Objectives
• Explain the changes that the Industrial
Revolution brought to American life.
• Discuss the importance of Samuel Slater’s
cotton mill.
• Describe the growth of industry in the United
States after 1812.
• Identify important developments in factories and
the problems that factory life caused.
Terms and People
• Industrial Revolution – a time period during
which machines gradually took the place of
many hand tools
• factory system – brought workers and
machinery together in one place
• capitalist – a person who invests capital, or
money, in a business to earn a profit
• Francis Cabot Lowell – an American who, with
other capitalists, built a factory where spinning
and weaving were done in the same building
Terms and People (continued)
• mass production – the rapid manufacture of
large numbers of identical objects
• interchangeable parts – identical pieces that
could be assembled quickly by unskilled workers
How did the new technology of the
Industrial Revolution change the
way Americans lived?
In early America, most people worked as
farmers and made the goods they needed
at home.
With the advent of the Industrial
Revolution, many people began working in
factories and buying manufactured goods.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, women spun
thread and wove cloth at home.
These processes
were very timeconsuming.
The Industrial Revolution began in the British
textile industry in the 1700s.
A series of innovations changed the way fabric was made.
In the 1760s,
the spinning
jenny sped up
the threadmaking
process.
In 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 textile mills
on the banks of
rivers.
There were
disadvantages to
building factories on
riverbanks:
• In a dry season, the
machines had no
power.
• Most factories were
far from cities, and
labor was hard to
find in rural areas.
In 1790, Arkwright built the first steam-powered
textile plant.
The steam-powered plant had advantages over
water-powered plants.
The steam
engine was a
reliable
source of
power.
Factories could
now be built in
cities, where
young women
and children
provided cheap
labor.
The new mills created a new way of working,
known as the factory system.
Instead of spinning at home as time permitted,
textile workers had to begin and end work at
specific hours at the factories.
Workers now had to keep up with the machines
instead of working at their own pace.
British mill owners
turned to capitalists
to get the money
they needed to build
spinning factories
and machines.
By 1784, British
workers were
producing 24 times
as much thread as
they had in 1765.
1765
1784
Britain forbade skilled workers to leave the
country in order to keep their technology a secret.
But in 1789, an apprentice in one Arkwright’s
factories did just that.
Samuel Slater memorized the
plans of Arkwright’s machines
and then sailed to New York.
Slater joined forces with a wealthy merchant,
Moses Brown, who had rented a textile mill in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
There, Slater built a spinning machine based on
his memory of Arkwright’s machines.
Slater’s successful mill marked the
beginning of American industrialization.
In the U.S., industrialization began in the
Northeast, where there were merchants who had
the capital to build factories.
But U.S. industry
did not grow
significantly
until the War of
1812, when
Americans could
no longer rely on
imported goods.
Before the 1800s, skilled craftsworkers
made goods by hand, and when a part broke,
they had to make a unique piece to fix the
product.
But American inventor Eli Whitney devised a
system of interchangeable parts in the 1790s.
This was one of the most important developments
in American industry, called mass production.
Manufacturing became more efficient, and
the prices of many goods dropped.
People bought more goods, and U.S. industry
expanded to satisfy their needs.
U.S.
Industry
Soon afterwards, in 1793 Eli Whitney, an American, gave
a further boost to the textile industry. Whitney invented
the cotton gin. The cotton gin was a machine that
speeded up the process of cleaning cotton fibers. The
machine took out the seeds from the cotton.
At dawn, 11-year-old Lucy Larcom woke to a
factory bell she quickly ate breakfast and hurried
to her job at a spinning mill. Years later she
described her experience:
“The buzzing and hissing and whizzing of the
pulleys and rollers and spindles and flyers around
me often grew tiresome …I could look across the
room and see the girls moving backward and
forward among the spinning frames, sometimes
stooping, sometimes reaching up in their arms, as
their work required.”
The Lowell Mills
Beginnings
• Before the War of 1812, Francis Cabot
Lowell saw the latest weaving machines
in England.
• Back in the U.S., Lowell built an improved
version of the English machines.
