The Industrial Revolution Section 1 362 -365

The Industrial Revolution Section 1 – 362 -365 • By the mid 1700 s 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 1 st I. R. = the rapid growth in the use of machines for manufacturing and production.

The 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 waterpowered mills to accommodate those machines.

The 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 1790 s. – His work set the standard that others would follow and soon textile mills began to sprout up all over New England.

Mass 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 Production • American manufacturing grew slowly in the early 1800 s 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 1830 s the I. R. was fully underway in the U. S. by the late 1830 s, 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 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 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 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 Section 2 – 366 -371 • During the early 1800 s 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 Revolution • By the 1840 s, 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 Revolution • Steam powered locomotives became popular in the U. S. in the 1830 s. – 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. 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. 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 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 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 1850 s, 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 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 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 Mc. Cormick was developing a mechanical reaper that could harvest wheat much quicker than swinging a scythe. – By 1850, Mc. Cormick’s Chicago-based steam-powered factory was mass producing reapers. – Mechanical reapers could harvest an acre of wheat in one hour.

Home Technology • Inventions that helped to make life at home easier also came about during the I. R. – In the early 1850 s, 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 Technology • By the 1830 s 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 1800 s 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 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 handcranked mechanical device that separated the seeds from the cotton. A slave could then process 10 x 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Power. Point was taken from “Call to Freedom” – Holt, 2005