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American North - Geography

Northern Climate: Colder winters, shorter summers
New England coast has bays perfect for shipbuilding, fishing and commerce
In New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, broad rivers deposited rich soil over wide plains, making for good farmland

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American North - Geography

Industrious northerners were changing the landscape.
The Central Plains had some of the best agricultural soil on Earth. Settlers cleared forests to make way for farms
One result was deforestation, or the destruction of the forests.
By 1850, 177,000 square miles of dense forest had been cleared
With the growth of industry, the demand for coal and other minerals led to a big increase in mining, especially in Pennsylvania

Industrial Revolution

An industrial revolution is when hand tools are replaced by factory machines, and farming is replaced by large-scale manufacturing.
It began in Great Britain in the late 1700s and quickly transformed how people lived and worked
Before the Industrial Revolution, most people lived in rural areas and worked in agriculture
New machines and technologies led to the growth of factories and mass production
Many people moved from farms to cities to work in factories, leading to rapid urbanization
Great Britain became the center of industrial growth - making the country very wealthy

Spinning Jenny and Power Loom

Ideas Spread

Britain wanted to maintain its monopoly on textile production and prohibited the exportation of machinery and the emigration of engineers
Samuel Slater visited England and memorized the designs of cotton mills.
To power these machines, a fast-moving stream was needed to turn a wheel, which supplied energy to the machinery

Eli Whitney’s - Interchangeable Parts

Eli Whitney introduced the idea of interchangeable parts, where identical pieces could be used to build or repair products
Before this, goods were handmade, and each item was slightly different
If something broke, it was difficult and expensive to fix because parts were not standardized
Interchangeable parts allowed workers to quickly replace broken pieces without needing a skilled craftsman
This system made manufacturing faster, cheaper, and more efficient
It also made it easier to train workers, since they did not need advanced skills to assemble products
Factories could produce large numbers of identical goods, leading to mass production

The Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney also invented the cotton gin.
The gin took the seeds out of the cotton, which was much faster than doing it by hand.
The cotton gin also greatly expanded the need for slaves.

The Reaper

In 1831, Cyrus McCormick invented the “Reaper.”
A Reaper could cut 28 times more grain than a single man using a sickle.
This allowed farmers to plant much more seed because they could harvest it easier.

The Threshing Machine

The threshing machine separated the kernels of wheat from the husks, which was a far faster way of getting wheat than picking it by hand.
The threshing machine increased the growing of wheat.
By making it easier to harvest large quantities of grain, inventions like the reaper helped transform the Central Plains into America’s “Bread basket.”

Steamboat

Robert Fulton designed a steam engine for a steamboat that could move against the current of a river or against the wind.
The steamboat created more opportunities for trade and transportation on rivers.

The Telegraph

The telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse.
This machine sent sent long and short pulses of electricity along a wire.
With the telegraph, it took only seconds to communicate with another city.
The invention of the steamboat and telegraph brought the people of the nation closer to each other.

New England Factories

New England became an ideal place for factories during the Industrial Revolution.
New England

Factory System

The Factory System

By the 1830’s, steam engines were used to power machines.
With steam engines, factories could be built anywhere, not just along rivers
New inventions and manufacturing shifted work from skilled craftspeople to less skilled laborers