A New Kind
of Mill
• Lowell opened a mill in Waltham,
Massachusetts, where spinning and
weaving were done in the same building.
The Town of
Lowell
• After Lowell’s death in 1817, his partners
built more factories.
• They also built a new town to improve
the lives of their workers.
The new factories were staffed with “Lowell girls”
from nearby farms, who received an education
during their off-duty hours.
Unlike the Lowell girls, most factory workers had
to tolerate harsh conditions.
• American textile mills, coal mines, and
steel foundries hired children as young as
7 to work long hours in unsafe conditions.
• By 1880, more than a million children
between the ages of 10 and 15 worked
for pay.
Factory Conditions
Environment
• Conditions in factories were appalling.
• Factories were poorly lit with little fresh
air.
Injuries
• Many workers were injured by machines
not designed to protect them.
• Business owners provided no payments
to disabled workers.
Length of
Workdays
• Factory workdays lasted 12 or 14 hours.
• By 1844, workers were demanding
shorter days, but they did not get them
until many years later.
Section Review
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Objectives
• Identify the problems faced by Americans
moving westward.
• Describe the impact of the building of the Erie
Canal.
• Discuss the debate over slavery and the Missouri
Compromise.
Terms and People
• Daniel Boone – a famous early pioneer who
helped clear the Wilderness Road
• turnpike – a toll road
• corduroy road – a road made of sawed-off logs
laid side by side
• canal – a channel that is dug across land and
filled with water
• Henry Clay – a senator who persuaded
Congress to adopt the Missouri Compromise
How did Americans move west, and
how did this intensify the debate
over slavery?
New roads, turnpikes, and canals enabled
northerners and southerners to move west.
Westward expansion threatened to upset
the balance between free and slave states
and moved the nation closer to civil war.
During colonial
times, the
backcountry
between the
Atlantic Coast
and the
Appalachian
Mountains was
considered the
western frontier.
By the 1750s, the
Scotch-Irish and
the Germans of
Pennsylvania had
begun to settle the
backcountry.
In 1775, Daniel
Boone and others
cleared the Wilderness
Road, a new route to
the West.
The road crossed the
Appalachian Mountains
through the
Cumberland Gap into
Kentucky.
The Wilderness Road became the main route
across the Appalachians.
By the early 1800s,
western populations
swelled as
immigrants moved
west.
From 1792 to 1819,
eight states joined the
Union.
Traveling west was not easy, because settlers
used paths worn by animals as their roads.
These roads were unpaved, dotted with tree
stumps, and easily washed out by rain.
Some capitalists decided to build better
roads so commerce could flow more easily.
Private companies began to build turnpikes.
Travelers on these roads had to
pay a toll in order to pass.
¢
¢
¢
In marshy areas, wagons traveled on corduroy
roads, which were hazardous to horses.
In 1795, a private company in Pennsylvania built a
turnpike between Lancaster and Philadelphia.
The
Lancaster
Turnpike
was the
first longdistance
stone road
in the
United
States.
Traveling by road was slow, however, and people began
to think about building canals so they could ship goods
by water.
Work on the Erie
Canal, which
would connect
the Hudson River
and Lake Erie,
began in 1817.
Because the land in upstate New York is not level, locks
were built to raise or lower boats in the canal.
The workers that built the canal were mostly Irish
immigrants.
The Erie Canal was very successful.
• Within two years of its opening in 1825,
the Erie Canal had paid for itself.
• It sparked a surge of canal building.
• Because it was at the end of the canal,
New York soon became the richest city in
the United States.
Westward expansion
strengthened the
United States, but it
also caused
disagreements over the
extension of slavery.
In 1819, the United
States consisted of 11
“free states,” which
prohibited slavery, and 11
“slave states,” which
permitted slavery.
Free States
Slave States
However, Missouri had been
seeking admission to the United
States as a slave state since 1817.
Northerners did not want to add a
slave state to the United States.
It was important to maintain a balance
between representation of slave states and
free states in the Senate.
A solution to the problem
presented itself when
Maine, a state that
prohibited slavery, applied
for admission to the Union.
