America’s Economic Revolution

 Causes:  Urbanization  Transportation  Specialization  The rise of corporations made it possible for businesses to raise more capital, enabling them to expand manufacturing  Growth of corporations was kept in check, however, by limited capital and limited availability of credit

 The most important economic development of the mid-19 th century  Factories were a response to:  Improved technology  Increased demand  More than half of the factories in the United States in 1860 were in the Northeast, producing more than 2/3 of the nation’s manufactured goods

 Interchangeable parts revolutionized manufacturing  Coal (replacing wood and water power) made it possible for factories to move away from streams  The number of patents applied for rose almost 10 times from 1830 to 1860

 Factories initially had a difficult time recruiting workers from the ranks of farmers and artisans  However, improvements in farming methods and equipment led to a rise in production with less labor  These displaced farm workers needed jobs

 Work was not a new experience for many women in the factories, especially the women that came from farms  However, the monotonous nature of repetitive work was taxing  Factory work was usually the only work that many women could find  It was unthinkable for women to travel the country alone looking for work, so they had few options

 Immigrants settling in the major northeastern cities provided a large pool of inexpensive labor  There were no real regulations for factory owners to provide decent working conditions for their employees  Skilled workers earned $4 - $10 per week  Unskilled workers earned $1 - $6 per week

 Factory work required little to no skill for the manufacturing process  Workers performed specialized tasks

 Many artisans formed trade unions to protect their positions in the economy and resist industrialization  These unions first took form as political parties  Laws hostile toward unions made it difficult for unions to survive  Forming unions was seen as an illegal conspiracy  The Panic of 1837 further weakened unions

 How did the industrial workforce change between the 1820s and the 1840s?  What were the effects on American society of changes in the workforce?  How did America’s industrial revolution and the factory system change family life?  How did America’s industrial revolution and the factory system change women’s social and economic roles?