1. THE TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION / INDUSTRIALIZATION
Five innovations spurred industrialization:
Mass/production via division of labor
New machines / mechanization
Increase in manufacturing of iron
Development of steam power/engine
Electric telegraph

2. MASS PRODUCTION Mass production = making of many identical items
Depends on process of simple repetitive tasks
Which further depends on a division of labor = job specialization
Mass production = lower consumer costs, greater efficiency, and often high quality goods!!!
Example: Josiah Wedgwood’s pottery business in mid 18th century

3. NEW MACHINES & MECHANIZATION
High demand for cotton cloth makes it one of 1st industries to devise cheap mechanical methods
Starting in mid 18th century a series of inventions revolutionize textile industry
Spinning jenny (1764)
Water frame (1769)
Mule: a combo of above (1785)
Cotton gin (1793)

4. IRON INDUSTRY Cheap iron made mass production of many objects possible
In 18th century a series of inventions made it possible to produce a lot of iron cheaply
Coke: coal w/ impurities cooked out to replace charcoal
Puddling: process removes impurities in coke-iron by stirring molten
Interchangeable parts = identical parts

5. STEAM ENGINE / RAILROADS
Access to cheap & abundant energy (fossil fuels)
Steam engine: 1st to transform fossil fuel into mechanical energy
Thomas Newcomen 1st to develop steam engine ( )
James Watt improves steam engine & starts to manufacture it (1769)
Steam power = versatility in location of indus. & allows devlop. of steam boats & railroads
Richard Trevithick (1804) develops. 1st steam powered land vehicles
George Stephenson ( 1825) builds 1st successful locomotive = railroad mania

6. ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH
Volta invents battery (1800) = production of electric current
Electric telegraph = 1st practical electric device
2 systems of telegraphy invented in 1837
Cook’s 5 needle telegraph
Morse’s dot and dashes code
Railroads 1st to use telegraph communications
1840s-50’s telegraph mania!