Chapter 7

Section 1 – pg 256The Industrial Revolution

A Revolution in Technology• Industrial Revolution: 1700s, gradually machines

took the place of many hand tools– Power provided by ppl was replaced first by flowing

water and later by steam engines

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• Began in England, in textile, and cloth-making industry– Previously thread was spin by hand– One person took 2 weeks to make 1lb of cotton thread

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Machines and Factories• In the 1760s, the spinning

jenny sped up the thread-making process– Allowed a person to spin

many strands at once• In 1764, Richard Arkwright

invented the water frame, a spinning machine powered by running water– Manufacturers built textile

mills on the banks of rivers

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Could spin as much thread as 120 ppl

• Factory system brings workers and machinery together in one place– No longer could work at home, had specific work hours– Workers now had to keep up with machines instead of

working at own pace

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• These new systems required huge amounts of money to be invested– Mill owners turned to

capitalists• People who invest capital

(money) in a business to earn a profit

• By 1784, English workers were producing 24 times as much thread as they had in 1765

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Steam Power• Building factories on river banks had disadvantages

– During dry seasons, machines had no power– Factories were far from cities, and workers were hard to

find in rural areas• In 1790, Arkwright built the first steam-powered textile

plant– Were reliable source of energy– Factories could be built in cities where women and

children could provide cheap labor• Britain tried to hid the secrets of industrial success

– Forbade anyone from taking info out of the country

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The American Industrial Revolution• In 1789, a young apprentice of Arkwright’s

factories (Samuel Slater) decided to immigrate to the US– He knew info on the machines would be

worth a fortune– When reached US joined up with a wealthy

merchant, Moses Brown• Brown rented a textile mill in Pawtucket,

Rhode Island• Using his memory, Slater made a spinning

machine based on Arkwright’s• Slater’s factory began producing cotton

thread at a rate never seen before in the US

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American Industry Grows• Slater’s mill marked the beginning of American

industrialization– Began in the NE– Grew a lot during the War of 1812, when the British

blockade forced Americans to produce their own goods

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The Lowell Mills• Francis Cabot Lowell visited England and saw the latest

weaving machine– Returned to America and built an improved version– Opened a mill in Waltham, Massachusetts

• Brought together spinning and weaving in the same building

• Lowell died in 1817– Partners expanded business– Built a town around the business for the workers

• Had boardinghouses, a library, and a hospital• Named it Lowell

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Lowell Girls• The new factories were staffed by young women from

nearby farms– Lived in the boardinghouse under strict supervision– After work many attended lectures or visited libraries

• Got a better education than if they had stayed on the farms

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The Revolution Takes Hold• Americans did not have a long tradition for factories

so they experimented with new methods– Mass Production: the rapid manufacture of large

numbers of identical objects

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• Before 1800s, skilled craft-workers made everything by hand

– If parts broke, they had to be remade by hand• In the 1790s, American Inventor Eli Whitney devised a

system of interchangeable parts– Identical parts that could be assembled quickly by

unskilled workers– Caused manufacturing to be more efficient– Prices dropped (b/c it was cheaper to make them)– As people bought more, the industry expanded

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Factory Life• Unlike Lowells, more factories did not treat their

workers well– Samuel Slater employed children– Working conditions for children and adult became

harsher

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Child Labor• In the 1800s, children usually worked on family farms• American textile mills employed children as young as 7

or 8– They had no opportunities for education– Often worked un unsafe conditions

• By 1880, more than a million children between the ages 10 and 15 worked for pay

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Factory Conditions• Working conditions were terrible

– Factories were poorly lighted– Little fresh air– Machines were not designed to protect

workers• Many workers were injured• Workers who lost limbs received no help

– Business owners did not have to provide pay for injured workers

– Workdays were 12 – 14 hours• By 1844, workers demanded shorter days

– “8 hours for work, 8 hours for sleep, and 8 hours for God and the brethren”

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