Sectionalism & National Growth
Industrialization
of the Northeast
Factory
system expanded quickly after Embargo
Act and War of 1812 cut off competition from
England. Factors assisting expansion:
Water
power from streams and rivers
Capital accumulated by merchants and shipbuilders
Plentiful labor supply
Poor agricultural conditions
Lowell (or Waltham) system brought girls to factories
for a few years.
Sectionalism & National Growth
Industrial
Beginnings
Great
Britain was ahead of the US in
industrialization
Britain banned emigration of skilled mechanics
Samuel Slater, (pretending to be farm laborer)
came to US in 1789
Helped
design and build first cotton mill in US at
Pawtucket, RI in 1790.
Used Slater’s adaptation of spinning frame invented
by Englishman Richard Arkwright.
Industrialization
grew quickly – textiles & shoes
Sectionalism & National Growth
Industrial
Regions
Beginnings
Industrialized at different rates
New England where soil made agriculture profits
unlikely, industrialization occurred quickly
South where agriculture was mainstay of
economy, industrialization almost did not exist.
Sectionalism & National Growth
Industrial
Beginnings
Industrialization
was a gradual process
consisting of many components:
Subdivision
of tasks
Gathering of workers in large factories (not always)
High speed machines replaced skilled handwork
Industrialization
Farmers
changed lives.
moved to cities – no longer working outside
at their own pace
Regulated by clocks and bells instead of tasks and
the sun
Sectionalism & National Growth
Industrial
Beginnings
Changed lives outside of factory also
Cheaper
products available
Undermined skill of artisans
Encouraged specialization
Sectionalism & National Growth
Causes
of Industrialization
Embargo
Act of 1808
Era of Good Feelings saw agreement that US
needed tariffs
Once
protected NE rose from 4 million yards in 1817
to 323 million yards by 1840.
US
had river advantage
Transportation Revolution brought
manufacturers closer to markets in South and
West
Sectionalism & National Growth
Causes
GB
of Industrialization
ahead in developing technology relevant to
industrialization
GB had larger population and less land (people
would work for less)
US had higher wages for unskilled labor – spurred
research for labor saving technology
Americans copied GB designs
Francis Cabot Lowell went to GB and made
drawings, 1811
NO Guilds (craft organizations) to limit a workers
research
Sectionalism & National Growth
Causes
Eli
of Industrialization
Whitney in 1798 (after cotton gin) won
government contract to produce ten thousand
muskets by 1800.
Interchangeable parts
He missed his deadline but his idea caught on.
Sectionalism & National Growth
Textile
New
Towns in New England
England first industrial region
Trade wars prior to War of 1812 had devastated its
commercial economy and persuaded its wealthy
merchants to invest in manufacturing
Westward migration of many of New England’s
young men left surplus of young women for cheap
labor source
Sectionalism & National Growth
Textile
Towns in New England
Cotton
1813
Textiles
Boston Associates (Francis Cabot Lowell)
incorporated Boston Manufacturing Company.
10 x the capital of any previous American cotton mill
Quickly built mills in Waltham and Lowell
By 1836 controlled eight companies – more than six
thousand workers