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New
Ways and New People
The Rise of Industry
Beginnings in Textiles
Samuel Slater built the first textile machines in the United States.
This was a shift from producing goods at home to producing products
in factories.
The Factory System
The Waltham System: Introduced by Francis Lowell, it was a system where
the entire process of converting cotton into cloth with a power loom
took place under one roof.
Lowell, Massachusetts was the first model factory town.
Working Conditions: Buildings were dirty, and pay was poor.
Inventions and Industry
Some major inventions of the middle 1800s were the cotton gin, the process
of vulcanization, the telegraph, the sewing machine, and the reaper.
You needed a patent, or license, to make, use, or sell new inventions.
Eli Whitney invented the idea of interchangeable parts and the cotton
gin. His ideas led to idea of mass production.
Charles Goodyear invented vulcanization; Samuel Morse invented the telegraph
and Morse Code; Elias Howe invented the sewing machine; and Isaac Singer
improved the sewing machine.
The Machine on the Farm
Cyrus McCormick invented the reaper.
George Page invented the disc harrow.
John Heath invented the mechanical binder.
The Iron Industry
Early iron centers were in the Lehigh, Susquehanna, and Delaware river
valleys.
Before 1830, wood and charcoal were used to heat furnaces and change
iron ore into crude iron.
William Kelly came up with a better way of getting steel from iron ore.
Coal replaced charcoal in making iron.
By 1860, 500,000 tons of crude iron was produced in the United States.
A System of Transportation
The growth of manufacturing and farm production added to the need for
better transportation.
New Roads
The draw backs of road transportation: roads were costly and slow; and
wagons could carry only small loads.
By 1860, there were 88,000 miles of hard-surfaced roads in the United
States.
Building Canals
Major canals developed in the early 1800s: the Erie Canal connecting
New York City with Lake Erie, canals linking the Great Lakes and the
Ohio River, and canals linking the Delaware and Raritan Rivers.
The Erie Canal linked New York City and Buffalo.
Other canals linked rivers, lakes, and oceans.
The First Steamboats
Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine in the early 1700s.
In 1769, James Watt patented and improved the steam engine.
Robert Fulton adapted the steam engine for use on a boat (Clermont).
The first steamboat was developed in New York on the Hudson River.
Steamboats made for decreased travel time.
The Coming of Railroads
In England, George Stephenson, built a steam powered locomotive called
The Rocket.
Early Railroads: The Baltimore and Ohio was the first successful railroad
in the United States.
In 1830, Peter Cooper built the first American steam locomotive called
Tom Thumb.
Expansion of Railroad Systems: By 1850, New England had a rail system;
in 1852, there was a Detroit and Chicago railroad; in 1856, the Rock
Island Line was the first to build a bridge over the Mississippi River;
and by the mid-1800s there were over 30,000 miles of track.
Problems of the Railroads: Problems early railroads had were the motion
and noise were distracting, and the sparks from the fire sometimes set
fire to people's clothing. Different railroads had different gauges of
track. There was a lack of strong bridges and rails.
The Rise of Related Industries: Related industries include iron, timber,
coal, and telegraph.
The use of the telegraph improved railroad service as messages could
be sent by telegraph from station to station, giving the arrival and
departure times of trains.
The Growth of Cities
Old Cities and New Cities
New York was the largest city in the United States in 1840.
From 1820-1840, New York City grew from 123,000 to 312,000; Philadelphia
went from 112,000 to 220,000; Baltimore 62,000 to 102,000; and Boston
42,000 to 93,000.
River cities like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Louisville grew, along
with railroad cities like Chicago.
Benefits and Problems
The benefits of city life included more jobs and schools, libraries,
operas, and plays.
The problems of city life were they often lacked water, adequate lighting,
and police and fire protection; crowded tenements; and air pollution.
Improving City Life
By the 1850s gas lighting became common in cities.
Water systems were installed.
Police and fire departments were established.
The Changing Population
Increasing Immigration
Most immigrants came from Ireland and Germany during the years between
1820 and 1840.
From 1820 to 1840, 700,000 people came to the United States.
From 1840 to 1860, 4 million people arrived (1 million were Irish who
were escaping the potato famine).
Settling in America
Most of the Irish immigrants settled in eastern cities (eastern seaports),
Germans in the Middle West (Midwest farms).
The Nativist Movement
The nativist movement was founded during the 1830s and 1840s.
Nativists were against people not born in America. They also were against
Catholics, and most of the Irish were Catholic.
Nativists only wanted American-born, Protestants to be able to vote.
The American party, also known as the Know-Nothings, was a national
political party formed in opposition to the immigrants.
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