Early Industry and Inventions 8.1

Industrial Revolution The first Industrial Revolution began in England in the late 18th century. An industrial revolution is when hand tools are replaced by factory machines, and farming is replaced by large-scale manufacturing. An example is the making of clothes.

Industrial Revolution Change from handmade to machine made goods. Industrial Revolution came to the U.S. late because of the following reasons: Land was cheap therefore most did not need to find factory work Labor was scarce Money for capital investment was not plentiful Raw materials were not discovered Few consumers Reliance on British factories Know-how – British were top secret about construction of factories U.S. was a land of farmers Industrial Revolution hit America in the mid 1800s because of the Embargo Act, the British blockade and the War of 1812

Spinning Jenny and Power Loom Before the Industrial Revolution, clothes were made at home. Afterwards, clothes were made by machines in factories. Often these machines were run by children.

Factory System The factory system had many workers under one roof working at machines. Many people left farms and moved to the city to work in factories. They wanted the money that factories paid. This change was not always for the better.

Old Slater Mill, Pawtucket, RI (1793), Samuel Slater

Samuel Slater “Father of the Industrial Revolution” Britain naturally wanted to maintain its monopoly on textile production and prohibited the exportation of machinery and the emigration of mechanics or engineers with knowledge of those machines. Slater recognized that his information had great value and left England in disguise for New York City in 1789. He later met Moses Brown, a prominent Quaker merchant in Rhode Island. With Brown providing the capital and Slater the carefully memorized specifications for the equipment, the two opened a small mechanized mill in Providence in 1790.

Factories Come to New England New England was a good place to have a factory. Factories needed water power, and New England had many fast-moving rivers.

What does an employer expect of their employees? Turn and Talk What does an employer expect of their employees?

What are the benefits of having a job? Turn and Talk What are the benefits of having a job?

Lowell, Massachusetts

Factory at Lowell

Lowell Factory Named after Francis Cabot Lowell, was a paternalistic textile factory system of the early 19th century that relied almost exclusively on young, unmarried women laborers and purported to increase efficiency, productivity and profits in ways different from other methods. Emphasis was placed on mechanization and standardization; the entire textile industry used this as a model, and machines using this system were sold to other mills.

The Lowell Mills Hire Women In 1813, Francis Cabot Lowell built a factory in eastern Massachusetts, near the Concord River. The factory spun cotton into yarn and wove the cotton into cloth. Something was different about this factory, they hired women. The “Lowell girls” lived in company-owned boardinghouses. The girls worked over 12 hours a day in deafening noise.

Lowell Activities

Song about Independence

The Lowell Girls Young women came to Lowell in spite of the noise. They came for the good wages: between two and four dollars a week. The girls usually only worked for a few years until they married.

Lowell Girls

Lowell Factory

Women and the Economy Many factories preferred to hire women because they could pay them less. Overall though, factory jobs were usual for women. The vast majority of working women were single. In the home women were enshrined in a “cult of domesticity,” a widespread cultural creed that glorified the customary functions of the homemaker. Arranged marriage died down; marriage because of love made family closer. Families grew smaller and more child-centered

New England Factories Poor soil, fast moving rivers, an abundance of labor, and deep harbors made New England an ideal place for factories during the Industrial Revolution.

Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

Workers and “Wage Slaves” Factory system created “wage slaves” Wages were low, hours were long, meals were skimpy, conditions were dangerous and unionization was next to impossible. Child labor common Factory owners held all the power. President Martin Van Buren established the ten-hour day for federal employees

Workers and “Wage Slaves”

Workers and “Wage Slaves”

Workers and “Wage Slaves”

Workers and “Wage Slaves”

Workers and “Wage Slaves”

Workers and “Wage Slaves”

Eli Whitney’s Mass Produced Interchangeable Parts Eli Whitney made one more important innovation. He invented interchangeable parts. The process involved standardization of parts of a machine so that they could easily be replaced. Whitney's innovation allowed him to win a contract for the production of muskets. It was the first step in the era of mass production

Eli Whitney’s Mass Produced Interchangeable Parts Lock parts for 1842 musket [SmithM1985, p 85]. Drawing by Steve Foutz

Interchangeable Parts The first use of interchangeable parts was created by inventor Eli Whitney. Before this time, guns were made one at a time. Each gun was different. If a part broke, a new part had to be created. Whitney created muskets with exactly the same parts, so any part would fit any gun. The use of interchangeable parts speeded up production, made repairs easier, and allowed the use of lower-paid, less skilled workers.

Eli Whitney Eli Whitney was the inventor of the cotton gin and a pioneer in the mass production of cotton. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States. Prior to his invention, farming cotton required hundreds of man- hours to separate the cottonseed from the raw cotton fibers.

The cotton gin Inventory Eli Whitney also invented the cotton gin. The gin took the seeds out of the cotton, which was much faster than doing it by hand. The cotton gin also greatly expanded the need for slaves.

Cotton Gin

Steamboat Robert Fulton designed a steam engine for a steamboat that could move against the current of a river or against the wind. The steamboat created more opportunities for trade and transportation on rivers.

The Telegraph The telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse. This machine sent sent long and short pulses of electricity along a wire. With the telegraph, it took only seconds to communicate with another city. The invention of the steamboat and telegraph brought the people of the nation closer to each other.

John Deere and the plow In 1836, John Deere invented a lightweight plow with a steel cutting edge. Deere’s plow made preparing the ground for planting much less work.

Cyrus McCormick and the reaper Cyrus McCormick invented a mechanical reaper, cut grain from the fields. This allowed farmers to plant much more seed because they could harvest it easier.

The Threshing Machine The threshing machine separated the kernels of wheat from the husks, which was a far faster way of getting wheat than picking it by hand. The threshing machine increased the growing of wheat.

Sewing Machine In 1846, Elias Howe of Spencer, Massachusetts, received a patent for his hand-cranked sewing machine. Isaac Singer patented one five years later. Howe sued Singer for infringement and won...but by that time Singer was well ahead in the sewing machine business.

New Technologies help nation grow With new farm equipment, Midwestern farmers grew food to feed Northeastern factory workers. Midwestern farmers became a market for Northeastern manufactured goods. The growth of the textile factories increased the demand for Southern cotton. This led to the expansion of slavery.