The Industrial Revolution

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The Spinning Machine

Samuel Slater emigrated to America in 1789 from EnglandHe had memorized the plans for spinning machineryIn 1791he opened the first efficient American machinery for spinning cotton thread

The Cotton Gin

Demand for cotton was on the riseAcross 10 days in 1793, Eli Whitney built the cotton ginThis machine was 50 times more efficient than hand picking

The Spread of Industry

Factories rapidly spread throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, and PennsylvaniaThe South bound itself to cotton

New England: a Manufacturer’s

Paradise• The soil was rocky; farming was difficult

• A dense population meant labor and a large market

• Shipping and seaports made the importation of raw materials easy

• Rivers provided abundant power to run the machines

Flourishing Factories: Firearms

• Firearms were most prominent new industry

• Eli Whitney started mass production of muskets

• Up until then, muskets had to be assembled by hand

The Sewing Machine

• 1846-Elias Howe invented the Sewing Machine

• Perfected by Isaac Singer

• Became basis for ready-made clothe

• Drove many women to work in factories

The First World Fair

Showcased American inventions such as:

• Reaper• Telegraph• Firearms• Vulcanized Rubber Goods

Factory Labor

• Wages were low• Hours were long• Factories were unsanitary

• Law forbid the development of labor unions

Child Labor

• Many factory laborers were children under ten years

• There were special “whipping rooms” for discipline

• Many became blighted, starved, and stunted

Women in the Workplace

• 6 Day weeks• 12-13 Hour Days• Supervised on and off the job

• Lived in company boardinghouses

• Earned hardly anything

• Worked in gruesome conditions