1

Cotton Gin

Southern planters grew mainly rice, indigo, and tobacco in

colonial times. After the American Revolution, demand for

these crops decreased. European mills now wanted Southern

cotton. However, raising a cotton crop took a large amount of

time and labor. After the harvest, workers had to carefully

separate the plant's sticky seeds from the cotton fibers.

Eli Whitney solved this problem with his invention of the

cotton gin in 1793. Whitney's gin quickly and easily removed

seeds from cotton fibers. With a cotton gin, productivity - the

amount a worker can produce in a given time - shot up. The cotton gin

helped workers process 50 times more cotton each day than they could by

hand.

The use of the cotton gin had important consequences. First, it

encouraged farmers to grow more cotton in more places. Second, since

Southern planters relied on enslaved workers to plant and pick their

cotton, demand for slave labor increased and expanded west. Finally, the

use of the cotton gin help fuel textile production in Northern factories like

the Lowell Mills.

By 1860, the Deep South and

Upper South remained

agricultural, but each region

concentrated on different

crops. The Upper South grew

more tobacco, wheat, and

vegetables. The Deep South

produced more cotton, as well

as rice and sugarcane.

Because more workers were

needed to produce cotton and

sugar, the sale of enslaved

Africans became a big

business. The Upper South became a center for the sale and transport of enslaved people. This trade

became known as the domestic slave trade.

Source: McGraw Hill

2

Factory System

The Industrial Revolution reached the United States around 1800. Changes began in New England

because of its geography. First, New England's poor soil made farming difficult. Second, New

England's many rivers and streams offered the waterpower needed to run factory machinery. Third,

the area had many ports. These ports allowed the shipping in of raw materials, such as cotton, and

the shipping out of finished goods, such as cloth.

In the 1790s, Slater built copies in the United States of British machines that made cotton thread.

Slater's mill marked an important step in the Industrial Revolution in the United States.

Francis Cabot Lowell improved on Slater's mill in 1814.

Lowell's Massachusetts textile, or cloth, factory not only

made thread, it also wove the thread into cloth. Lowell

began the factory system, in which all manufacturing steps

are combined in one place.

In the mid-1800s, machines took over more and more

manufacturing tasks. American factories began to turn out

everything from fabric and clothing to shoes, watches, guns,

sewing machines, and agricultural machinery.

However, working conditions worsened as the factory

system developed. Employees worked long hours. By 1840,

the average workday was about 12 hours. Employees often

worked under harsh conditions. Longer days caused

fatigue—and on-the-job accidents. In the summer, factories

were hot. The machines gave off heat, and there was no

such thing as air-conditioning at that time. Likewise, in the

winter workers were often cold because most factories had

no heating. No laws existed to control working conditions or

protect workers.

Child labor was also a serious problem. Children in factories

often worked six days a week and 12 hours or more a day.

The work was dangerous and hard.

Source: McGraw Hill

Young factory workers from the 1840s,

known as "Lowell Girls," lived and worked

together.

3

Rise of Cities

The growth of factories and trade led to the

growth of towns and cities. Many cities

developed along rivers because factories could

take advantage of the waterpower and easily

ship goods to markets. Older cities such as New

York, Boston, and Baltimore also grew as centers

of trade.

Cities and towns looked different from modern urban

areas. They featured wood and brick buildings and

unpaved streets. Barnyard animals often roamed freely.

There were no sewers to carry away waste, so diseases

such as cholera and yellow fever were a threat. Fire was

another danger since few cities had organized fire

companies. Yet cities offered many opportunities, such as

a variety of jobs and steady wages. As cities grew,

residents built libraries, museums, and shops for people

to enjoy during their leisure time. For many, the jobs and

attractions of city life outweighed the dangers.

Between the years 1840 and 1860, immigration to the

United States grew sharply. Most found homes in

American cities. The greatest number of immigrants came

from Ireland. In the 1840s, the people of Ireland faced

famine, an extreme shortage of food. More than a million

people died. Another 1.5 million left for the United States

between 1846 and 1860.

The second largest group of immigrants in the United

States between 1820 and 1860 came from Germany.

Some sought work and opportunity. Others fled to escape

political problems at home. European immigrants brought languages, customs, religions, and

traditions to their new country. Some of their ways of living changed American culture.

In the 1830s and 1840s, some people began to resist immigration. They were known as nativists.

Nativists believed that immigration threatened the future of "native"—American-born—citizens. They

often blamed immigrants for problems in society. Some nativists accused immigrants of taking jobs

from "real" Americans and were angry that immigrants would work for lower wages. Others accused

immigrants of bringing crime and disease to U.S. cities.

