The American Industrial Revolution
The Birth of the Factory in America: Samuel Slater brought British machinery secrets to U.S.A. Opened the 1 st factory in Pawtuckett, RI. -focused on production of cotton thread -Lowell, MA 1 st mill to manufacture all aspects of the textile. -”Mill Girls”= women factory workers
Infrastructure and government: Turnpikes= toll roads; money used to improve the roads being travelled on. National Road-Western Maryland to the Ohio River. (in present day West Virginia)
Water travel: Steamboat is invented by Robert Fulton Drastically sped up water travel: before steamboat: New Orleans to Louisville took 4 months. after steamboat: same trip in 20 days.
Water travel continued… Cross Atlantic travel: before steamboat: days after steamboat: days
Canals: Began in the Northeast Erie Canal System, 363 mi. across NY state. before canals: cost to ship 1 ton of freight=100$ after canals: 4$
“King Cotton” Replaced tobacco as the dominant southern crop. Eli Whitney, cotton gin, Cotton production in 1793: 5 million lbs. 1820: 170 million lbs. *Southern Plantations created 60% of all cotton used in U.S. and European manufacturing.*
Innovations: Interchangeable parts Eli Whitney developed the idea and process of manufacturing goods more uniformly. -created easy fixes to problematic or old tools. -shifted jobs from skilled artisans to specialized “assembly line” like work.
Innovations continued… Telegraph -Samuel Morse, provided nearly instant communication. -hugely important for transportation and news.
A Revival of Slavery: Slave trade abolished in million slaves by Cotton production neccesitated an increase in slave labor. Slavery advocates argued that slave conditions were better than mill/factory conditions in England.
Economic Developments of the early 1800’s: Increased Reliance on Domestic Economy: Decreased Reliance on International Commerce: National RoadEmbargo Act, 1807 Erie CanalEnd of Slave Trade, 1808 Growth of factories/mills New inventions/innovations The Increasing importance of cotton?