The Industrial Revolution in America

What was the Industrial Revolution?

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Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution• A period of rapid growth

using machines for manufacturing and production.

• Began in the mid-1700s in England and came to America secretly via a British mechanic.

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Who was Richard Arkwright?

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Richard ArkwrightRichard Arkwright• 1769- Englishman who

invented a spinning machine that produced cotton threads

• The spinning machine used water as its power source and thus became known as the water frame

Arkwright was originally a wig maker

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Richard ArkwrightRichard Arkwright

Spinning machine (water frame) - lowered the cost of cotton cloth and

increased the speed of textile production

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Who was Samuel Slater?

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•Slater, a British mechanic, disguised himself as a farmer and immigrated secretly from Great Britain. •He memorized designs for British textile machines. •Slater collaborated with American merchant Moses Brown and the two opened the first textile mill in the U.S. in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793.

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Pawtucket MillSlater divided factory work into such simple steps that children aged four to ten could do it -- and did.

Samuel Slater “Father of the American

Factory System”

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Why were most textile mills located in the North?

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Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution

Most American textile mills were located in the Northeast because of the many rivers and streams.

NE merchants had the $ to invest in new mills.

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Who was Eli Whitney?

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Eli WhitneyEli Whitney•Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793 and revolutionized agriculture in the South. •He also proposed the idea for mass production of guns using water-powered machinery, & created interchangeable parts which led to mass production of identical goods and the growth of division of labor.

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Eli Whitney’s Cotton Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin, Gin, 17931793

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin, Gin, 17931793

Actually Actually invented by a invented by a

slave!slave!

Father of American Technology

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Whitney’s Gun Whitney’s Gun FactoryFactory

Whitney’s Gun Whitney’s Gun FactoryFactory

Interchangeable Parts Rifle- the Interchangeable Parts Rifle- the U.S. govt. gave Whitney 2 years to U.S. govt. gave Whitney 2 years to produce 10,000 guns- it took him 8 produce 10,000 guns- it took him 8

yearsyears

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Why was the growth of manufacturing so slow in America?

Industrial RevolutionIndustrial RevolutionManufacturing increased slowly

in the U.S. because we imported most of our goods from England.

British prices on goods were lower, & British factory workers were willing to work for lower wages, and U.S. investors did not want to spend money on new factories and machinery when there was little profit to be made.

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Why did the U.S have a shortage of manufactured goods in 1812?

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Industrial RevolutionIndustrial RevolutionThe War of 1812 left the United

States with a shortage of manufactured goods because British ships blockaded eastern seaports.

Americans were then forced to buy from American manufacturers.

Profits increased and manufacturers began expanding their factories.

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