The Industrial North

Discussion Question

 Think back to 10th grade World History…what was the

Industrial Revolution and where did it start?
Industrial Revolution Recap
 Industrial Revolution:
 A period from the 1700’s to
the mid 1800’s that brought
about great economic,
political, and cultural change
by shifting from an economy
based on manual labor to
one dominated by industry,
machines, and new types of
power/energy.

 Began in England

 James Watt-1764: Steam Engine

begins to power the Industrial
Revolution in England.
 The I.R. Hops the Pond

 England makes it illegal to spread

their industrial ideas to other
countries.

 1793: Samuel Slater comes to

America and builds the first water
powered spinning mill in Rhode
Island.
 1st successful textile mill in the
nation.
 It’s construction marks start of
Industrial Revolution in
America.
Textiles

 By 1810 there are more than 60

textile mills in New England.
 Early mills spin thread, but not
cloth.
 Parcel out thread to individual
workers who weave it into cloth.

 1814: Francis Lowell opens first mill

in the US that can turn raw cotton
into finished cloth all in 1 building.
 Brings over concept of power
loom from England.
Lowell Mill Girls
 Lowell, Massachusetts
 The “City of Spindles”
 Population increased from 200
to 20,000 in 15 years.
 Model for other industrial cities

 Recruited young Northern women

to work mills.
 85% are single women
 Live together in boarding
houses.
 Creates new opportunities for
women:
 Earn own wages
 Socialize with other women
 Increased education
Discussion Question

 Do you think the Lowell Mills were a good or negative

aspect of the Industrial Revolution? Provide reasons for
your answers.

 Summarize the ways in which the Lowell Mills changed

the experiences and lives of many women in the North
East? Do you think that women in the South were put at
a disadvantage for not having those opportunities? How
might it change the perspective between Northern and
Southern women?
Transportation
 Roads and Turnpikes
 Turnpike: a toll road, where a fee is paid for
use.
 Fee’s helped to maintain roads.
 Often collected by private companies.

 By 1821 over 4,000 miles of turnpikes in place.

 Most in North East

 By 1840 network of roads connect most cities

and towns in USA.

 Pros:
 Promote travel and trade.

 Cons:
 Bumpy roads=broken trade goods
 Hard to ship bulky loads over long
distances.
Roads without turnpikes
Turnpike Improvements
Canals
 1825 Erie Canal opens
 363 miles long
 Connects Great Lakes with the Atlantic
Ocean.
 Built by NY governor DeWitt Clinton
 Reduced cost of moving ton of freight
from $100 to $5.

 Over next 15 years, 3,000+ canals built in

Northeast.

 Pros:
 Move large quantities of goods easily.
 Once built, very cheap to use/maintain.

 Cons:
 Barges powered by horses that walk up
and down canal banks.
 Freeze over in winter.
Erie Canal Map
Canal Legging
 Steamboats
 1807 Robert Fulton sends 1st successful
steamboat, the Clermont, up Hudson River.
 Nicknamed “Fulton’s Folly” because
people didn’t think it would work.

 By 1830 more than 200 steamboats on

Mississippi River.

 Pros:
 Open up West and South to further
settlement.
 Provide cheap method of transportation
for goods.
 Very comfortable method of
transportation

 Cons:
 Only worked on rivers and large bodies
of water.
Railroads

 1830 1st steam powered train runs in USA.

 1840 there is 3,000 miles of track in US.

 Mostly in Northern states.

 Pros:
 Faster/cheaper to construct than canals.
 Operate year round
 Extremely fast method of travel

 Cons:
 Early on no cohesion between lines.
 Early faulty technology results in
dangerous crashes.
Communications
 Telegraph
 1840 Samuel Morse patens first
telegraph.

 Provides almost instantaneous

communication over vast distances.

 Pros:
 Revolutionized long distance
communication.

 Cons:
 Competing telegraph company’s
fought over rights/lines.
 Lines could be cut/damaged
easily.
Discussion Question

 What do you think was the most important technological

advancement in the early years of the Industrial
Revolution? Support your argument.

 Which technological advancement would you argue

has impacted us the most today?
Nationalism & Sectionalism

North
 Free states

 Favored strong national

government

 More nationalist

 Urban

 Industrial

 Stronger transportation
network