Industrial Revolution in America Ch 8.1-8.3. Industrial Revolution Increasing production by using machinery rather than human/animal power Began in England.

Industrial Revolution in

America

Ch 8.1-8.3

Industrial Revolution• Increasing production by using machinery rather

than human/animal power• Began in England in the 1700’s in textiles

o Spread from there

• Steam Engineo James Watt (1765-1785)o Used to run machineso Better than water power because it was portable

Textile Industry• Samuel Slater

o 1793: 1st water powered textile mill in USA

o Textile industry grew in PA, NY, and New England (north became industrial)

• Eli Whitneyo Interchangeable Parts: 1st

used in guns• Parts are made to exact

standards so they can be replaced

o Cotton Gin: machine that separates seeds from raw cotton fibers• Patented 1794

• Eli Whitney

Cotton Gin• By hand, one pound of

cotton per day could be cleaned by a laborer

• The cotton gin, a machine that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers, could clean 50-100 pounds of cotton per day

Effects of the Cotton Gin

• American exports of cotton increased• Cotton became cash crop of the South: “King

Cotton”• Planters needed more land

o Moved west into AL, MS, LA, and eventually TX

• Enslaved population increased tremendouslyo Actually helped increase slavery and agriculture in the South

Transportation• Steam Engine: used to power new forms of

transportation• Roads: became flatter and more direct

o Corduroy and plank roadso Cumberland/National Road from Cumberland, MD to Columbus, OH

Water Travel• Primary form of transportation• Fulton’s Clermont: steam boat• Canals: connected waterways

o Erie Canal (1825): increased development of entire Great Lakes region and since it connected to NYC, the city became a powerful economic center

Railroads• Most efficient form of transportation: high

pressure steam locomotives• 1st RR (1828) Baltimore and Ohio (B&O RR)• Put most canals out of business

Communication• Federal government led the way with the US

Postal Service• As education rose, so did the literacy rate

o More newspapers and magazines available

• Improved communication and free exchange of ideas helped tie together the different regions of the country

Market Revolution• New inventions changed how Americans did

business• More buying and selling happening

o Borrowing and circulating money, creating wealth

• Shift from home-based, often agricultural economy to one based on manufacturing and buying and selling of goods

Rise of Manufacturing• Early 1800s: most of the population were farmers• In the South: Farmers profited from growing

cotton because of an increasing demand for it• In the NW: farmers produced corn and wheat• In the NE: farming continued to be important but

manufacturing began to dominate

Manufacturing• Using machines to make products• Began in New England• Why?

o Water from rivers powered factorieso Many cities already established in New England

• 1st centralized factory: Lowell in Waltham, MAo Single place where all tasks involved in making a product are carried

out in one placeo Increased production

Manufacturing Spread• Moved throughout New England into the

Northeast and even west into the Northwest Territory

• North developed a manufacturing/industrial economy

• Free Enterprise System/Capitalism: rewards people for finding better, faster, more efficient ways of running their businesses

Change in Work• 1700’s people worked at home (farmers)

o Very self-sufficient

• 1800’s rise in manufacturing led to increased demand for people to work outside the homeo Work in factories, for a specific # of hours, for a specific amount of

moneyo Young Americans (especially in N) left farming and worked in factories

for the stability it offered

• To maximize production, factory owners used specialization (worker performs 1 job in entire production process)

Rise of Shopping• The more goods that were supplied, the more

Americans wanted them• People worked for money and began to shop for

goods• Average American home began to be furnished

with manufactured goods

Banks Become Important

• 1st real banks showed up in 1780-90’s• By the 1830’s there were 100’s of new banks• To open a bank, a group of investors needed to

get permission from the state• Banks make money by charging interest on loans• Many loans were in the form of investment

capital: money business will use for future gains• Goal is for investment to increase production and

create more profit• Banks helped the economy grow

Banking has Some Problems

• Uncontrolled lending became a problemo Often made loans to people who couldn’t pay them backo There were times when banks didn’t have money when large amounts

of people came for it (bank runs)o Since the bank wasn’t able to meet its obligations, it would go out of

businesso People lost everything they couldn’t get back before the bank closed

Bank Notes• Early US: no paper money, but specie (gold &

silver coin)o Species are scarce and difficult to carry

• Most common form of money: bank noteo Paper issued by the bank to its customerso Used to purchase goods and serviceso Similar to today’s checkso Could take to the bank and exchange for specie

