Chapter 13
Industrial Growth in the North
(1790 - 1860)
Chapter 13
Industrial Growth in the North
(1790 - 1860)
Section 1
The Industrial Revolution and
America
The Industrial Revolution
Period of rapid growth in the use of
machines in manufacturing and
production
In the early 1700s, most people in Europe
and the United States were farmers
First industry to fully mechanize – textiles
Richard Arkwright patented the water
frame (ran on water power)
The speed of cloth making increased when
workers could produce dozens of threads
at the same time, using the water frame
Samuel Slater
Before he came to America, he was a
skilled mechanic in Britain
Immigrated to U.S. from Britain bringing
with him knowledge of how to build
machines even though Parliament had
passed a law making it illegal to leave
the country with mill machines or plans
The first successful textile mill in the
United States was established in 1790
at Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Built by Slater, Smith Brown, and William
Almy
Samuel Slater (continued)
 American businesspeople began building
more textile mills after observing the
successful partnership between Slater,
Brown, and Almy
Eli Whitney’s Manufacturing
Breakthrough
Contributed concepts of mass
production and interchangeable parts to
American industry
Workers could more easily assemble
products and replace defective parts if
the products had interchangeable parts
War of 1812 and Manufacturing
Before the War of 1812, Americans were
reluctant to build new factories and
machinery because British
manufacturers could produce large
amounts of goods and charge lower
prices
During the war, many began to realize
they relied too much on foreign goods
Chapter 13
Industrial Growth in the North
(1790 - 1860)
Section 2
Changes in Working Life
Rhode Island System
Used in the Pawtucket mill by Samuel
Slater
Entire families provided labor and were
hired to move to the mill towns and
work in the mills
The Lowell System
 Hired young unmarried women from local
farms instead of families (Lowell girls)
 The first textile mill using the Lowell system
was built in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1814
 Success led to bigger mill in town later named
Lowell
 Young women for across New England went to
work in the Lowell mills
 The typical female employee in the Lowell
mills stayed for about 4 years
 The Lowell Offering wrote about the lives of
mill workers
Workers Organize
Craftspeople (made goods by hand) felt
threatened by the spread of factories
The spread of factories resulted in
lower salaries for workers hired by
shop owners
Increased competition for factory jobs
in the 1840s was the result of the Panic
of 1837 and a wave of immigration
Factory workers formed unions
Most employers against – would not hire
union member
Workers Organize (continued)
To convince business owners to listen
to them, workers sometimes staged
strikes, refusing to work until
employers met union demands
Early strikes by union members were
not very successful because judges
and police usually supported
companies against striking union
members
Labor Reform Efforts
 Van Buren (1840) granted 10 hour work day
to many federal employees
 At the same time that government employees
worked 10-hour days, most private
employees put in 12-14 hours, six days a
week
 Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and others passed 10 hour
work day laws
 Company officials in the U.S. avoided laws
requiring a 10 hour workday by requiring
workers to sign special contracts with longer
hours
The first successful textile mill in the
United States was established in
a. the early 1790s at Pawtucket, Rhode
Island.
b. 1769 by Richard Arkwright.
c. Waltham, Massachusetts, by Francis
Cabot Lowell.
d. Lowell, Massachusetts, by Samuel
Slater.
Parliament passed laws making it illegal to
a. sell cloth to foreign countries.
b. run factories using the Rhode Island
system.
c. use interchangeable parts in gun
manufacture.
d. leave the country with mill machines or
plans.
The practice of hiring entire families to
work in factories became known as
a. the Rhode Island system.
b. mass production.
c. the Lowell system.
d. Fulton’s Folly.
To convince business owners to listen to them,
workers sometimes staged strikes,
a. voting for candidates who agreed with
them.
b. destroying machines and equipment,
thus disabling the factory.
c. refusing to work until employers met
union demands.
d. working for other companies until the
original employer raised salaries.
Early strikes by union members were not
very successful because
a. no skilled workers belonged to labor
unions until the 1870s.
b. most union members were satisfied
with working conditions.
c. the courts and police usually
supported companies against
striking union members.
d. factory owners usually gave in to
demands before a strike could take
place.
By making workers sign special contracts to
work longer hours, company officials in the
United States
a. produced more textiles than any other
nation in the world.
b. were able to open more factories that
doubled work opportunities for people in
New England.
c. avoided labor laws regarding the length
of the workday.
d. were able to pay workers higher salaries
while saving on production costs.
Workers could more easily assemble
products and replace defective parts if
the products
a. had interchangeable parts.
b. were close to cities and
transportation centers.
c. were protected from industrial
espionage.
d. were tested before being shipped to
major consumers such as the U.S.
government.
The speed of cloth making increased
when workers could produce dozens of
threads at the same time, using the
a. water frame.
b. cotton thread loom.
c. sewing machine.
d. water wheel.
In the early 1700s, most people in Europe
and the United States were
a. merchants.
b. skilled workers.
c. carpenters.
d. farmers.
