1. The First Industrial Revolution in the U.S.
How the War of 1812 & Technological Progress Change the Country

2. Technology Means Progress
Developments in technology begin to transform life in the U.S. in the early 1800’s.
Sets U.S. on a course of industrialization. What is industrialization?

3. a good transportation system Promotes industrialization
Hamilton wants the Federal Government to fund public works, which include connecting the country by building roads
Congress funds National Road from MD to Ohio River in First Road entirely funded by Federal Govt.
Many roads are turnpikes, chartered by the states
Most of these failed to make profit, lower transportation cost, or increase speed of travel
Western U.S. disconnected from eastern states

4. Steamboat Goes commercial
Major means of transporting goods in 1800’s: waterways
Robert Fulton’s steamboat, the Clermont, voyages up the Hudson River in August Major advance in transportation
Now easier to travel upstream
Speeds transportation up the Mississippi River & the Atlantic Ocean

5. Second Transportation Boom: Canals
Canals built mostly in Northeast
Canal Network goes from 100 m. (1816) to 3300 m. (1840)
Most Famous Canal: Erie Canal (“DeWitt’s Ditch”) from Albany to Buffalo, completed 1825
NYC becomes greatest commercial center in U.S.
Western farmers now connected to eastern markets
Canals lower costs of transporting goods

6. The Erie Canal The building of the canal Required hundreds of
workers, who labored under
difficult conditions, using
only hand tools. Many of
these workers were newly-
arrived immigrants.

7. Railroads most dramatic advance
Railroads begin to appear in U.S. in 1829
Railroads less costly to build than canals, are faster, and can carry more weight
Railroads put an end to canal building
By 1850, 31,000 m. of RR track, mostly in North & West

8. The first Railways First railroads in USA are drawn by horses
They are quickly replaced by steam power. First locomotive, the Tom Thumb, built for the B&O RR in 1830
First railroad track made of wood, connected to sleeper stones. Wooden cross-ties used later to stabilize track
In 1843, iron T-rails, used today created, making RR travel safe

9. New Developments in Technology Create 1st Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution changes, not only nation’s economy, but also culture, social life, & politics

10. Samuel Slater Opens 1st Textile Mill
Textiles always first to industrialize
British tried to prevent knowledge of textile machinery from leaving country
Samuel Slater defies law and opens water-powered mill that spins thread in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793
Uses Family System where entire families employed in mill
Andrew Jackson called Slater “Father of the American Industrial Revolution"

11. Francis Cabot Lowell
Lowell organizes company called the Boston Associates
Built first mill to complete all steps of textile production at Waltham MA
Employed young single girls recruited from local farms: “Lowell girls”
Lived in closely supervised boarding houses under strict rules

12. Factory Work Changes Lives
Not only changes speed & volume of production, but pace of work and type of labor
Reduced amount of skill & training involved
Unskilled workers paid less
Average wage: $.50 - $1 weekly
Newly arrived immigrants take jobs
Economic dislocation of skilled workers from Industrial Revolution creates resentment of immigrant workers

13. Introduced the idea of interchangeable parts in 1798
Eli Whitney
Invented Cotton Gin in 1794
Introduced the idea of interchangeable parts in 1798

14. Samuel Morse Invents Telegraph (1837)

15. Agriculture Still Strong
Agriculture still largest industry in U.S.
Cotton greatest cash crop in U.S. before Civil War
Midwestern farmers selling about two-thirds of their crops due to technology like the steel plow and the mechanical reaper

16. The Industrial and Transportation Revolutions create uneven progress
Most of the roads, canals, and railroads are built in the Northeast and Midwest
Most of U.S. industrial development takes place in the Northeast and Midwest
The South continues to rely primarily on water power.
The plantation system and capital investment in slaves discourages industrial development in the South