Economic Growth:Chapter 8, Section 1

Geography shapes the physical, economic, and political challenges a region faces. New

technology produced the Industrial Revolution.

The Growth of Industry

• Main Idea: New technology led to changes in the ways things are made.• Trees believed to be

grown on most fertile land, many cut down, creating problems (soil erosion)

• What would be some of the Pros and Cons of Industrial Revolution?

A New Way of Working• 1800, America was

influenced by British advancements...

• British inventors created machinery to perform some of the work involved in making cloth through spinning. Water powered machine would be built in mills along the rivers

• People moved away from farms and their homes to move close to factories to earn a better living

The Industrial Revolution• First began in New England

because farming was difficult (poor soil) and many rivers provided waterpower to run machinery

• New England was also close to other resources (coal, iron, and ports to pass cotton for trade)

• Strong industrial growth needed an economic system that allowed for business competition with little government interference...

CAPITALISM• US economic system...• Individuals put capital ($) into a

business with hope that it will turn a profit and make more money

• Invest money to make money• Minimum government

interference• Free competition • Free Enterprise = free to buy,

sell, produce whatever they want

• Choices! Freedom! Competition! Money!

New Technology• Industrial Revolution

needed workers, waterpower, location, capital, + TECHNOLOGY (things meant to simplify)

• Spinning jenny, water frame, power loom = machines that helped make cloth production faster

• Save time/money

New Technology: Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin (1793)

• Machine removed seeds from cotton fiber

• Combined work of 50 men• The term gin, abbreviation for

engine, literally means machine.• A cotton gin combines a wire

mesh with wire hooks used to pull the cotton fibers through the mesh to prevent the seeds to come along with the cotton fiber. Some of the earliest versions which can be traced way back in the first century AD, made the use of stone or wood and consisted of a single roller.

New Technology: Patent Law• 1790, law to protect rights

of those who developed “useful and important inventions”

• Gives inventor sole legal right to invention and its profit for a certain period of time

New England Factories • Britain didn’t want their

industry (machines, people, and ideas) to leave and share the knowledge…but some did

• Samuel Slater = duplicated machines for cotton mill

• Francis Cabot Lowell = (more advanced than Slater’s stolen concept) textile plant that incorporated factory system, to increase efficiency

• Mills became common in mid 1800s, helping with production of lumber, shoes, leather, etc.

Interchangeable Parts

• Began with Eli Whitney...• Identical machine parts

that could be put together to make a complete project • Easy/similar parts (a

dummy could do it)• Made repair simple• Mass production grew• Reduced prices (supply

and demand)

1. Why were the first mills in Great Britain built near rivers?2. How is a revolution different from normal changes that society

goes through?3. Why do you think the government gives numbers to patents?4. Would the Industrial Revolution have been as likely to

develop in New England if it had better soil for farming? Why or why not?

5. Why would the British want to keep their new industrial technology a secret? What would they hope to gain?

A Changing Economy• Main idea: The growth of

factories and trade led to the growth of cities.

• Immigration, following Industrial Revolution, lead to population growth

• Many New Englanders went to work in factories, but majority still farmed

• Cotton production increased dramatically with development of textile industries

• Enslaved people worked in cotton fields, and the field sizes grew larger (supply and demand)

Economic Independence• Industries financed by small

investors (merchants, shopkeepers, farmers)

• Low taxes, little regulation by government, and free competition provided for economic independence and encouragement to invest in industry

Cities Come of Age• Growth of industrial towns along rivers/

streams as factory site or port cities• Some cities became center of

commerce and trade (New York, Boston, Baltimore)

• Others grew due to proximity to rivers, and available Western farmland (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville)

• Cities had buildings made of brick and wood, unpaved sidewalks and streets with wandering animals, and no sewage system which made spread of disease faster

• 1793 yellow fever epidemic killed thousands

Cities Come of Age

• Overcrowding and urbanization led to quick spread of diseases and dangerous fires and pollution (coal burning)

• However, city life offered wealth of opportunities (jobs/ money/attractions) and culture--museums, shops, libraries etc.

Pros and Cons of Industrial Revolution

• Labor• Revenue• Growth of cities• Urbanization• Overcrowding• Health• Inventions• Slave labor• Opportunity

1. Why did cities such as Pittsburgh and Louisville grow?2. Describe the reasons New England was ideal for the

development of factories.3. How did farming in the Northeast differ from that in the South?4. How did the cotton gin affect cotton production?5. Was new technology necessary for the Industrial Revolution?

Explain.