Chapter 12 Section 1
The Industrial Revolution in
America
The Industrial
Revolution in America
• In the 1700’s Europe began to
change, more and more people
moved to the cities and there was a
need for machines so the Industrial
Revolution started
• Textile Industry
• First breakthrough industry
• 1769- Richard Arkwright invented a
spinning machine called a water frame
• Could produce dozens of cotton threads at
the same time
• Large mills started to pop up
The Industrial
Revolution in America
• New Machines
• New processes in business started and items
became more efficient to make which means
more profit
• Samuel Slater
• An British Mechanic snuck out of Britain and
came to the U.S. brining the memorized designs
of textile machines with him
• With a partner opened a textile mill in
Pawtucket, RI
• His wife invented a new thread for sewing and
he grew the industry
• Mills grew in the north due to money, and rivers,
agriculture grew in the south
The Industrial
Revolution in America
• 1789- Eli Whitney gave proposals for
mass-producing guns for war, this
could be applied to other areas
• He also started using
interchangeable parts
• Gave machines and ease of
manufacturing, since parts were the
same
• Even with these ideas manufacturing
didn’t take off right away.
The Industrial
Revolution in America
• Secretary of the Treasury Albert
Gallatin didn’t think people would
work in factories, they would rather
own their own piece of land.
• U.S. workers also wanted higher
wages compared to British workers
• Costs were less in Britain which hurt
U.S. competitiveness
• The ideas changed after the war of
1812.