slaves. • Some white people were very poor and survived by

hunting, fishing, and living off the land. They didn’t own property that was suitable for farming.

Slaves and Work Slaves and Work Section 4 – 377-381

• On small farms, slaves worked at many different tasks.• On plantations, slaves usually worked on one specific

task.– An overseer was a white person who oversaw the

slaves’ day-to-day activities and carried out punishments.

– A slave foreman was usually a slave that was given some authority to control slaves and worked with the overseer.

– On most plantations, owners used the gang labor system = all slaves worked on the same task at the same time.• This work went from sunup to sundown,

regardless of weather or sickness.

Slaves and WorkSlaves and Work• Generally men, women, and children over the age of

10 did the same work. – In addition to field and farm work, some slaves

worked as:• butlers, cooks, nurses, carpenters, and

blacksmiths– Some plantation owners allowed their slaves to

hire out their services during the very limited amount of free time that they had. • Some slaves earned enough money to buy

freedom for themselves and the family.

Slave CultureSlave Culture• Slaves had very difficult lives, still they tried to

preserve the most important part of the existence which was the families. – Sometimes families would be separated during an

auction, but often times they would remain intact.

Slave CultureSlave Culture• Slave passed down family histories as well as

African customs and traditions by telling folktales.– These folktales often taught a moral and

lessons about how to live under slavery. • Folktales often had animal characters that

would outsmart slave owners.

Slave CultureSlave Culture• Religion played an important part in slave culture.

– Many believed that according to the Bible God would eventually deliver them from slavery as he had the Jews from Egypt.

– Slaves sang spirituals as a way of expressing their religious beliefs. • Spirituals are songs of sorrow that blend

African and European traditions.

Challenging SlaveryChallenging Slavery• Slaves rebelled against the slave system on a daily basis by

doing things such as:– Working slowly– Running Away

• Harriet Tubman and the Underground R.R.– Intentionally breaking equipment– Feigning illness– Violent rebellions

• Nat Turner’s Rebellion– In 1831, escaped slave Nat Turner led a violent

uprising in which 60 white people and 100 slaves were killed.

» Turner was captured and executed later that year.

• Despite rebelling, slavery continued to grow in the American South

Chapter 12

• All information for this PowerPoint was taken from “Call to Freedom” – Holt, 2005