The First Industrial Revolution
1760-1820/1840
Historical Significance of the First
Industrial Revolution
• An ancient Greek or Roman would have been just
as comfortable in Europe in 1700 because daily
life was not much different – agriculture and
technology were not much changed in 2000+
years
• The Industrial Revolution changed human life
drastically
• More was created in the last 250+ years than in
the previous 2500+ years of known human
history
What was the First Industrial
Revolution?
• The Industrial Revolution was a fundamental
change in the way goods were produced, from
human labor to machines
• The more efficient means of production and
subsequent higher levels of production
triggered far-reaching changes to
industrialized societies
Industrial Revolutions
• Dates
• First Industrial Revolution
– 1760-1820/1840
• Second Industrial Revolution
– 1860’s-1910’s
Transportation
• Before the Industrial Revolution, people relied on
the horse and their own feet to get around.
• With the invention of the steam locomotive,
transportation took a huge step forward.
• The first two major railroad companies were the
Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads.
Passenger carriers
An original steam engine
Steam locomotive
Textiles
• With the invention of the spinning jenny and
the power loom, the textile industry took off.
• Clothes could now be made far faster than
ever before.
Textiles: Spinning wheel
• The spinning wheel
was the first
invention, but it was
very slow.
• Threads were spun
one at a time, by
hand.
The spinning jenny
• The spinning jenny
could spin up to eight
thread at time. The
spinning jenny was
much faster than the
spinning wheel.
The Spinning Mule
• The spinning mule used water power to spin
the thread, which was much faster than doing
it by hand.
• More cloth could now be made.
The Power Mule
The power loom
• The power loom used
water power to weave
cloth
• People could make a
lot of cloth quickly.
A cotton factory
Agriculture
• Advances in agriculture were also made.
• The invention of the seed drill allowed farmers to
plant many more seeds much more quickly.
• The reaper allowed farmers to harvest their crops
more efficiently.
• More crops could now be grown feeding an
increasing population.
The seed drill
The reaper
• The reaper was used
to cut down the
harvest. As you can
see, it would take a
long time to do it by
hand.
The mechanical reaper
The mechanical reaper was a lot
faster than doing the hand reaper
The Second Industrial Revolution
1860’s-1910’s
An Age of Invention
• From 1865 to 1905 the US had a surge of industrial
growth which became known as the Second
Industrial Revolution
• What is the importance of the date 1865?
• This new era began with numerous discoveries and
inventions that spurred growth in manufacturing,
transportation, and Americans everyday life
• As Coal spurred the initial industrial revolution, steel
and oil made the second industrial revolution
possible
• Steel was used in the construction of heavy
machinery that mass produced goods
Steel was used for…
•
•
•
•
Railroad tracks
Bridges
Building frames
Machinery
• ( the more steel was
produced the cheaper it
was to buy)
Steel
• With the invention of steel, buildings could be
made much taller.
• Steel was much harder than iron, which would
bend if made too tall.
• The steel industry created many new
products, and led to the invention of the car.
Smoke stacks of a factory
A melting plant
This led to…
• Stronger longer lasting
rails
• Stronger bridges
• Taller multi-story
buildings
• More Jobs
• people moving into
cities
Transportation
• Railroads- linked isolated areas to the rest of the
country
• Steel was so affordable it led to the railroads laying
more tracks
• {Prior to the Civil war railroads in the U.S. averaged
100 miles in length}
• The first transcontinental railroad was completed
in1869
• Completed by Central Pacific and Union Pacific
Railroad companies
Effects of better transportation
• First railroads provided many of the country’s
jobs
• Building locomotives and rail cars spurred on
the steel industry
• Better faster transportation out west
increased western settlement
• Towns sprang up around railroad stations
• Companies could now sell products nationally
The Car
• Also known as the Horseless Carriage
• {Innovations in Oil led to motors and the car}
• Combustion engine powered by gas was
invented in 1876
• Use of car was limited due to high cost
Airplanes
Flight
• The internal combustion engine also led to
advancements in flight
• Orville and Wilbur Wright developed one of
the first working airplanes
• Dec. 17, 1903 near {Kitty Hawk North Carolina,
Orville made the first piloted flight}
• It lasted 12 seconds and went 120 feet, in a
powered plane
Telegraph and Telephone
• Telegraph invented by Samuel Morse 1837
• Telegraph grew with the railroad and offices were
located in train stations and strung wires along the
railroad lines
• Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 patented the
telephone
• Created jobs for women needed as operators
• Bell Telephone became one of the longest lasting
monopolies
Andrew Carnegie
• Andrew Carnegie
became a millionaire
in the steel business
by putting all his
competitors out of
business.
