Early Industrial Revolution

Objectives Summarize the key developments in the transportation revolution of the early 1800s. Analyze the rise of industry in the United States in the early 1800s. Describe some of the leading inventions and industrial developments in the early 1800s.

Terms and People turnpike – toll roads chartered by some states, named for the gate that guarded the entrance National Road – road made of crushed stone that linked successfully linked Maryland and the Ohio River Erie Canal – waterway built to link Lake Erie and New York City via the Hudson River Industrial Revolution – historic period in which production shifted from manual labor to the use of machines, changing how people lived and worked

Terms and People (continued) Samuel Slater – English emigrant who built America’s first water-powered textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1793 Francis Cabot Lowell – merchant who developed an entire industrial system for all stages of manufacturing cloth in the town of Lowell Lowell girls – young girls who worked in Lowell’s mills and lived in strictly supervised boarding houses

Terms and People (continued) interchangeable parts – identical components that can replace each other, making a machine less expensive to produce or repair Eli Whitney – inventor who introduced the use of interchangeable parts in the United States Samuel F.B. Morse – inventor of the electrical telegraph and Morse Code, a system of dots and dashes used to send messages over metal wires

How did transportation developments and industrialization affect the nation’s economy? Starting in the early 1800s, a revolution in technology changed the way Americans lived and worked. The United States was set on a course of industrialization.

The major settlements in the United States originally developed along the rivers and harbors of the Atlantic coast. Water was the most efficient way to move people and goods. Overland transportation was expensive whether by cart, wagon, sleigh, stagecoach, horse, or oxen. Moving freight a few dozen miles by land cost as much as shipping the same items across the ocean.

States chartered toll roads, called turnpikes. Profits were supposed to be used for road improvements, but most roads remained in poor condition. Few turnpikes made a profit or really improved the cost or speed of transportation. An exception was the National Road. In 1818, this route of crushed stone extended from Maryland to the Ohio River. States chartered toll roads, called turnpikes.

The steamboat revolutionized water travel. In 1807, the first practical steamboat, the Clermont, began sailing from New York City. Steamboats shortened a trip up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Louisville from months to days.

States built canals, artificial waterways that linked unconnected rivers, lakes, and ports. In 1825, the Erie Canal ran 363 miles from Lake Erie to the Hudson River. Shipping costs between Buffalo and New York City plummeted from $100 to $4 per ton. The resulting rise in commerce pushed New York City’s population to 800,000 by 1860. Canals linked farms in the Midwest to markets in the East, leading to tremendous growth in agriculture.

The first railroads started in Britain in the 1820s. The United States had 13 miles of track in 1830 and 31,000 miles by 1860. A trip from Detroit to New York City that took 28 days in 1800 took just two days by train in 1857. The introduction of railroads provided the most dramatic transportation growth.

Major Canals, Roads, and Railroads, 1840-1850

In the 1700s, British factories began using machines powered by steam or water to spin thread or weave cloth. This was the start of the Industrial Revolution. Britain tried to prohibit the export of industrial technology. In 1793, Samuel Slater, an English emigrant, built a water-powered mill from memory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

The Industrial Revolution soon transformed the American economy. Several mills used the family system that employed parents and children who lived in a company-owned village. In 1813, Francis Cabot Lowell combined all of the steps to manufacture cloth in one location, in Waltham, Massachusetts.

He employed young single girls from area farms. In the 1820s, Lowell built his own factory town of Lowell, Massachusetts. He employed young single girls from area farms. Lowell girls lived in closely supervised boarding houses that had strict rules. After several years, most married and left the mills. In Lowell and many other textile mills, women provided the bulk of the labor.

Technology changed how people worked and lived. Work was divided into small tasks, reducing the level of skill or training needed for many jobs. Factory owners profited because unskilled workers were more numerous and could be paid less. In some industries, owners profited by dividing labor even without using new machines.

Interchangeable parts improved efficiency in manufacturing and repair. Rather than a skilled artisan making a single clock or musket, workers made individual components that were later assembled. Eli Whitney produced muskets with standardized parts. A component from one gun fit any other gun. Elias Howe and Isaac Singer also used interchangeable parts to build sewing machines. Interchangeable parts improved efficiency in manufacturing and repair.

In 1837 Samuel F.B. Morse revolutionized communications with his invention the electric telegraph. The telegraph sent electrical pulses along metal wires. Morse code used dots and dashes to instantly send information for miles. By 1860, the United States had 50,000 miles of telegraph line.

Agriculture remained America’s chief industry, but innovations made farms more productive. New methods Farmers found more efficient ways to plant, tend, and harvest crops and to raise livestock. New inventions John Deere’s steel plow and Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper helped double farm productivity by 1860. New farmland More fertile farms in the Midwest raised production.