• When banks needed more money, they printed more bank noteso Led to the value of the money to be unpredictable

• Banks played a huge role in the economic growth of the 1800’s

• Overall, there was a new level of prosperity in the USA

• Expansion happened in booms and then panics because of bank failures

• When there were many bank failures, unemployment roseo Depressions happened in 1819, 1832, and 1839

The North• 2 parts:

o Populous North East (mixed industry & farming)o Old Northwest (Agricultural)

Farming in Old Northwest

• Fertile soil• Grew corn, wheat, other grains• Always looking for ways to be more efficient

Inventions Help Old Northwest

• John Deere’s steel plow• McCormick’s reaper: cut and thrash wheat• Need to do something with harvest before it

spoilso Make flouro Sold wheat, oat, barley, & corn to brewers and distilleries (used to

make beer & whiskey)o Foodo Feed for livestock (cows/pigs/chickens)

Specialized Businesses Developed to Help Farming

Industry• Slaughter houses (Cincinnati “Porkopolis”)• Flour mills• Distilleries• Shipping companies• Banks• These agriculture-related industries led to the

growth of cities from Ohio westward into Illinois

Farmers of the Old Northwest and Shipping• In the past they had to send goods down

Mississippi River for sale in the Caribbean, eastern USA, and Europe

• Transportation revolution allowed farmers to ship goods by canal and later by railroad

• Merchants in the East took care of further distribution of the goods

The Northeast• Early 1800s most people lived in rural areas• Increasing number of people working in factories

in urban areas• Started to see urban population increase and

rural population decrease• Industrialization (development of industry)

increased dramatically o Water powered factories then steam engine powered factories

• PA’s main industry: coal (1820)o Needed to power steam engines on boats and locomotiveso Also producers of ships, lumber, iron, leather, textiles, and glass

• In Mass. Lowell started 1st centralized textile mill in 1813o Started textile industry thereo Used the Lowell System

The Lowell System• Hire young, unmarried

women• In 1830, made $3.25 for a

72 hour work weeko 12 hr workday with evening

lectures/classes

• Deduct $1.25 for room and board/week

• Kept in a moral and strict environment

• Women dominated the textile industry until the 1840’s when Irish immigrants were unable to find better paying jobs

Growth of Cities• Many unemployed people looking for work• Went to cities because of the factories• Early 1800’s the big cities had no more than

30,000 residents• Huge increase in population throughout the

Northeasto Ex: Manhattan (NYC) 1790: 33,000 and in 1820: 131,000

Growth of Cities

Changes• Colonial Times: whole families lived together,

families took care of medical needs, the elderly, and education

• With industrialization, people worked outside the home and spent less time at home

• Specialization develops: hospitals and schoolso Takes time!

• Many living in cheap, run-down apartments

Tenements• Crowded living

apartments with poor standards of sanitation, safety, and comfort

• Dumb-bell tenements became very popular in late 1800’s because a law was passed that every room have open air access

Cities ran into Problems with Population Boom

• Most were lacking sewage systems and reliable supplies of water

• Health issues with no hospitals• Primitive police forces• Fire services primitive• Could not keep up with increasing numbers• Supply shortages• Lack of appropriate housing• Cities in the NE continued to grow and spread into

surrounding areas• Became wealthy and had more political influence

because they were industrial centers

Early Industrial Work• Long hours, difficult work, dangerous, unsanitary,

pitiful wages• Workers want more

o Main complaints: conditions, low wages

• There was no government set minimum wage, so workers couldn’t go to the gov for help

• Only option available?o Strike! (work stoppage)

• Between 1834 and 1836 there were more than 150 strikes in the US

• Workers organized the first national labor unions: organizations of workers formed to protect the interests of its members usually by negotiating to resolve issues concerning wages, hiring practices, working conditions

