A
Define or explain the significance of the the following:
Samuel Slater-
Englishman who brought the industrial Revolution to America by building the first spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1790. He hired eight children between the ages of 7 and 12, paying them a low wage. Later, he built a larger mill and employed whole families. Slater influenced others to start mills, his family system of employment spread throughout New England.
Industrial Revolution-
The shift in production from hand made production at home to machine made production in mills or factories. Factory machines replaced hand tools, and large-scale manufacturing replaced farming as the main form of work.
Factory Sysytem
When workers and machines are brought together under one roof to produce or manufacture goods.
Lowell Mills
textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts employed farm girls who lived in company-owned boarding houses. “Lowell girls” worked 12.5 hour days in deafening noise.
Interchangable parts
When machines are used to make parts that are exactly alike.
Robert Fulton
invented a steamboat that could move against the current or a strong wind.
Invented the telegraph, a machine that sent long and short pulses of electricity along a wire. These pulses could be translated into letters of a message.
List 3 reasons why New England was a good place to build early mills & factories?
Factories needed water power, and New England had many fast-moving rivers.
It also had ships and access to the ocean for easier transportation
New England had a willing labor force
Wealthy merchant with money to invest
What were working conditions like in the Lowell mills?
12 ½ hours days
Deafening noise
Dangerous
Girls lived in company owned boarding houses
Followed strict rules and were supervised by older women
Had to attend church
The conditions and pay got worse over time as the industry become more competitive
How were different U.S. regions linked economically?
New technologies linked regions and contributed to national unity. Midwestern farmers grew food to feed Northeastern factory workers. In turn, Midwestern farmers became a market for Northeastern manufactured goods. Northeastern textile mills increased demand for Southern cotton.