Before the War of 1812, Americans were
reluctant to build new factories and
machinery because
a. the Gibbons v. Ogden decision
discouraged commerce between states.
b. New England lacked the fast-flowing
rivers needed to power the mills.
c. Eli Whitney’s new principle made
factories seem obsolete.
d. British manufacturers could produce
large amounts of goods and charge lower
prices.
Living History:
Living During the Industrial
Revolution
Chapter 13
Industrial Growth in the North
(1790 - 1860)
Section 3
The Transportation Revolution
New Ways to Travel
The Transportation Revolution was a
rapid growth in speed and convenience
of travel in the U.S. 1800s
Growth in communication, trade, and
travel during the 1800s was made
possible by the invention of the
steamboat, the invention of the railroad,
and the expansion of roads and canals
The Steamboat
One of the first breakthroughs of the
transportation revolution
On August 9, 1807, Americans were
awed when the Clermont traveled up the
Hudson River with no problems
The speed and economy of steamboats
caused a boom in trade and encouraged
more settlers to move to the Midwest
Could carry people and goods across
the ocean by the 1850s
Gibbons v. Ogden
 Growth of steamboat shipping industry led to
first Supreme Court ruling on interstate
commerce
 Gibbons operated steamboats between New
Jersey and Manhattan using federal license
(did not have state license to travel in New
York waters)
 New York gave Ogden monopoly on
steamboat business
 Ogden sued Gibbons and won – Gibbons
appealed
 Supreme Court ruled Gibbons had the right to
operate in New York – federal law overruled
state law – federal license had priority over
state license
Gibbons v. Ogden (continued)
Ruling reinforced federal government
authority over states
Ruling expanded definition of
commerce to include transportation of
people
One of Marshall’s most important
decisions – tore down a barrier to free
enterprise by eliminating Ogden’s
monopoly
American Railroads
 Steam-powered trains became popular in
U.S. in the 1830s
 The locomotive Tom Thumb was built by
Peter Cooper
 The popularity of trains eventually led to
about 30,000 miles of track being laid (by
1860)
 By 1860 U.S. railroad companies had grown
very powerful
 Railroads allowed manufacturers and
farmers to compete with each other in
national markets, leading to lower
consumer prices
Chapter 13
Industrial Growth in the North
(1790 - 1860)
Section 4
More Technological Advances
Messages by Wire
 Samuel F.B. Morse – invented telegraph –
send messages over wires across great
distances using pulses of electric current
 Morse code was the name given to a system
of dots and dashes representing each letter of
the alphabet
 Telegraph came into common use after a
telegraph reported the news of the
Democratic National Convention of 1844
 During the 1850s, telegraph lines were strung
along railroad tracks
New Factories
Factory owners shifted from water power
to steam power to run machines – caused
major changes in nation’s industrial
growth – factories could now be located
anywhere
Northeast remained home to most of
nation’s industry
Factories moved closer to cities to be near
labor source and reduce shipping costs
Better Farm Equipment
John Deere – built steel plow – made
planting easier
Cyrus McCormick – mechanical reaper
– made harvesting easier and faster
Changing Life at Home
In the 1850s, women were able to work
out of their homes using a machine
designed by Isaac Singer (sewing
machine)
Iceboxes cooled by large blocks of ice
allowed people to store fresh food safely
(1830s)
Iron cookstoves began replacing
cooking fires and stone hearths
The Transportation Revolution was a period
of rapid growth in the
a. use of turnpikes to get products to
market during the 1800s.
b. use of steam engines that powered boats
and railroad trains during the late 1700s.
c. technological discoveries that improved
travel in Britain during the late 1700s.
d. speed and convenience of transportation
in the United States during the early
1800s.
Telegraphs grew in use after a telegraph
reported the
a. race between the Tom Thumb and a
horse-drawn railcar.
b. results of the Democratic National
Convention of 1844.
c. first voyage of the Clermont.
d. strike at the Lowell mill in 1836.
A mechanical reaper that made harvesting
faster and more efficient was designed by
a. Eli Whitney.
b. Cyrus McCormick.
c. John Deere.
d. Dr. Rush Nutt.
Morse code was the name given to a system
a. using a series of short and long electric
pulses that represented letters and
numbers.
b. of hiring entire families to work in
factories.
c. developed by Robert Fulton for
navigators of steamboats.
d. using interchangeable parts to make
machines.
The locomotive Tom Thumb was built by
a. Eli Whitney.
b. Peter Cooper.
c. Tredegar Iron Works.
d. the Springfield Armory.
In the 1850s more women were able to work
for pay in their homes if they owned a
machine designed by
a. Sarah G. Bagley.
b. Isaac Singer.
c. Lucy Breckinridge.
d. Cyrus McCormick.
Samuel F. B. Morse invented
a. ferry service.
b. the telegraph.
c. the automatic rifle.
d. the first clock.
On August 9, 1807,
a. Robert Fulton successfully sent the
Clermont up the Hudson River.
b. the Tom Thumb proved its power during
a race against a horse-drawn railcar.
c. Samuel Morse received the message,
“What hath God wrought?”
d. Eli Whitney first assembled random
pieces into a working musket.
A device that sends and receives pulses of
electrical current through a wire is a
a. telegraph.
b. spinning jenny.
c. textile.
d. Lowell system.