Industrial Growth in the North

13.1 The Industrial Revolution and America

The Industrial Revolution and America• Early 1700’s people farmed and made

what they needed at home-by hand• People in England being to use machines-

it also catches on in the U.S.• INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

– Period of rapid growth in machinery and production

• TEXTILES– Cloth items

• Spinning wheels were first powered by hand, then water.

Slater and His Secrets• He was a skilled British mechanic

who knew how to build machines• England didn’t want to le the

secrets of their machines out of the country

• Slater brought the secrets in his mind, his wife invented the cotton thread

• Textile mills sprang up all over New England because of the number of rivers

• The south stayed with agriculture

A Manufacturing Breakthrough

• ELI WHITNEY– Came up with the idea of

INTERCHANGABLE PARTS– Parts could be easily

assembled and replaced

• His method helps the gun industry

Manufacturing Breakthrough

• MASS PRODUCTION– Making large numbers of goods that are exactly alike– Leads to 1000’s of inexpensive items for the

consumer

• U/S. still takes a long time to get their manufacturing going

• England can still do it cheaper• We realize after War of 1812 that we needed to

stop relying on foreign goods so much.• We start to build factories

Industrial Growth in America

13.2 Changes in Working Life

Factory Families• Entire families would work

in the mills

• Cheaper this way

• Few people complained because children already worked on the farms

• Children worked for very low wages

• One week was equal to one adult day!

The Lowell System• Lowell hired young women

instead of families to work in his factories

• Lowell also provided rooms and board for the girls

• Girls…• Earned between $2 and $4 per week• were encouraged to study and take

classes• Worked 12-14 hour days, 6 days a

week, under controlled conditions

• The work was dangerous and the rooms were filled with cotton dust

Workers Organize

• Competition grew for jobs as immigrants move in and are willing to work for less

• Many immigrants move to the north to find work instead of the south

• TRADE UNIONS– Skilled workers joined together over concerns

about low pay, long hours and unemployment

• Many factories refuse to hire union workers.

Workers Organize• STRIKES

• Staged protests were held to improve conditions

• Courts and the police usually did not care for strikers

• Some fight for a 10 hour workday, but many factories ignore the plea

Industrial Growth in America

13.4 More Technological Advances

Messages by Wire

• SAMUEL MORSE– Invented the telegraph and

MORSE CODE

• The Telegraph…..– could send information over

wires across great distances– sends pulses of electricity

through a wire with sounds controlled by a bar or telegraph key

– grew wit the railroads and lines were strung next to the rails.

New Factories

• Steam power starts to replace water power• Factories could be built anywhere• New England had as many factories as the

entire south• Cities become centers of industrial growth as

factories are built close y• Inventors improve existing machines• Interchangeable parts and mass production are

common

Better Farm Equipment

• JOHN DEERE– Blacksmith who

designed the first successful steel plow

– Sold 1,000 per year

Better Farm Equipment• CYRUS MCCORMICK

– Developed a harvesting machine called the “reaper”– Also developed steam engines to run other machines

such as saws.

Better Farm Equipment

• Midwestern farmers could now plant and harvest huge fields fast and cheap

• 1830– To harvest one acre by hand took 20 hours– With machines it took 1 hour

• The U.S. is now a strong country in corn and wheat production

Changing Life at Home

• ISSAC SINGER– Made improvements to the sewing machine to

make it easy to use

• Fancy sewing machine became a sign of wealth

Changing Life at Home• Iceboxes were invented to keep food

cold• Iron cook stoves replaces open stoves• Clocks were mass produced so every

house could have one• More products were sold on credit,

allowing people to buy expensive items• Many cities built public water systems,

some people even has water in their homes

• Matches and safety pins were also invented.