Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution proved the biggest socio-economic turning point during the period. England began industrializing in the mid-1700s but a similar revolution did not make it to the United States in full-force until the mid-1800s, mainly because there was not a large and ready supply of unskilled labor available. The “revolution” marked the period when the United States began changing from a predominantly agrarian economy, with some home production, to one characterized by factories and the mass-production of finished consumer goods. New technologies allowed for a greater reliance on machines for production and an increase in immigration during the period provided the needed unskilled workers.

Gun Parts

Gun Parts

The Industrial Revolution occurred in the United States roughly between 1810 and 1860 and marked the period when industry became the dominant force in the economy. The North industrialized rapidly, promoting an extensive system of factories, which used machines to produce goods. The building of factories concentrated workers into particular geographic areas, creating large urban centers. Factories also changed the nature of working conditions for Americans. Factory owners replaced skilled laborers with machines operated by unskilled workers. The factory system broke down all the parts of labor into discrete individual jobs that allowed entrepreneurs to reduce costs while increasing production. The expansion of grain and livestock cultivation in the Midwest and the growth of cotton culture in the Deep South enabled industrialization in the North. The ability of farmers in the Midwest to feed the growing populations in the cities in the northeast allowed that region to industrialize as the ever increasing number of cotton fields contributed to the rise of textile factories. The goods produced in the North supplied the other regions of the country

Interchangeable Parts

Textile Machinery

Textile Machinery

Production increased in this period because of the uniquely American idea of interchangeable parts.  Eli Whitney, the same man who invented the cotton gin, created the idea of “interchangeable parts” after being awarded a contract by the federal government to produce muskets for the United States Army.  Looking at a monumental task that had to be delivered in a short time frame, Whitney believed he could churn out more guns if they could be assembled on a line rather than one at a time.  Whitney built a series of machines that could make the same piece every time.  This proved not only a time-saver for his project but also a revolutionary way of thinking about and producing goods.  By 1840, this process of creation was being applied to sewing machines, farm machinery, watch parts, and wooden clocks. 

Textile Machines

The first large-scale industrialization began in the United States in 1789 when Samuel Slater emigrated from England. Slater memorized plans for a textile-spinning machine and built a mill in Rhode Island based on these plans.

Textile production proved slow, though, until 1812 when embargoes and the war encouraged New England merchant capitalists to begin funding manufacturing enterprises.  Mills built on rivers sprang up, and with easy access to coastal shipping, proliferated. 

Technology

a lithograph by Currier & Ives of four of the major inventions of the nineteenth century: the lightning team press, the locomotive, the electric telegraph, and the steamboat. 

A lithograph by Currier & Ives of four of the major inventions of the nineteenth century: the lightning team press, the locomotive, the electric telegraph, and the steamboat.  

Americans turned their resources and inventiveness to creating new technologies. 

  • Oliver Evans developed a high-pressure steam engine in 1804 that was used in a variety of ways.
  • Cyrus Hall McCormick invented a primitive grain reaper in 1834 that allowed farmers to harvest twelve acres of wheat a day.  Previously using a hand sickle, a farmer could harvest only half an acre a day. 
  • Charles Goodyear patented a process for vulcanizing rubber, which made it elastic and strong, in 1844.
  • Samuel F. Morse invented the telegraph in 1832
  • Elias Howe invented the sewing machine in 1846

Changes in science and technology improved people’s living conditions, diets, lifestyles, and their relationship to work.    

Difficulties with Industrializing

Initial problems with industrializing included

  • Finding funding to build factories—financiers began to look internally and began investing in American factories.
  • Finding an adequate work force—immigration and an increased birth rate helped increase the population. Better farming methods meant less people had to farm, which freed up workers to move to the cities.
  • Finding markets for the products—the “American System” promoted the building of roads and canals to move products around the country to markets. Entrepreneurs introduced steamboats to large waterways and eventually built railroads.