“The Industrial Revolution”
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Focus Question: How did the new technology of
the Industrial Revolution change the way
Americans lived?
*Early 1700s – most people worked as farmers.
Men worked in fields to provide food for family,
women helped in fields and made goods like
candles and soap.
A Revolution in Technology
*Industrial Revolution = a change in the 1700s
when machines took the place of many hand tools.
The power that had been produced by people and
horses began to be replaced by flowing water and
then by steam engines.
*Industrial Revolution began in British clothmaking factories.
Machines and Factories
*1760s – the spinning jenny speeded up the
thread-making process. The jenny allowed a
person to spin many strands at once, although the
thread was still made by hand.
*1764 – Richard Arkwright invented the water
frame, a spinning machine powered by running
water rather than human energy.
*To house the large machines, manufacturers
built textiles mills on the banks of rivers. The new
mills created a factory system (brings workers and
machinery together in one place).
*Textile workers now had to go to factories and
work specific hours while keeping up with the
machines, instead of working at their own pace.
*British mill owners recognized the advantages of
the water frames and factory system, but the
system required a lot of money invested in the
buildings and machines. Mill owners asked
capitalists (people who invest capital, or money, in
a business to earn a profit) for help. Amount of
cloth produced from 1765 to 1784 increased by 24
times!
Steam Power
*Disadvantages of factories on riverbanks: when
rivers were dry, machines had no power; factories
were far from cities so labor was hard to find in
rural areas.
*1790 – Arkwright built the first steam-powered
textile plant. Factories no longer had to be built by
rivers. Young women and children from cities
provided cheap labor.
*Britain tried to keep their industrial successes
secret. Skilled workers were forbidden to leave
Britain. No one was allowed to take information
about the textile machinery out of Britain.
The American Industrial Revolution
*1789 – Samuel Slater (apprentice of Arkwright)
came to US. He memorized the plans of
Arkwright’s machines so he could rebuild them in
US and get rich.
*Slater joined with a wealthy merchant, Moses
Brown. Brown rented a textile mill and Slater
reproduced a spinning jenny like Arkwright’s and
produced cotton thread at a very fast rate.
American Industry Grows
*Industrialization in America began in the
Northeast with the success of Slater’s mill. This
region had merchants who had the capital to build
factories and buy raw materials.
*American industry grew significantly after the
War of 1812 when the US had to make its own
goods due to the British blockade.
The Lowell Mills
*Francis Cabot Lowell had seen the weaving
machines in Britain and built an improved version
upon returning to the US.
*With several capitalists, Lowell opened a mill in
Waltham, MA. It brought together spinning
thread and weaving in one building.
*After Lowell’s death, his partners built a new
town with boardinghouses for the workers, a
library, and a hospital. They called it Lowell.
Lowell Girls
*The new factories used young women from
nearby farms. After work, “Lowell girls” would
attend lectures or visit libraries. Many gained an
education and were strictly supervised.
The Revolution Takes Hold
*Mass production – rapid manufacturing of large
numbers of identical objects.
*Before 1800s, items were handcrafted by skilled
workers. When a part broke, a craftsworker had
to create a unique piece to fit the product.
*1790s – American Eli Whitney used a system of
interchangeable parts (identical pieces that could
be assembled quickly by unskilled workers).
*Manufacturing became more efficient and the
price of goods dropped. As people bought more
goods, US industry expanded to satisfy their
needs.
Factory Life
*Lowell mills treated factory workers in a new
and kinder way. This was not the norm. Slater
employed children in his mill and, as time went
on, working conditions got worse.
Child Labor
*1800s – children worked on family farms. Their
labor was needed to help feed the family. Textile
mills, coal mines, and steel foundries employed
children as young as 7 or 8. They had no chance
for education and worked in unsafe conditions.
*By 1880 – more than a million children aged 10
to 15 worked for pay.
Factory Conditions
*Factories were poorly lit and had little fresh air.
Many workers were injured from the machines.
Workers who lost limbs received no help (like
laws today require), but had to rely on the family
for support. Business owners provide no payment
for disabled workers.
*Workdays lasted 12 or 14 hours. By 1844,
workers were demanding shorter days but it
would not happen for a long time.
Review Questions
*How did the Industrial Revolution change the
way work was performed?
Ex. Machines took the place of hand tools.
*Why did Samuel Slater have to build his
machines from memory?
It was against British law to take technology out of
England, so he had to memorize the plans for
machines.
*How was the Lowell factory system different
from the European factory system?
Instead of obtaining thread from separate
spinning mills, Lowell’s brought together spinning
and weaving in one building.
*How did Eli Whitney’s system of interchangeable
parts speed up the manufacturing process?
Through mass production, American factories
made identical pieces that could be assembled by
unskilled workers; skilled workers were not
needed.