• National Trades Union: 1st national union

Early Unions Died Quickly

• Why?o Factory owners got court rulings that outlawed labor unionso Financial panics and depressions happened, unemployment rose

• Workers could not afford to push for their demands

The South• GA, NC, SC, VA, MD, DE, KY, TN, AL, MS, LA, AR,

and TX (by 1850)• Mostly rural

o Why?• Fewer factories• Farming was extremely profitable

o Fertile soilo Climate (warm, plentiful rain)o High demand for products

• Agriculturally based economy

King Cotton• 1st half of 1800s production increased

tremendously• 1860: cotton made up 2/3 of total value of

exports• Created huge farms in south• Cotton belt: band of states from SC to TX which

relied on cotton

Industry Progressed Slowly

• Most farmers relied on banks in the North or in Great Britain for loans until much later in the century

• Had to depend on mills in the North and in England to buy the cotton

Slave Owners• Estimated 15,000 families owned plantations:

huge farm that’s fairly self-sufficiento Great numbers of slaves to produce the cash crop

• Hundreds of thousands of farmers with small farmso Few slaves if anyo Raised own cash crops, food crops, and livestock

• 25% of slaves lived on plantations with more than 50 slaves

Cotton Gin• Early 1800’s farmers with 6 or less slaves

produced half the cotton crop• Invention of the cotton gin changed everything

o Many small farmers moved west to have larger farmso There were still some smaller farmso Some smaller farms bought out by larger farmers

Other Crops in the South

• Not all states produced cotton• VA and NC: tobacco• Hot, wet places like SC: indigo and rice• KY: varied economy because some became

producers of thorough-bred horses

Southern Cities Developed Eventually

• Charleston, SC• Richmond, VA• New Orleans, LA• Raleigh, NC• Smaller populations than Northern cities• Not as many factories• Poor conditions• Large number of free African Americans• Run-down housing

Slavery System• By 1804 all the Northern states had banned

slavery or passed laws to end it gradually• Constitution stated Congress couldn’t end slave

trade until 1808o 1808 Congress banned importation of slaveso Slave numbers still grewo Illegal slave trade continued for another 50 years

• Lives of slaves varied tremendously

Slave Population• 1820: slave population was 1.5 million• 1850: over 3 million• By 1860, African American slaves made up more

than ½ the population of SC and MS, 2/5 of the populations of FL, GA, AL, and LA

Slave Life• Large Plantation

o Most slaves lived here as 1800’s progressedo By 1850, nearly 60% of slaves worked on cotton plantationso Supervised by oversear (foreman)o Lived in sizable communities (20 or more)o Harsh life

• Small Farmo Sometimes lived in same house and ate with ownerso Worked with owners in the fieldso Some treated cruelly without support of family/friends around

Women in Slavery• Worked in master’s home

o Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, watching master’s childreno Bearing and caring for their own kids

• Worked in the fields• Many women slaves were victims of physical or

sexual abuse by the slave owners

Slaves were Property• As demand for slaves increased, so did the prices

o Early 1800’s a “prime” field worker cost about $500o By 1837 price was $1,300o After the initial investment, slaves cost only $15-60 per year to supporto Replacing slaves was so costly that most slave owners provided just

enough to keep them healthy enough to work

Slave Revolts• 1800: Denmark Vesey bought his freedom ($600),

planned to seize Charleston, SC (1822)• Rebellion smashed before it began• 35 African Americans were hanged including

Vesey• 32 expelled from SC• 4 white men were fined or put in jail for helping

• Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831)o Led slaves against families in VAo Killed 50 white peopleo Captured 20 slaves and executed them including Turnero 100 African Americans were killed by angry white people even though

they weren’t involved

White Reaction to Revolt

• Whites feared African Americans because in many communities they outnumbered the white people

• VA briefly considered ending slavery to east the threat

• Instead it joined in other states in tightening restrictions on slaves after the rebellions

• VA and NC passed laws against teaching enslaved people how to read

• Some states prevented blacks from moving freely or meeting