In 1820, Senator Henry Clay persuaded
Congress to adopt the Missouri
Compromise.
For the North
For the South
• Maine was
admitted as a free
state.
• Missouri was
admitted as a slave
state.
• The Louisiana
Territory north of
the southern
Missouri border
would be free.
• Southern slave
owners could
pursue escaped
slaves into free
states.
The compromise preserved the balance of
power between slave and free states.
The Missouri Compromise revealed how
much sectional rivalries divided the Union.
Southerners
were
unhappy that
Congress was
making laws
about
slavery.
Northerners
were angry
that Congress
had allowed
slavery to
expand into
another state.
In time, the issue of slavery would split the United
States.
Section Review
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Objectives
• Describe the feeling of national unity that
followed the War of 1812.
• Explain how Congress tried to strengthen the
national economy.
• Discuss how Supreme Court rulings supported
federal power and economic growth.
Terms and People
• Henry Clay – Kentucky Congressman who
favored federal action to improve the economy
• John C. Calhoun – South Carolina
Congressman who opposed high tariffs
• Daniel Webster – Massachusetts Congressman
who aligned with Clay and Calhoun
• charter – a legal document giving certain rights
to a person or company
Terms and People (continued)
• dumping – selling goods in another country
below market prices
• contract – an agreement between two or more
parties that can be enforced by law
• capitalism – the economic system in which
privately owned businesses compete in a free
market
• interstate commerce – trade between two or
more states
How was the power of the federal
government strengthened during the
Era of Good Feelings?
President Monroe’s term in office is known
as the “Era of Good Feelings.”
During this era, the President, Congress,
and the Supreme Court all acted to
increase federal authority.
Republican James Monroe won a landslide victory
in the 1816 presidential election.
The
Federalist
Party lost
power.
Within a few years, it disappeared completely.
• Monroe promoted
national unity.
President
Monroe’s two
terms in office
became known as
the “Era of Good
Feelings.”
• The old arguments
of the War of 1812
seemed to fade
away.
• He ran unopposed
for re-election in
1820.
After 1815, many
Americans
believed the
government should
take action to
improve the
economy.
Three influential
Congressmen
favored federal
action.
Clay spoke for
the West. He
argued for
better roads
and canals to
transport
goods.
Calhoun
spoke for the
South. He
opposed high
tariffs because
they raised
the price of
goods.
Webster
spoke for the
Northeast. He
supported
high tariffs as
a way of
protecting
industry.
In 1811, the charter of the first Bank of the
United States ran out.
The bank closed.
State banks
made too
many loans.
Spending
increased and
prices rose.
The economy
suffered.
The second Bank of the United States was created
in 1816. This boosted the economy.
Another problem the U.S. faced after the War of 1812
was foreign competition.
Before the War
After the War
The Embargo Act kept
British goods out of
the U.S.
British manufacturers
looked to sell their
goods in the U.S.
This helped American
industry grow rapidly.
This caused the
American economy to
suffer.
The British began dumping
their goods into the American
market.
Many New
England
businesses failed.
Britain produced
goods more
cheaply than did
the U.S.
Factory owners asked Congress for protection.
Congress responded with the Tariff of 1816, which
put a tax on many foreign products.
Tariffs helped
Northern factories
compete.
Many
Northerners
supported tariffs.
Tariffs forced
southerners to pay
more for goods.
Most Southerners
opposed high
tariffs.
By increasing the
cost of imported
goods, tariffs
helped U.S.
manufacturers
compete with
foreign
manufacturers.
But the higher prices hurt consumers.
Henry Clay argued that high tariffs would benefit
the entire country.
Region
Benefits of Tariffs
North
• Wealth for manufacturers
South
and
West
• Northern manufacturers could afford to
buy their farm products
• Government could use revenue to
improve infrastructure
Clay’s plan, called the American System, was
never fully put into practice.
The Supreme Court also promoted economic
growth and federal power during this era.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
The state of Maryland tried to tax its
branch of the federal Bank.
The court ruled that states had no
power to interfere with federal
institutions.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
The court ruled that the college’s
charter was a private contract.
