Lesson 11.1a: Industrialization Begins in New England

Lesson 11.1a: Industrialization Begins in New England

Today we will explain how industrialization began in the New England states.

Vocabulary

• revolution – a sudden and dramatic change

• factory system – manufacturing process using many workers and machines in one building

Check for Understanding

• What are we going to do today?• Describe a revolution that is going on

in our lives today.• Give an example of a product that is

made using the factory system.

What We Already Know

Farming in New England was

difficult, so New Englanders turned

to other ways to make their living,

such as commerce and shipbuilding.


For decades, western Americans had floated their goods to market by using the Mississippi River as their highway.


Because the British blockade kept imported goods from reaching U.S. shores, American manufacturing

grew dramatically during the War of 1812.

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain during the late 1700s.

What was the Industrial

Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain during the late 1700s.

The Industrial Revolution was a time when factory machines replaced

hand tools and large-scale manufacturing replaced farming as

the main form of work.


Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

A ask B: What was the Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution was a time when factory machines replaced hand tools and

large-scale manufacturing replaced farming as the main form of work.

Before the Industrial

Revolution, women spun

thread and wove cloth at home in

cottage industries.

The spinning jenny and the power loom allowed unskilled workers , who were often children, to

produce more cloth, more quickly.

Power looms spin raw cotton into yarn and weave it into cloth.

The factory system brought many workers and machines together under

one roof.

Most factories were built near a source of

water to power the machines.



B ask A – What was the factory system?

The factory system brought many workers and machines together under one roof.

Occupations changed during the Industrial Revolution.

Large-scale manufacturing replaced farming as the main

form of work.

People left their farms and crowded into cities where the factories were.

They worked for wages, on a set schedule.

Their lives changed, and not always for

the better.

Investors began to invest in new American industries

instead of spending money on shipping and trade.

Americans took advantage of the free enterprise system to start

manufacturing their own goods.

The free enterprise system allows individuals to start businesses and compete for profits, enabling American businessmen to build their own factories

and grow wealthier.

Factories Come to New England

• New England was a good place to set up factories for several reasons.

• New England had many fast-moving rivers to supply power.

New England had ships and access to the ocean for transporting goods.

New England had a willing labor force in the families who were tired of scraping

a living from their stony fields.

Samuel Slater brought the textile industry to the United States.

• Samuel Slater smuggled plans for a textile mill into the country from England.

• He built his first spinning mill in Rhode Island in 1790 and a larger mill later.

• He employed whole families, paying them a low wage.

• His family system spread through Rhode Island, Connecticut, and southern Massachusetts.



A ask B: Where were the first American factories built?

The first American factories were built in New England.

Who was Samuel Slater?


Samuel Slater built the first spinning mill

in Rhode Island.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

4. Why were the first U.S. factories located in New England?

A. New England had good shipping and transportation.

B. New England had many slaves to work.C. New England had a tradition of

manufacturing.D. New England had streams for water power.E. New England had many wealthy farmers

willing to invest.F. New England had a willing labor force.

Choose all that are true!

The Lowell Mills Hire Women

• In 1813, Francis Cabot Lowell built a factory in Waltham, Massachusetts.

• This factory spun cotton into yarn and wove it into cloth on power looms.

• Lowell had seen power looms in English mills and copied their design for his Waltham factory.

The factory was so successful that Lowell built a new factory town in

Massachusetts and named it for himself.



A ask B: What product did the Lowell mills manufacture?

The Lowell mills manufactured textiles.

• Instead of families, the Lowell textile mills employed farm girls who lived in company-owned boardinghouses.

• The “Lowell girls” worked 12-hour days in deafening noise.


• At first, wages were high – between two and four dollars a week.

• The girls received a basic education and were strictly supervised until they married and left the mill.



By the 1830s, falling profits meant that wages dropped and working conditions

worsened.

Factories began to be powered by more powerful steam engines.

Steam engines began using coal and wood, meaning factories could be built

away from rivers and beyond New England.



A ask B: What replaced water as the power source in later factories?

Steam replaced water as the power source in later factories.


5. Who worked in the Lowell mills?

A. New England farm girlsB. Lowell’s friends and relativesC. Skilled craftsmenD. The mill owners themselves

A New Way to Manufacture

• In 1798, the U.S. government hired the inventor Eli Whitney to make 10,000 muskets for the army.

• At that time, guns were made one at a time by gunsmiths, from start to finish.

• Whitney introduced the use of interchangeable parts – parts that were exactly alike – to make production faster and to make repairs easy.

