American Industrial Revolution

The Industrial
Revolution

The Industrial Revolution is when
people stopped making products at
home and started making stuff in

factories!

■ The Industrial Revolution came late to

America and happened in two-folds.
– 1st Industrial Revolution began in the late 1700s

until the beginning of the Civil War

– 2nd Industrial Revolution began after the Civil

War until the early 1900s

■ Industrialization: a shift from an agricultural

(farming) economy to one based on industry
(manufacturing)

Open Ended

In your own words, tell me what industrialization means.

Pre-Industrial Revolution

■ Village life

dominated – families
were nearly
self-sufficient

■ Most villagers were

farmers

Multiple Choice

Before the Industrial Revolution, where did people mainly live at?

• cities

• villages

• suburbs

• forests

Urbanization

• Urbanization: the movement of people to cities

• Changes in farming + population increase + need

for workers= mass migration to cities

• Small towns near natural resources and cities near

factories boomed instantly

Multiple Choice

What is urbanization?

• When people move from farms to cities

• When people move from cities to farms

• When people move from cities to suburbs

• When people move from suburbs to cities

Growth of Industry

■ Growth of factories

– Demand for cloth grew

leading to newer and
bigger machines being
invented.

– Factories were built to

house the new
machines.

– New machines and

factories increased
production

Multiple Choice

Which one is NOT a reason for the growth of factories?

• There was a demand for clothes

• Needed a place to store the new machines

• It was super cheap to build factories

Technology

■ The Industrial Revolution was built on

rapid advances in technology

Spinning Jenny: 1764

■ Invented by James

Hargreaves

■ This machine spun many

threads at the same
time, thus reducing the
amount of work needed
to produce yarn
(increased productivity =
produced yarn quickly)

Multiple Choice

Why was the Spinning Jenny an important technology of its time?

• By increasing the production of yarn, more clothes could be made

• It was a cheap machine

• It did the work for spiders

• It spins super fast

Modern Steam Engine: 1763-1775

■ Improved by James Watt

■ Offered a dramatic

increase in fuel
efficiency

■ Could be used to

drive many different
types of machinery

Multiple Choice

What did the steam engine help power?

• factories

• ships

• trains

• all of the them

Cotton Gin: 1793

■ Invented by Eli Whitney to mechanize the

cleaning of cotton

■ A machine that quickly and easily separates the

cotton fibers from the seeds, a job previously
done by hand

Multiple Choice

Though the cotton gin helped make it easier to clean cotton, it also increased the need for ____________?

• money

• slaves

• water

• politicians

(Henry) Bessemer Process for
the Manufacture of Steel: 1856

■ Invented by Henry

Bessemer

■ Lowered the cost of steel

production, leading to
steel being widely
substituted for cast iron

■ Steel used for the

production of guns and
railway structures such as
bridges and tracks

Multiple Choice

Why was steel preferred over cast iron?

• It's lighter

• It's heavier

• It's more expensive

• I

The Impact of the Railroad

•Transportation
innovation that most
changed the way raw
materials, goods, and
people moved

•Allowed
communication and
trade between places
previously deemed too
far

Open Ended

Why were trains super important?

Conditions in

Factories

Dirty

Poll

What did the conditions seem like in the factories?

• Excellent condition

• Good condition

• Okay condition

• Terrible condition

Young women in the textile mills of

Massachusetts died at an average age of

26, constantly inhaling cotton dust,

working long hours in unventilated rooms

lit by oil lamps

Child Labor

•Young children

•Long hours

•Poor treatment

•Dangerous conditions

Housing

Tenement = a substandard,

multi-family dwelling, usually old
and occupied by the poor

■ Built cheaply
■ Multiple stories
■ No running water or toilet
■ Sewer down the middle of street
■ Trash thrown out into street
■ Crowded (5+ people living in

one room)

■ Breeding grounds for diseases
■ Pollution from factory smoke

Open Ended

Tell me one of the downsides of life in the factories

Large Gaps between Rich & Poor

The “HAVES”

Bourgeois Life Thrived on the

Luxuries of the Industrial

Revolution

The “HAVE-NOTS”

The Poor, The Over-Worked,

and the Destitute

Effects of the Industrial

Revolution

Positive Effects

■Increased world productivity

■Growth of railroads

■New entrepreneurs emerged (more
money = more technology/inventions)

■New inventions improved quality of life
for many

■Labor eventually organized (unions) to
improve working conditions

■Laws were enacted to enforce health
and safety codes in cities and factories

■New opportunities for women

■Rise of the middle class – size, power,
and wealth expanded

■Social structure becomes more flexible

Positive Effects

– Goods were able to be produced much more cheaply
– There were greater job opportunities
– There was an increase in wealth and in general

quality of life

– An independent urban manufacturing business force

arose

– New inventions and innovations occurred; information

spread, making the world “smaller”

– Spurred the rise of large cities

Open Ended

Please tell me what you think was the most important positive effect of the Industrial Revolution.

Negative Effects: Factory

Life

■
Child labor used in factories &
mines

■
Miserable and dangerous
working conditions

■
Monotonous work with heavy,
noisy, repetitive machinery

■
Long working hours with low
wages

■
Rigid schedules ruled each day

■
Diseases such as pneumonia &
tuberculosis spread through
factories

Negative Effects: Labor Practices &

Housing Issues

■
Labor unrest leads to
demonstrations (sometimes
violent)

■
Strikes take place

■
Women were paid less than
men

■
Indentured workers

■
Employers had a more
impersonal relationship with
employees

■
Tenement housing was poorly
constructed, crowded, and cold

■
Human and industrial waste
contaminated water supplies –
typhoid and cholera spread

Open Ended

Please tell me what you think was the most important negative effect of the Industrial Revolution.