The American Industrial Revolution

1. The American Industrial Revolution

2. Age of Industry • By the 18th century a revolution swept across Europe and the United States • Products which had been handmade in small workshops were now being made by power-driven machines

3. Beginnings • Although the Industrial Revolution began in England, Americans did not copy British advances • America had different needs and resources and this led its industrialization

4. Cotton Gin • Eli Whitney, an inventor in New England, was visiting the friend of the family in Savannah, Ga • When asked to repair a broken watch, the friend wished aloud for a machine to separate cotton from its seed, work that was done by hand and was very time consuming

5. Cotton Gin cont. • After working several weeks, Whitney developed a model for the cotton gin that separated the cotton from the seeds • Whitney later built a factory near Augusta and had a working cotton engine, later shortened to just “gin” • Before its invention, a worker might have to separate 6-7 pounds of cotton seed a day by hand

6. Success, kind of… • After the cotton gin’s introduction, workers were able to separate about 50 pounds a day • Eli Whitney earned almost nothing from his invention because planters “pirated” the gin before Whitney could register his patent • He had to appeal to Congress to save him from going broke

7. “King” Cotton • The southern climate was so well-suited to growing cotton, which could grow in almost any soil, more and more land was devoted to growing cotton • The southern economy became heavily dependent on growing cotton and more and more workers (slaves) were needed to grow the crops