How did the Industrial Revolution change the world?
Target Goals: • Understand why the Industrial Revolution was a turning point in world history. • Predict and list effects the agricultural revolution had on population growth. • Analyze the factors that enabled the Industrial Revolution to begin in Britain. • Identify the new technologies that arose out of the revolution. • Discuss benefits and problems industrialization brought to the working class and the rise of the new middle class. • Compare and contrast the different types of economic systems that developed during the time period.
The real impetus for America entering the Industrial Revolution was the passage of the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Americans were upset over an incident with the Chesapeake whereby the British opened fire when they were not allowed to search the ship. They also seized four men and hung one for desertion. This resulted in much public outrage and the passage of the Embargo Act which stopped the export of American goods and effectively ended the import of goods from other nations. Eventually, America went to war with Great Britain in 1812. The war made it apparent that America needed a better transportation system and more economic independence. Therefore, manufacturing began to expand.
Industrialization in America involved three important developments. First, transportation was expanded. Second, electricity was effectively harnessed. Third, improvements were made to industrial processes such as improving the refining process and accelerating production. The government helped protect American manufacturers by passing a protective tariff.
Cotton and Cloth
In 1794, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which made the separation of cotton seeds from fiber much faster. The South increased its cotton supply sending raw cotton north to be used in the manufacture of cloth. Francis C. Lowell increased the efficiency in the manufacture of cloth by bringing spinning and weaving processes together into one factory. This led to the development of the textile industry throughout New England.
In 1846, Elias Howe created the sewing machine which revolutionized the manufacture of clothing. All of a sudden, clothing began to be made in factories as opposed to at home.
Interchangeable Parts
Eli Whitney came up with the idea to use interchangeable parts in 1798 to make muskets. If standard parts were made by machine, then they could be assembled at the end much more quickly than before. This became an important part of American industry and the Second Industrial Revolution.
From Agriculture to Cities
As industries and factories arose, people moved from farms to cities. This led to other issues including overcrowding and disease. However, advances were made in agriculture too including better machines and cultivators. For example, Cyrus McCormick created the reaper which allowed quicker and cheaper harvesting of grain. John Deere created the first steel plow in 1837 helping speed up farming across the Midwest.
Communication and the Industrial Revolution
With the increased size of the United States, better communication networks became ultra important. In 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse created the telegraph and by 1860, this network ranged throughout the eastern coast to the Mississippi.
Transportation
The Cumberland Road, the first national road, was begun in 1811. This eventually became part of the Interstate 40. Further, river transportation was made efficient through the creation of the first steamboat, the Clermont, by Robert Fulton. This was made possible by James Watt’s invention of the first reliable steam engine.
The creation of the Erie Canal created a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes thereby helping stimulate the economy of New York and making New York City a great trading center.
Railroads were of supreme importance to the increase in trade throughout the United States. In fact, by the start of the Civil War, railroads linked the most important Mid West cities with the Atlantic coast. Railroads further opened the west and connected raw materials to factories and markets. A transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah.
With the great advances of the Industrial Revolution, inventors continued to work throughout the rest of the 19th and early 20th century on ways to make life easier while increasing productivity. The foundations set throughout the mid-1800’s set the stage for inventions such as the light bulb (Thomas Edison), telephone (Alexander Bell), and the automobile (Karl Benz). Further, Ford’s creation of the assembly line which made manufacturing more efficient just helped form America into a modern industrialized nation. The impact of these and other inventions of the time cannot be underestimated.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world because it changed the way of doing things. One of the inventions was the Spinning Jenny. The Spinning Jenny was a spinning wheel. Robert Arkwright invented the Spinning Jenny. Robert Arkwright’s working-place was an old house. Women next door said they heard strange noises. It was Arkwright working on the Spinning Jenny and other inventions. At the same time, another man was opening his own barber shop in the basement and to keep people coming to his barber shop he ranged prices as low as one cent. He advertised different hairstyles but, since they had no T.V., he advertised them on the front of his house. The Industrial Revolution was a great change for everybody. Later on, men invented things that produced smoke, such as: factories, trains, and subways, which pollute the air. The Industrial Revolution changed not only the air but also how people worked. It changed how people worked because people had to work by hand before but now they cou
