Early Industry and Invention Chapter 11.1

America’s First Industrial Revolution Define Revolution: A drastic and far reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving.

Industrial Revolution Life was primarily agrarian Small family run farms cottage industries (handmade goods) In England, in the mid 1700s a shift to machine power begins Machines begin to replace work done by hand or with hand tools The British blockade of American harbors during the War of 1812 leads to growth in American manufacturing

Textile Industry Samuel Slater brings English textile technology to America in 1793 First spinning wheel mill in America His first, water powered, mill inspired others to open mills along rivers in the Northeast Hired local families to work in the mills - beginning of the “factory system” in America Francis Cabot Lowell (1814) Builds the first textile mill in America in 1814-based on secrets he learned in England Hires local women to work in his mill Women earning income Women having opportunities outside their homes Became abusive as mill owners tried to maximize profits Low wages Long hours Unsafe conditions

What does this tell you about the worker’s daily lives?

Manufacturing Spreads Interchangeable Parts (1797) Eli Whitney Hired by the U.S. Army to make 10,000 muskets Muskets were previously made by hand by gunsmiths so the parts of each were unique to each gun Whitney showed how quickly a musket could be assembled if all the parts were the same Machines across industries were developed to produce identical parts Increased the speed of production Made repairs easy Allowed for less skilled labor

Power Steam Engine (1769) James Watt Ended the need for water driven machines Factories could be built anywhere

Transportation Steamboat (1807) Robert Fulton Utilizes a steam engine to power the boat Boat can maneuver up and down stream - no longer dependent on the current Shortens delivery time for goods Shortens travel time between river based cities

Transportation Peter Cooper - developed America’s first steam powered locomotive (1830) Improved travel time over land More reliable delivery schedules More capacity for goods and passengers Linked cities and improved infrastructure

Farming Threshing Machine (1786) Andrew Meikle Separated the kernels of wheat from the husk Shortened time it took to prepare wheat for milling Mechanical Reaper (1834) Cyrus McCormick A device used to cut grain Steel Plow (1837) John Deere Cut down planting time by more effectively tilling the soil

Communication Telegraph (1837) Samuel Morse A device that uses short bursts of electricity to send messages over a wire Drastically shortened the time it took to communicate with people in other cities

Interconnected New technology links regions together Midwestern farms grow the food to feed Northeastern factory workers Midwesterners buy manufactured goods from Northeastern factories. Northeastern textile mills increase the demand for Southern cotton. Increased demand for cotton leads to an expansion of slavery.

Reflection Questions (answer in complete sentences) Explain how new inventions improved American life. Explain how the use of interchangeable parts improved manufacturing. Both Samuel Slater and Francis Lowell illegally brought industrial secrets to the United States. Do you think they were wrong to do this? Explain.

James Watt Samuel Slater Eli Whitney Andrew Meikle Robert Fulton Peter Cooper Cyrus McCormick John Deere Samuel Morse