Chapter 12 Section 1

 In the early 1800’s, new technology and the growth of industry began to change the way Americans lived. The “mill girls” were among the first to experience these changes. They left their homes to work in the booming mills of Massachusetts.

 In 1789, Samuel Slater came to the United States knowing how to build the spinning jenny. Then he helped build the United States first spinning mill. (Slater’s Spinning Mill)  This began America’s Industrial Revolution.  Industrial Revolution- the shift of production from hand tools to machines from homes to factories.

 Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793 Led to increased production of cotton that mills needed. -Whitney’s cotton engine, known as “gin”, cleaned 50 times as much cotton in a day than a worker could by hand.

 Before the cotton gin, slaves picked out seeds out of raw cotton. It was slow work, planters said that they could not make a profit growing cotton.  With the invention of the cotton gin, cotton became a profitable cash crop. Southern farmers moved westward, looking for new lands to plant in cotton. Slavery became an important part of the new “cotton kingdom”.

 Other technological changes spurred the industrial growth. In the late 1790’s Eli Whitney pioneered mass production.  Mass production- using machines to make goods faster and cheaper than could be made by hand.  Francis Cabot Lowell opened the first mill that did both spinning and weaving, called the cotton mill.

 The federal government helped American business grow. Congress created a new national bank which gave out loans to businesses and passed a protective tariff which encouraged consumers to buy American goods.  Protective tariff- a tax placed on imported goods