• He created U.S. Steel
in Pittsburg.
John D. Rockefeller
• John D. Rockefeller
became the richest man in
the world in the oil
business.
• He created Standard Oil
Company.
• Oil began being used in all
types of machines, like
cars.
Henry Ford
• Henry Ford invented
the first practical car,
the Model T.
• The car had been
invented earlier, but
Ford was the first to
make the car
affordable.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, child
labor was used throughout the world, particularly in
industrializing countries.
Child labor there was primarily used in the textile industry.
Factory Conditions for Children in the U.S. in
the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
• Factory owners preferred using children for some tasks because of
their small size.
• It was more profitable for factory owners to employ children than
skilled adults.
• Lack of sleep and an averaged eighteen-hour work day in the U.S.
contributed to mistakes and injuries.
• Some children in the U.S. were mentally and physically abused by
their supervisors, and their safety was neglected by factory owners
who cared more about profit than well-being.
USA
1793 1830 1832 1837 1843 1892 1904 1916 1937
In the U.S., in 1830, 55 % of mill
workers in Rhode Island
were children.
http://cache.virtualtourist.com/1778376-mill_town_on_the_river-Lowell.jpg
The Lowell mills employed mostly young women with an average age of fifteen to eighteen.
2014
USA
1793 1830 1832 1837 1843 1892 1904 1916 1937
In the U.S., people started to
question child labor, but laws
were not established until
much later.
4.bp.blogspot.com/.../ Child+Labor+Coal+Mines.jpg
2014
USA
1793 1830 1832 1837 1843 1892 1904 1916 1937
In the U.S., the first state child
labor law was established in
Massachusetts.
Photographed by Lewis Hine:
http://www.archives.gov/press/press-kits/picturing-the-century-photos/sweeper-anddoffer-in-cotton-mill.jpg
Children in Massachusetts under the age of fifteen had to attend school for three months.
2014
USA
1793 1830 1832 1837 1843 1892 1904 1916 1937
In the U.S., states began
limiting children to a tenhour workday. . .
. . . but the laws were not always
enforced!
2014
USA
1793 1830 1832 1837 1843 1892 1904 1916 1937
In the U.S. the National Labor
Law Committee forms, and
child labor law reform
begins.
Photographed by Lewis Hine:
www.ymca.org.au/ about/Pages/History.aspx
Child working as a spinner.
2014
USA
1793 1830 1832 1837 1843 1892 1904 1916 1937
2014
In the U.S., a new federal
child labor law sets a
minimum age for
employment . . .
Photograph by Lewis Hine:
online-history.org/ Wc2.htm
Child Labor in the Industrial Revolution
During the Industrial Revolution, families
needed each member to contribute
financially. This even included children due to
the high demand for labor. However, children
were mistreated, overworked, and accrued
minimal wages for their work.
Facts:
• Children as young as six years old worked for little or
no pay
• Children were subject to working long hours in
factories with terrible working conditions
• American children worked in large numbers in mines,
glass factories, textiles, agriculture, canneries, home
industries, and as newsboys, messengers,
bootblacks, and peddlers.