Source: McGraw Hill

4

Improved Roads

In 1790 the first census revealed that there were

nearly 4 million Americans. At that time, most of

these people still lived between the Appalachian

Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. That pattern,

however, was changing. However, that pattern

began to change as a steady stream of settlers

began moving west.

In 1769, explorer and pioneer Daniel Boone

explored a Native American trail through the

Appalachian Mountains. Called Warriors' Path, it

led Boone through a break in the mountains—the

Cumberland Gap. Beyond the gap lay the gentle hills of

a land now called Kentucky.

In 1775, Boone rounded up 30 skilled foresters to clear

rocks from the Cumberland Gap, cut down trees in

Kentucky, and mark the trail. The new Wilderness Road,

as it came to be known, served as the main southern

highway from the eastern states to the West. More than

100,000 people traveled it between 1775 and 1790.

The nation needed good inland roads for travel and to

ship goods. Private companies built many turnpikes, or

toll roads. Tolls, or fees paid by travelers, helped pay the

cost of building them. Many roads had a base of crushed

stone. In some areas workers built "corduroy roads.”

These roads had a surface made up of logs laid side by

side, like the ridges of corduroy cloth.

Ohio became a state in 1803. The new state asked the

federal government to build a road to connect it with the

East. In 1806 Congress approved funds for a national road to the West, though it took five more years

for members to agree on the route.

Work began in 1811 in Cumberland, Maryland. The start of the War of 1812 with Great Britain halted

construction. As a result, the road's first section, which ran from Maryland to Wheeling in present-day

West Virginia, did not open until 1818.

The route closely followed that of a military road George Washington had built in 1754. It eventually

reached Ohio and then Vandalia, Illinois. Congress viewed the road as vital to military readiness but

did not take on any other road-building projects. (Source: McGraw Hill)

5

Improved Water Travel

River travel was far more comfortable than travel by road and provided the opportunity to carry

larger loads of farm products or other goods. However, it had two big drawbacks. First, most major

rivers flowed in a north-south direction, while most people and goods were headed east or west.

Second, while traveling downstream was easy, moving upstream against the current was slow.

In 1802, Robert Fulton was hired to build a steamboat with an engine powerful enough to move

upstream. In 1807, Fulton launched his steamboat, the Clermont. The boat made the 150-mile (241

km) trip from New York City to Albany in 32 hours. Using only sails, the trip would have taken four

days.

Steamboats ushered in a new age of river

travel. Shipping goods and moving people

became cheaper and faster. Steamboats also

contributed to the growth of river cities such as

Cincinnati and St. Louis.

Steamboats improved transportation but were

limited to major rivers. No such river linked the

East and the West. Business and government

officials led by DeWitt Clinton in New York

developed a plan to build a canal to connect

New York City with the Great Lakes region.

Thousands of workers, many of them Irish

immigrants, helped build the 363-mile (584 km)

Erie Canal. Canal building was a hazardous task.

Many workers died as a result of cave-ins or

blasting accidents. Another threat was disease,

which bred in the swamps where the workers

toiled. However, after more than eight years of

hard work, the Erie Canal opened on October

26, 1825.

The Erie Canal's success did not go unnoticed.

By 1850, the country had more than 3,600 miles (5,794 km) of canals. Canals lowered shipping costs

and brought prosperity to towns along their routes. These waterways provided a highway for

shipping crops and other goods to markets. The growth of canals also helped expand the area open to

settlement and linked regions of the growing country.

Source: McGraw Hill

6

Railroads

The first railroads in the United

States ran along short stretches of

track that connected mines with

nearby rivers. Horses pulled these

early trains. The first steam-

powered passenger locomotive

began running in Britain in 1829.

By 1840, steam locomotives were

pulling trains in the United States.

In 1840, the United States had

almost 3,000 miles (4,828 km) of

railroad track. By 1860, the

nation's tracks totaled about

31,000 miles (49,890 km), mostly

in the North and Midwest.

The new rail lines connected

many cities. One line linked the

cities of New York and Buffalo.

Another connected Philadelphia

and Pittsburgh. Railway builders

connected these eastern lines to

lines being built farther west in

Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. By

1860, the nation's railroads

formed a network that united the

Midwest and the East.

The opening of the Erie Canal in

1825 and later the railroad

networks allowed grain, livestock, and dairy products to move directly from the Midwest to the East.

Improvements in transportation provided benefits to both businesses and consumers. Farmers and

manufacturers could now move goods faster and more cheaply. As a result, consumers could

purchase them at lower prices than in the past.

The railroads also played an important role in the settlement of the Midwest and the growth of its

industry. Fast, affordable train travel brought people into Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The populations

of these states grew. New towns and industries developed as more people moved into the area.

Source: McGraw Hill