Economic Growth (2)

New Technology Workers, waterpower, location & capital all played a roll in New England’s Industrial Revolution. Though without scientific innovation, the industrial revolution could not have taken place.

New Technology Inventions such as the spinning jenny and the power loom cut out many steps in making cloth saving time & money.

New Technology In 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, a machine that efficiently removed seeds from cotton fiber. The cotton gin allowed one worker to clean cotton as quickly as 50 people working by hand.

New Technology In 1790 Congress passed a patent law to protect the rights of those who developed useful and important inventions. A patent gives an inventor the sole legal right to the invention and the profits for a certain period of time.

New Technology The first patent went to Jacob Perkins for a machine that makes nails.

New England Factories The British tried to keep their industrial technology a secret. They passed laws prohibiting their machinery and skilled workers from leaving the country.

New England Factories Samuel Slater who worked in a factory using machines for spinning cotton threads memorized the design of the machines and slipped out of Britain in 1789.

New England Factories Once in the U.S. Slater took over management of a RI mill and duplicated the machines. Using these machines the mill made cotton thread. Women in their homes wove the thread into cloth.

New England Factories In 1814 Francis Cabot Lowell opened a textile plant in in Waltham, MA. For the first time all the stages for cloth making were done under one roof.

New England Factories Lowell’s system of bringing manufacturing steps together under one roof launched the factory system. The factory system was an important development in the way goods were made.

Interchangeable Parts The inventor Eli Whitney started the use of interchangeable parts. These were identical machine parts that could be quickly put together to make a complete product.

Interchangeable Parts This made machine repairs easier. It opened the door to mass produce many kinds of goods It also reduced the price of goods.

Expansion of Agriculture In the 1820’s more than 65% of the population worked farms. In the Northeast farms were mostly small. With the demand for cotton in New England production of cotton in the South rose dramatically.

Expansion of Agriculture Demand for cotton in the Northeast and Europe increased with the development of the textile industry . Southern plantation owners used enslaved people to plant, tend, and pick cotton.

Expansion of Agriculture With the invention of the cotton gin, this encouraged planters to increase their crop of cotton. Between 1790 and 1820 soared from 3,000 bales a year to over 300,000 bales a year.

Expansion of Agriculture In the West agriculture also expanded with planters seeking land to plant and grow cotton. Western farmers North of the Ohio River concentrated on raising pork and cash crops such as corn & wheat.