• Children who lived in rural areas not only
worked on their family farm, but were also
hired by other farmers
• In 1890, 1.5 million children under the age of
15 were working in industrial jobs and in 1910,
it reached to 2 million children
• Children developed serious health problems
such as being underweight, curvature of the
spine, and tuberculosis
• In 1836, the first state child labor law was
created by Massachusetts, which required
children under the age of 15 that worked in
factories to attend school at least 3 months
out of the year
• 1938 Federal regulation of child labor was
achieved in Fair Labor Standards Act
• For the first time, minimum ages of
employment and hours of work for children
are regulated by federal law
• In 1904, the National Child Labor Committee
was formed by socially concerned citizens and
politicians
• The National Child Labor Committee was
chartered by Congress by 1907
Historical Significance:
• The child labor of the Industrial Revolution is
historically significant to us because if people
of America did not recognize and reform
against child labor, we would not be able to go
to school. We would probably have to work to
contribute financially and economically for our
family. In addition, children would have to
work in conditions that would be unsuitable
and be paid little for their hard work.
Monopolies
With only one provider of a good or service
consumers would have to pay top dollar for
the item they needed and most of the time it
was a poor quality item. (Standard Oil)
The Definition
• a persistent market situation where there is
only one provider of a product or service.
• Monopolies are characterized by a lack of
economic competition for the good or service
that they provide and a lack of viable
substitute goods.
Modern Monopoly: AT&T
• The largest provider of both local and long distance
telephone services, wireless service under the brand
Cingular Wireless, and DSL Internet access in the
United States.
• Although the corporation is considered SBC
renamed, most of its major subsidiaries were part of
AT&T.
• AT&T lacks the control it once had, which had been
the reason for the anti-trust suits that led to the
1984 breakup.
Labor Unions
• The rise of Labor Unions was a reaction to the
employers exploiting workers, which allowed
employees to demand fair treatment.
Immigration
• People came to the United States for:
– Fertile land
– Job and Economic opportunities
– Religious and Political freedom
– Freedom from rising taxes
• Immigrants came from Europe as well as Asia.
Irish Immigrants
• Potato Famine –
Ireland 1845–1849
• American Republican
Party 1843 – Know
Nothing Movement
• Restrictions against
Catholics
Today
• More diversity within
the United States.
• Inventions and ideas
that came from
immigrants.
• Carnegie – libraries
and schools
Environmental Issues of the Industrial
Revolution
The Industrial Revolution influenced many
factors to the increase of our economy but
also devastated the growth of our
environment creating a world-wide crisis to
the future of our society
Pollution
• For traditional families
it became harder
because it eventually
led outside of the
usual home.
• Pollution,
deforestation, and the
destruction of animal
and plant habitats
continued to increase
The Use of Mechanics
 The burning of fossil
fuels such as coal, oil,
and natural gases has
added to the excessive
amount of carbon
dioxide and other
gases in the
atmosphere.
Climate
• Many gases, especially
Carbon Dioxide, have
slowly been increasing
since the 18th century
thus contributing to what
scientists like to call the
“greenhouse effect”;
which is slowly raising the
average temperature of
the Earth.
Deforestation
One Result of the Industrial
Revolution
• Thanks to the chemical
fall-outs caused by the
industrial activities, the
Maine Department of
Environmental Protection
says that it is no longer
safe for pregnant women
and children to eat any
freshwater fish from any
of Maine’s many lakes.
Situation of cities and countryside prior and
during the Industrial Revolution.
Situation of cities and countryside prior and
during the Industrial Revolution
• The abolition of slavery
forced plantation owners to
pay for labor.
• Rich plantation owners saw
more profit in the
developing industry than in
agriculture.
• More workers are needed in
the cities to operate the
new machines.
• People in the countryside
were competing for few
jobs.
• People started to view cities
as a place to start over and
improve their situation.
• New ideas about city
designing. Utopia.
Effects of the industrial revolution on the urban
development
• Great numbers of people started to move from the U.S.
countryside toward the cities.
• The cities not adequated for such great numbers of people
were unable to provide basic human needs such as running
water, proper sewage and effective trash disposal system.
• New ideas on city design started to appear
• Architects starting applying some of this new ideas in the
currently exicting cities.
• Some bold architects toyed with the idea of creating cities
from scratch using this new ideas
The End