Industrial Revolution USA

Industrial Revolution USA

American Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain in the late 1700s. It soon spread to the United States where it changed the way products were made and how people worked and lived. The first part of the Industrial Revolution in the United States took place in the Northeast.

American Industrial Revolution

Many historians point to the opening of a textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793 as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The mill was founded by English immigrant Samuel Slater who had learned how to operate a textile mill in England. Slater would later go on to open thirteen textile mills throughout the region.

American Industrial Revolution

Textile mills began to open throughout the northeast. In Massachusetts, a businessman named Frances Lowell opened the first integrated textile mill in the United States. Unlike earlier mills, Lowell's mill also weaved the thread into cloth. His mill incorporated all the steps to produce cloth from raw cotton in a single factory. Lowell's mill grew to become one of the largest textile centers in the United States. They hired mostly women who became known as the Lowell Mill Girls. By 1840, around 8,000 workers worked in Lowell and most of them were women. These women were also involved in early labor reform when they organized strikes in 1834 and 1836.

Lowell Massachusetts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkiXPKIW8w

American Industrial Revolution

The War of 1812 had an impact on getting the Industrial Revolution started in the United States. After the war, people realized that the country was too reliant on foreign goods. They felt that the United States needed to make its own goods and to build better transportation.

American Industrial Revolution

The steam engine was one of the most important new inventions of the Industrial Revolution. In 1807, Robert Fulton developed the first commercially successful steamboat. This boat could travel upstream much faster than previous forms of transportation. Steamboats greatly improved the transportation of goods and people. They soon became one of the most important drivers of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.

American Industrial Revolution

In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed between Lake Erie and the Hudson River. This opened up transportation between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. This canal had a huge impact on how products could be shipped in the Northeast.

https://eriecanalway.org/learn/history-culture (Video bottom of page)

American Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in the Northeast, but it eventually spread throughout much of the country by the early 1900s. Large cities formed around factories and new technologies improved the production of goods, transportation, and communications. The way of life for Americans was changed forever.

Open Ended

What do Henry Ford, John D Rockefeller, and J.P Morgan have in common?

Henry Ford

• Born on July 30, 1863, near Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford created the Ford Model T car in 1908 and went on to develop the assembly line mode of production, which revolutionized the industry.

• When Ford was 13 years old, his father gifted him a pocket watch, which the young boy promptly took apart and reassembled. Friends and neighbors were impressed, and requested that he fix their timepieces too. Unsatisfied with farm work, Ford left home the following year, at the age of 16, to take an apprenticeship as a machinist in Detroit.

Henry Ford

• All the while, Ford developed his plans for a horseless carriage, and in 1896, he constructed his first model, the Ford Quadricycle.

• After a few trials building cars and companies, in 1903, Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company. Ford introduced

  the Model T in October of 1908, and for several years, the company posted 100 percent gains.

Henry Ford Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEFHJ6IZx30

Open Ended

What are three things you took away from this video?

Takeaways

• Model T Car

• Assembly Line

• Minimum Wage

Model T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gglrbduPbQ0

Open Ended

How was the Model T revolutionize American transportation and manufacturing?

Assembly Line

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgks7cAobsU

Open Ended

How does the use of interchangeable parts lead to mass production? How did Henry Ford achieve this?

Minimum Wage

• In 1914, he sponsored the development of the moving assembly line technique of mass production.

• Simultaneously, he introduced the $5-per-day wage ($110 in 2011) as a method of keeping the best workers loyal to his company.

• 
  

Open Ended

How does Henry Ford's implementation of a minimum wage differ from the factories in Britain?

Controversy

The company's "Social Department" looked into an

employee’s drinking, gambling and otherwise uncouth

activities to determine eligibility for participation. Ford

was also an ardent pacifist and opposed World War I,

even funding a peace ship to Europe. Later, in 1936,

Ford and his family established the Ford Foundation

to provide ongoing grants for research, education and

development. But despite these philanthropic

leanings, Ford was also a committed anti-Semite,

going as far as to support a weekly newspaper, The

Dearborn Independent, which furthered such views.

John D Rockefeller

John D Rockefeller

• John D. Rockefeller was the head of the Standard Oil

  Company and one of the world's richest men. He

  used his fortune to fund ongoing philanthropic causes

• Born July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York. He built his first oil refinery near Cleveland and in 1870 incorporated the Standard Oil Company. By 1882 he had a near-monopoly of the oil business in the U.S, but his business practices led to the passing of antimonopoly laws.

John D Rockefeller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9saLsvWcppw

Open Ended

How did John D Rockefeller build his monopoly?

Standard Oil

• When the oil business moved east to Pennsylvania,

  Rockefeller followed it. By the early 1880s, he

  dominated the oil business throughout the country

  and his company had a net worth of $55 million.

  Standard's dominance stemmed from its near control

  (and ownership) of almost every aspect the business.

  Under Rockefeller's leadership, the company

  established a system of pipelines to transport its

  product. It owned train cars, and scooped up

  thousands of acres of forest for fuel.

John D Rockefeller

• In 1882, Rockefeller organized the Standard Oil Trust,

  a business trust that would serve as a model for the

  creation of other kinds of monopolies. Rockefeller, of

  course, was appointed head of the organization.

  
  

  But as Rockefeller's power and wealth increased, his

  standing with the public nose-dived. By the early

  1800s states began to enact antimonopoly legislation,

  paving the way for the 1890 passage of the Sherman

  Antitrust Act.

• In 1895 the 56-year-old Rockefeller retired from his

  day-to-day involvement of Standard Oil and turned his

  focus toward philanthropic endeavors.

John D Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller's charity proved considerable. In

total he gave away more than $530 million to various

causes. His money helped pay for the creation of the

University of Chicago as well as the Rockefeller

Institute for Medical Research (later named

Rockefeller University) in New York, as well as the

Rockefeller Foundation.

JP Morgan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9LnW09fvHE

JP Morgan

• The son of a banker, Morgan went into the family business

  and became one of the most famous financiers in

  history. After working for his father, he started his own

  private banking company in 1871, which later became

  known as J.P. Morgan & Co.

• His company became one of the leading financial

  firms in the country. It was so powerful that even the

  U.S. government looked to the firm for help with the

  depression of 1895. The company also assisted in

  thwarting the 1907 financial crisis.

JP Morgan

During his career, his wealth, power, and influence

attracted a lot of media and government scrutiny.

During the late 1800s and even after the turn of the

century, much of the country's industries were in the

hands of a few powerful business leaders, especially

Morgan. He was criticized for creating monopolies by

making it difficult for any business to compete against

his. Morgan dominated two industries in particular --

he helped consolidate railroad industry in the East

and formed the United States Steel Corporation in

1901.

JP Morgan

A crucial material in the extensive growth of the

nation, U.S. Steel became the world's largest steel

manufacturer. The government, concerned that

Morgan had created a monopoly in the steel industry,

filed suit against the company in 1911. The following

year, Morgan and his partners became the subject of

a congressional investigation by the Pujo Committee

in 1912.

Open Ended

Recap: What is Henry Ford known for?

Open Ended

Recap: What is John D Rockefeller known for?

Open Ended

Recap: What is JP Morgan known for?