Early Industries, Its Hardships, And Labor Disputes In The Factories

By:

Kevin Greeneich

American History Honors

Period 8

An Early Glance Into What Will Be Covered To Begin... Pictures On The Material Covered Economy In The South Industries In The South Economy In The North Industries In The North Hardships In The South Picture Of Plantation Life In The South Hardships In The North Pictures Of Factory Life In The North Slave Revolts In The South Labor Disputes In The North The End Works Cited

To Begin... The Industrial Revolution began first in Britain

in the 1700s and moved to the US in 1790 when Samuel Slater came to the US and recreated the steam engine in which James Watt originally produced.

This started the textile industry in the US. The textile industry along with the circulation

of wealth and money led to the Market Revolution.

To Begin... (Cont.) With the expansion of the economy, the birth of

manufacturing arose in which factories would use machinery to make products.

As the early factories expanded, so did demand. Because machineries were used to mass

produce products, factory owners needed more workers to come in.

This is where specialization began to increase production.

Thus, the early industries are born.

Pictures On The Material Covered

Textile Mill in South Carolina. Steam engine

used to power Textile Mills.

Samuel Slater

James Watt

Economy In The South In the south, the most dependent economic

production was cotton. Cotton was so important to the economy in

the south that they created the cotton belt. Other minor products of the south included:

Cattle Grain Iron/Steel Rice/Sugars Tobacco

Industries In The South In the South, development of industry progressed

relatively slow in the early 1800s. Most of the “industries” were on plantations/farms

in which slaves would work for their owners. During the period that the industrial revolution

took place, because the north developed faster, the south relied on the the textile mills in the north to process their cotton.

One invention that helped mass produce cotton in the south was cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793.

Industries In The South (Cont.) Originally created to reduce the amount of work placed on

slaves and separate the seeds from cotton fibers. This invention backfired on the slaves causing slave

owners to see that they could now produce even more cotton.

This caused slave owners to buy more slaves, more plantations, and increase the amount of work slaves had to do.

Economy In The North In the north, there was more manufacturing than farming. Because the north was faster than the south when it came

to industrialization, most of the products that the north manufactured came from the south and “old” northwest.

Products of the north included: Flour Pork/Meats Whiskey Coal/Iron Lumber Leather Glass Textiles

Industries In The North In the South, development of industry

progressed relatively fast (rapidly) in the early 1800s.

Due to the rapid increase in industrialization, more and more of the northern population began to move from rural areas to urban areas.

Mostly, factories were used to manufacture crops and products from the “old” northwest.

Industries In The North (Cont.) Many of the factories in the north manufactured

products that served well for the people who lived in the urban areas where the majority of the factories were.

Amongst all the factories/industries, there were: Slaughter houses Coal-mining industries Textile Mills General Factories (furniture, clocks, tinware,

clothing, bricks, etc.)

Industries In The North (Cont.)

Raw crops/products

from the south.Raw crops/products

from “old” northwest.

Both of their raw products get shipped.

Final manufactured products get made

in the factories.

Hardships In The South Because industrialization was slow in the

south, most of the “factories” were plantations with many slaves.

Slaves in the south faced: Starvation and hunger due to poor meals owners

would feed them. A slave’s diet was monotonous, low in protein,

high in carbohydrates, and usually very low in calories.

Painful labor with no pay due to the fact that they were slaves.

Hardships In The South (Cont.)

Mostly working outside, they endured harsh weathers such as excruciating, high temperatures.

Expected to work more than what they could handle.

Due to the cotton gin, slaves had to work more than before, having to pick cotton and prepare it for possessing.

Had to work long restless hours with very limited freedom.

Pictures Of Plantation Life In The South

Slaves preparing cotton for the cotton gin on a plantation near Beaufort, S.C., 1862.

Slaves using the cotton gin.

Slaves picking cotton out on the plantation fields.

Hardships In The NorthBecause most workers worked in

industrialized buildings and factories: They worked from 4:00 AM to 7:30 PM,

about 15+ hours a day. Faced discomfort and danger. Factories in which they worked in did not

have windows or heating systems, only a scarce amount had.

Inside factories it was stifling, very hot.

Hardships In The North (Cont.)

Extreme hot and cold temperatures caused sickness and spread of diseases.

Factory machines were not protected and had no safety devices.

Because of this, accidents and injuries were prone to occur.

If a worker got injured or sick, they often lost their jobs. So many people were looking for jobs at the time that the factory owner would always be able to find another person willing to work for them right after they just got done with firing another.

Pictures Of Factory Life In The North

D.F. Tiemann & Co. Color Works factory in mid-1830s.

Very young men working in factories.Common layout for

factories in the 1800s.

Slave Revolts In The South Amongst the many slave revolt activists, the ones

that stood out the most during this time period was Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner. Gabriel Prosser

The first major slave revolt in the south was led by a twenty-four year old slave named Gabriel Prosser.

In 1800, Gabriel Prosser laid out a plan to take Richmond, Virginia by force and invade the armory to arm his fellow slaves.

By August, he had thousands of slaves enlisted and ready to go with the weapons he had been storing for a while now; but when it was time to act, two slaves betrayed him and the local militia found out.

Slave Revolts In The South (Cont.)

The bridge into Richmond was then flooded and the militia stopped the invasion. Gabriel, along with his followers were persecuted and hung.

Although the revolt was a fail, it terrified many slave owners in the south.

Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey was considered to have come from the “upper

class” of slaves for the fact that he bought his way out of slavery with money that received.

He was self-educated and preferably read antislavery literature, which later inspired him to preach against slavery and criticize those who would not stand up for their rights.

Around 1822, Vesey turned from preaching to putting his words into action. Inspired by Gabriel’s actions, Vesey planned to seize the city of Charleston, S.C. in July 1822.

Slave Revolts In The South (Cont.)

His revolt original included hundreds and thousands of slaves, in which rumor has it that he intended to raid the arsenal, kill all the white residents, free the slaves, and burn the city down to the ground.

He was betrayed though and was later stopped by S.C. troops before he could start his rebellion.

35 slaved were hanged, one including Vesey; others were banned, fined, and imprisoned.

Nat Turner Nat Turner, as well as Vesey was from the “upper class” of slaves

who had a mother that was always against slavery. So much that his mother tried to kill him when he was born to prevent him from living the life of a slave.

He led Turner’s Rebellion in August 1831 which was considered to be a very violent uprising. At 31-years-old, he led up to 70 slaves in raids on white families in southern Virginia.

Slave Revolts In The South (Cont.)

Attacking four plantations he, along with his followers, managed to kill more than 50 white people.

Eventually the local militia captured Turner and his followers. About 20 slaves were hung and other African Americans were hung for fear that arose within the white population.

Although these revolts ended up with captures and hangings, they greatly scared whites and showed that slaves were willing to rebel against unequal treatment.

Labor Disputes In The North Unlike the revolts in the south, labor disputes were

handled a bit more civilized; normally dealt with strikes and unions. As factory owners began to become more wealthy, their greed

got the best of them, as they lowered the salary for their workers; and with the working conditions that they were placed in, workers soon began to go on strike.

Around this time, more than 150 strikes took place, including those that women started.

Around this time, the National Trades Union was started, which was an organization of workers formed to protect the interests of its members, usually by negotiating to resolve issues concerning wages, hiring practices, and working conditions.

Labor Disputes In The North (Cont.)

By the 1830s, close to 300,000 people were part of this labor union. But, the union did not last long before it was shut down by court rulings that outlawed labor organizations due to the complaints of factory owners.

Although this union could be looked at as a failure, it could truly be looked at as a success because it showed employers that employees were willing to take action against outrageous labor treatment.

Labor Disputes In The North (Cont.) Letters like the one bellow were written to factory

owners to express their disconcert. “Sir, I traversed this day by steam-boat the space between London and Hangerford Bridges between half-past one and two o'clock; it was low

water, and I think the tide must have been near the turn.  The appearance and the smell of the water forced themselves at once on my attention.  The whole of the river was an opaque pale brown fluid.  In order to test the degree of opacity, I tore up some white cards into pieces, moistened them so as to make them sink easily below the surface, and then dropped some of these pieces into the water at every pier the boat came to; before they had sunk an inch below the surface they were indistinguishable, though the sun shone brightly at the time; and when the pieces fell edgeways the lower part was hidden from sight before the upper part was under water.  This happened at St. Paul's Wharf, Blackfriars Bridge, Temple Wharf, Southwark Bridge, and Hungerford; and I have no doubt would have occurred further up and down the river.  Near the bridges the feculence rolled up in clouds so dense that they were visible at the surface, even in water of this kind. The smell was very bad, and common to the whole of the water; it was the same as that which now comes up from the gully-holes in the streets; the whole river was for the time a real sewer.  Having just returned from out of the country air, I was, perhaps, more affected by it than others; but I do not think I could have gone on to Lambeth or Chelsea, and I was glad to enter the streets for an atmosphere which, except near the sink-holes, I found much sweeter than that on the river. I have thought it a duty to record these facts, that they may be brought to the attention of those who exercise power or have responsibility in relation to the condition of our river; there s nothing figurative in the words I have employed, or any approach to exaggeration; they are the simple truth.  If there be sufficient authority to remove a putrescent pond from the neighbourhood of a few simple dwellings, surely the river which flows for so many miles through London ought not to be allowed to become a fermenting sewer.  The condition in which I saw the Thames may perhaps be considered as exceptional, but it ought to be an impossible state, instead of which I fear it is rapidly becoming the general condition.  If we neglect this subject, we cannot expect to do so with impunity; nor ought we to be surprised if, ere many years are over, a hot season give us sad proof of the folly of our carelessness.

I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, M. FARADAY.

Royal Institution, July 7”

The EndThis concludes my presentation. As you

can see, labor back than in the south and north were both harsh, but along with the harsh times came many history changing events. I hope you enjoyed my presentation. If you have any pending questions feel free to ask them now. Thank you for your undivided attention.

Works Cited Out of Many: A History of the American People, 5th Edition, John M.

Faragher (AP Book) America: Pathways To The Present, Andrew Cayton, Ph.D. (Honors

Book) https://eee.uci.edu/clients/bjbecker/PlaguesandPeople/week8d.html http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook14.html http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers2.html http://www.victorianweb.org/history/chadwick2.html http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/DIASPORA/REBEL.HTM http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Life-in-the-North-Industry-

in-America-in-1800s-PowerPoint http://www.teacherweb.com/ny/tuckahoemiddleschool/socialstudies7/

chapter11summary.pdf http://www.nwhm.org/exhibits/Industry/1.htm http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html