-
BACKGROUND INFO: Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution was during the 18th to 19th centuries and transformed America from a predominantly agrarian society to an industrial one. It began in the 1700s in Britain but was brought to the U.S. in the 19th century, The revolution consisted of factories, night shifts, mass production, and improved systems of transportation, communication, and banking. The disadvantages to industrialization though, were unsanitary conditions, dangerous work, child labor, fatigue and diseases. -
Spinning Jenny
British carpenter and weaver, James Hargreaves invents this machine, which helped to spin more than one ball of yarn/thread at a time. It helped to produce more cloth at a faster rate. -
Industrial revolution begins
Began in Britain in the 18th century with the textile industry and was eventually introduced into the United States in the 19th century, Before the industrial revolution, products were made at home or in rural areas by hand. However in the late 1700's the first sign of the revolution was shown with the steam engine and introduced the idea of using machinery with producing products. -
Industrial Revolution VIDEO
-
Improved Steam Engine
Even though Thomas Newcomen created the first steam engine in 1698, it wasn't very reliable, the improved design was created by James Watt in 1775. It became a vital machine to help start the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine would use the energy of steam to move machinery and was a fairly clean source of energy and was used in locomotives and steamships. -
Cotton Gin
Eli Whiteny patented the machine in 1794 and the machine helped to make it easier to separate cotton seeds from cotton fibers in less time. It also helped the southern states economically through making more money from cotton crops. -
KEY FIGURE: Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. Carnegie helped lead to the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He was also a philanthropist and industrialist and gave about 90 percent of his amounting in 1919 ($350 million) to charities and foundations by the time of his death, August 11, 1919, age 83. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie steel company and helped build the St. Louis bridge in 1873 using a steel mill that Henry Bessemer invented. -
PERSONAL STORY: John Fielden, M.P., "The Curse of the Factory System." London, 1836, pp. 34-35
"Here, then, is the "curse" of our factory-system; as improvements in machinery have gone on, the "avarice of masters" has prompted many to exact more labour from their hands than they were fitted by nature to perform, and those who have wished for the hours of labour to be less for alll ages than the legislature would even yet sanction, have had no alternative but to conform more or less to the prevailing practice, or abandon the trade altogether." -
KEY FIGURE: John D. Rockefeller
Rockefeller was born July 8, 1839 was a philanthropist and co-founder for the Standard Oil Company which was the leading oil industry and first great U.S. business trust. He revolutionized the petroleum industry and used horizontial integration with his business, and Rockefeller also was considered a supporter of capitalism in a social darwinist perspective of "survival of the fittest". -
Telegraph
Samuel Morse invents the telegraph which allowed messages to be sent quickly by going over a wire, by 1860, the telegraph wires stretched from the east coast of the united States to west of the Mississippi River. -
Sewing Machine
Elias Howe invents the sewing machine which opened up to the opprotunity of sewing clothes in large factories instead of at home or paying someone else to sew them for you. -
Elevator Safety Brake
In 1853, elevators were already invented, but people were afraid of the elevator cars falling, so Elisha Otis invents a safety brake to prevent elevator cars from falling off of the cables. -
Bessemer Method
Henry Bessemer invents a process to make steel out of iron in order to make steel quicker and cheaper to produce steel buildings and increase the growth of cities. -
Patent for Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone during the same time as another inventor, but was the first to get a patent for it. The telephone helped to bring the U.S. "closer" by decreasing time for communication. -
Light bulb
Thomas Edison wasn't the first man to create the light bulb but he helped to improve off the design and did it by lighing a lamp. His light bulb allowed people to do more things at night, such as work or going out. -
Brooklyn bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge finally opens up to the public after 13 years of construction and was made in New York City. Also at the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. -
NEWS ARTICLE: Thomas Edison
The article talks about Thomas Edison's latest invention that creates moving pictures that talk and are projected onto a canvas. The device is a combination of the perfected phonograph and the present motion picture camera. -
First Powered Airplane Flight
Orville and Wilbur Wright, using the engine that they invented, invented the first plane that wasn't powered by wind. Orville then flyed for 12 seconds over a beach in North Carolina. -
Model T
Henry Ford creates the Model T, which was much cheaper than other cars at the time because it was made from an assembly line. The Model T. allowed many people to buy cars, and promoted the use of the assembly line.