• Interchangeable parts also allowed the use of lower-paid and less-skilled workers.

A New Way to Manufacture

B ask A: How did interchangeable

parts change manufacturing?

Be sure to re-state the question in your

response!


Interchangeable parts changed manufacturing by speeding up production, making repairs easier, and allowing the use

of lower-paid, less-skilled workers.



6. How did Eli Whitney change manufacturing?

A. He smuggled plans for a mechanized factory out of England.

B. He developed an industrial assembly process using interchangeable parts.

C. He convinced poor Irish workers to immigrate to the United States.

D. He persuaded New England farmers to allow their daughters to work in his mills.

Moving People, Goods, and Messages

• New inventions improved transportation and communication.

• Steamboats carried people and goods farther and faster and led to the growth of cities like New Orleans and St. Louis.


• Robert Fulton invented a steamboat that could move against the current or strong wind.

• In 1807, he launched the Clermont on the Hudson River.

But steamships were still unable to sail upstream.

Henry Miller Shreve improved on Fulton’s idea.

• He designed a more powerful engine and installed it on a double-decker boat with a paddle wheel in the back.

• The stern-wheeler launched a new era of trade and trans-portation on the Mississippi River.


• In 1837, Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrated the telegraph.

• This invention allowed messages to travel between cities in seconds.

• By 1861, telegraph lines spanned the country.


• Telegraph lines and steamships helped bring people from different parts of the country closer together.

• These inventions increased national unity.

A ask B: Who was Robert Fulton?


Be sure to re-state the question in your

response!

Robert Fulton invented a steamboat that could move

using a steam engine to turn two side paddle wheels.


Check for UnderstandingWho introduced steamboats to the

Mississippi River?

Henry Miller Shreves introduced steamboats to

the Mississippi River.

Check for Understanding• Who invented the first telegraph?• Samuel F.B. Morse invented the

first telegraph.• How did the telegraph change

communication in the United States?

• The telegraph made it possible to communicate with someone in another city in seconds.

How did advances in communication and

transportation change America?

Advances in communication brought

people closer as a nation, bringing more national

unity.



7. How did Robert Fulton and Samuel F.B. Morse improve national unity?

A. Morse invented a steamboat that could move against the current.

B. Fulton invented a telegraph that could carry messages using pulses of electricity.

C. Morse’s invention made it easier to communicate across great distances.

D. Their inventions made it easier for Northerners and Southerners to do business.

E. Fulton’s invention led to the growth of cities like New Orleans and St. Louis.

Choose all that are true!

Technology Improves Farming• Several inventions increased

farm production in the United States.

• In 1836, John Deere invented a light-weight plow with a steel cutting edge.

Technology Improves Farming• Before Deere introduced his steel plow, most

farmers used iron or wooden plows.• The heavy Midwestern

soil stuck to these plows and had to be cleaned very frequently.

• The smooth sided steel plow solved this problem.

• As a result, more farmers began moving to the Midwest.

Technology Improves Farming

In 1834, Cyrus McCormick invented a reaper to cut ripe grain.

Technology Improves Farming

The threshing machine was invented to separate kernels of wheat from husks.

New inventions help to create national unity.

• The new farming equip–ment helped Midwestern farmers feed Northeastern factory workers.

• Midwestern farmers became a market for the goods manufactured in the Northeast.

• Northeastern textile mills increased the need for Southern cotton.


• Who was John Deere?• John Deere invented a

lightweight plow with a steel cutting edge.

How did the steel plow improve agriculture?

• The steel plow improved agriculture by making it easier for farmers to prepare ground in the heavy Midwestern soil.

• Deere’s new plow made it possible for more farmers to move west.

What two other inventions improved agriculture?

Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper cut ripe grain.

The threshing machine separated kernels of wheat from husks.

How were different U.S. regions linked economically?

• New farming equipment helped Midwestern farmers feed Northeastern factory workers.

• Midwestern farmers became a market for the goods manufactured in the Northeast.

• Northeastern textile mills increased the need for Southern cotton.


8. How did John Deere and Cyrus McCormick strengthen the economic connection between

the Midwest and New England?

A. Their inventions made it easier for Midwestern farmers to feed Northeastern factory workers.

B. He invented a steamboat that could move against the current.

C. Their inventions strengthened the economic connection between Northeastern factory workers and Southern plantation owners.

D. Their inventions strengthened the economic connection between American farmers and South American manufacturers.

Documents

Lesson 11.1a: Industrialization Begins in New England