The state of NH could not change
the college’s contract.
This ruling helped promote
capitalism.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
The court prevented New York State
from regulating travel on the Hudson
River.
The Hudson flows through two states.
Travel on the river is interstate
commerce.
Only Congress can regulate interstate
commerce.
After Gibbons v. Ogden, no state could grant a monopoly
to a steamboat company to use a river that divides two
states.
This ruling
strengthened
the power of the
federal
government.
Section Review
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Objectives
• Explain why Spain ceded Florida to the United
States.
• Describe how Spanish territories in the Americas
gained independence.
• Explain why the Monroe Doctrine was issued.
• Discuss how Canada became self-governing.
Terms and People
• cede – to give up
• Miguel Hidalgo – priest who organized an army
of Native Americans that freed several Mexican
provinces
• Simón Bolívar – leader in South America’s
struggle for independence from Spain
• James Monroe – President of the United States
from 1816 to 1824
Terms and People (continued)
• John Quincy Adams – Secretary of State
under President Monroe
• self-government – the right of people to rule
themselves independently
How did U.S. foreign affairs reflect a
new national confidence?
When members of Spanish and English
colonies began to rebel, European countries
ultimately failed to regain their power in the
region.
President James Monroe stated that the
United States firmly opposed European
influence in the Americas.
In the early
1800s, Spain
controlled a
vast amount
of territory
in the
Americas.
However,
Spain’s control
in Florida was
weak.
Fugitive slaves could easily cross from southern
plantations into Florida and join the Seminole
Nation.
Southern plantations
Fugitive
slaves
Together, they
would often raid
American
settlements.
Florida
Seminoles
In 1817, the U.S. sent Andrew Jackson to
recapture slaves that had escaped to Florida.
Jackson went beyond
his orders and seized
two Spanish towns.
Spain could not
protect Florida, so
it decided to give
up the territory.
Adams-Onís Treaty
(1819)
Spain ceded
Florida to the
United States.
Spain’s colonies in Latin America wanted
independence.
They were inspired
by the revolutions
in America and
France.
Mexico led the way in 1810.
Father Miguel
Hidalgo organized an
army that freed
several provinces.
Another revolution
broke out in 1820.
Spain could not end
the fighting.
Mexico became an independent monarchy in
1821, and by 1823 it became a federal republic.
In South America, Simón Bolívar led several
independence movements.
In 1819, he defeated
the Spanish in
Columbia.
He became president
of the Republic of
Great Columbia.
Today, this region
includes:
Venezuela
Columbia
Ecuador
Panama
Other colonies
followed. By
1825, most parts
of Latin America
had thrown off
European rule.
This led to the
creation of many
new Latin
American
countries.
The future of these new countries was soon
clouded.
France, Russia,
and others
indicated they
might help
Spain regain its
colonies.
The United
States wanted to
protect trade
with Latin
America.
Britain agreed with the U.S. and wanted to issue a joint
statement.
President James Monroe
and Secretary of State John
Quincy Adams did not
want the U.S. to look like
Britain’s junior partner.
President Monroe decided to
issue a statement.
President James
Monroe
In 1823, Monroe stated the Monroe Doctrine.
The Monroe Doctrine
The U.S. would not allow
European nations to create
American colonies or interfere
with Latin American nations.
At first, the United States relied on Britain’s navy
to enforce the Monroe Doctrine.
As U.S. power grew, the Monroe Doctrine boosted
U.S. influence in Latin America.
Americans were relieved that their southern
borders were secure from European powers.
Canada was also a British colony. In 1791, it was divided
into two parts.
Upper
Canada
Canada
Lower
Canada
In 1837, both parts rebelled
against British rule.
Britain ended the rebellions
and unified the two parts in
1841.
Canadians also received more powers of selfgovernment.
Tension between the U.S. and Canada was high
after the War of 1812.
The U.S. and
Britain settled
border disputes
with Canada
from 1818 to
1846.
Eventually, the
U.S. and Canada
established
excellent
relations.
Their relations remain strong to this day.
Section Review
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