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The New England Textile Industry in the 19th Century

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 1 year, 12 months ago

Slater Mill, on the Blackstone River, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

 

 

Slater Mill, on the Blackstone River, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

 

Topics on the Page

 

A. technological improvements and inventions that contributed to industrial growth

 

  • American System of Manufacturing

 

  • The Springfield Armory and the Connecticut River Valley of Western Massachusetts

 

 

B. the causes and impact of the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to America in the 1840s and 1850s

 

 Cross Links to US History Dramatic Event Pages

 

 

 

 

 

C. the rise of a business class of merchants and manufacturers

 

D. the roles of women in New England textile factories

 

 

  • Early Labor Protests

 

  • 10 Hour Workday for Federal Employees (1840)

 

  AP United States History:  Economic Transformations in Antebellum America

 

 

Focus Question: What were the impacts of industrial growth in New England and other parts of American society before the Civil War?

 

Middlesex Wollen Mill, Lowell, Massachusetts

Middlesex Wollen Mill, Lowell, Massachusetts 


external image Red_apple.jpgWhole Cloth: Discovering Science and Technology Through Textile History


external image 200px-Hebrew_timeline.svg.pngtimeline of the antebellum period to provide context.

 

  Watch this video on the Market Revolution and how work changed in the United States.



A. Technological improvements and inventions that contributed to industrial growth

Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater

 

  • Factories: Oliver Evans invented steam engines which uses the heat energy from the steam resulting in mechanical labor.

 

  • Steamboats: Steamboats decreased the travel time between coastal ports and cities by week’s time.
    • Their speed gave rise to the transportation of goods.
      • Click here to see a map of steamboats on the Mississippi River.

 

  • Mills: Samuel Slater created the first U.S. textile factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
    • Samuel Slater created housing, shops, and churches for the factory workers that were neighboring to the mill; these were called mill villages.

 

Biography of Samuel Slater from PBS Who Made America?

  • Power Looms: Francis Cabot Lowell created power looms which combined spinning and weaving which were mostly run by unmarried young women.

 

Biography of Francis Cabot Lowell from PBS Who Made America?


Read this article on how slave trade grew and migrated after the invention of the cotton gin.

 

The creator of the cotton gin is often credited as Eli Whitney, but historians have argued that his might not be the case. Click here for a lesson plan explaining the controversies surrounding the cotton gin. This activity includes activity worksheets, informational articles, and an outline for a debate activity about who should receive credit for the invention of the cotton gin. 

 

Here is a link to a video on how the Cotton Gin changed America. 

 

The American System of Manufacturing and the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts


external image SpringfieldMA_Oldarm.gif

  • Eli Whitney was the inventor of the interchangeable parts manufacturing process for making firearms in 1798 near New Haven, Connecticut

 

 

  • Featured precision manufacturing with interchangeable parts and transformed how industry developed in the United States and around the world.
    • Started in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts with the production of guns at the Springfield Armory.

 

 

  • "This type of precision manufacturing, originally developed to produce firearms for the government, spun off the bicycle business, the typewriter business, the automobile business, and the sewing machine business" (Tim Blagg, The Recorder, January 16, 2010, p. C2).


external image Red_apple.jpg Was There an Industrial Revolution? Americans at Work Before the Civil War?

Springfield Armory: Technology in Transition lesson plan

  • This lesson explores the change in American manufacturing systems from individual production to mass production, made possible by the introduction of interchangeable and precision part


Click here for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poem, "The Arsenal at Springfield," published in 1845.

 

 

Overview

Textile manufacturing was the dominant industry in Massachusetts in the 19th century. An efficient process for manufacturing, known as the Lowell system, revolutionized textile manufacturing. This paved way for many more mills to open all over New England and brought in jobs and wealth to the area. However, the efficiency of production was so good it created a surplus of goods and the value of textile products sunk forcing owners to cut expenses. Jobs were lost and workers were replaced with unskilled immigrants who would work for lower wages. (Link)

 

Interested in learning about industrial inventions of the 19th century, click here.

 

B. The causes and impact of the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to America in the 1840s and 1850s


The three main nationalities that immigrated to the United States during this period were the Germans, Irish, and Scandinavians.

  • All of these groups were unskilled workers.
  • Jobs in factories and mills needed unskilled workers because they would work for low wages.

 

German Immigration


Germans: Increase in population in Europe pushed the Germans out to look for more job opportunities and profit.

Irish Potato Famine Memorial, Dublin, Ireland
Irish Potato Famine Memorial, Dublin, Ireland

 

  • Click here to read more about German immigration.

 

The Irish Potato Famine


Irish: Potato famine pushed the Irish out of Ireland. The British persecution of the Irish whipped out more than 15% of their nation.
 

Click here to view a ten minute video about Irish immigration.

See Dramatic Event Page on the Irish Potato Famine

The greatest influx of immigrants to the United States occurred between the 1840s and the 1920s. During this era, approximately 37 million immigrants arrived in the United States.

The Irish Brigade

 

Scandinavian Immigration

  • Scandinavians: Increase in population caused them to migrate for job opportunities. The Scandinavians were also suffering from drought and famine.
    • The U.S. also had new land in the Midwest that would be ideal for farming, and this group was known for their farming skills. Click here to read more about Scandinavian immigration.

 

 

See Immigration Before the Civil War for more specific information about the wave of European immigration.



C. The rise of business class of merchants and manufacturers

 

Sculpture of Blanchard's Lathe
Sculpture of Blanchard's Lathe

 

  • Simeon North: suggested division of labor which would increase the speed in which products, like the pistol, could be manufactured.

 

Thomas Blanchard: Created a lathe which cut irregular shapes needed for arms (gun) manufacturing at the Springfield, Massachusetts Armory. Read more about him here.

 

  • The Lowell System (see below)
    • Click here for a guide to the Lowell System from Boundless, a study website.

 

  • Immigrants to the U.S. were unskilled workers that fulfilled the jobs that were backed by cheap wages.

 

Read about how the Northern and Southern colonies each needed and relied upon slave labor.

 

D. The roles of women in New England textile factories

 

See Historical Biography page on the Lowell Mill Girls

 

For a video on the Lowell Mill Girls, click here

 

Roles of Women in Factories


Today, you can still visit the Lowell factories and learn a great deal about textiles and the many details surrounding the industry. 

 


Click here for primary sources from UMass Lowell on factory life for women

 

 


Link here for 2017 data on women's share of male-dominated U.S. industries

  • Includes 5 most male-dominated and 5 most female-dominated occupations





Labor Protests Against Working Conditions


1834 Lowell Mill Girls Turnout to Protest Wage Cuts from the Massachusetts AFL-CIO

Women, Work and Protest in Early Lowell Mills from Labor History(1975)

Lowell Mill Women Create First Union of Working Women.

New Hampshire Became the first state to enact a 10 hour workday.

 


President Martin Van Buren Executive Order establishing a 10 hour day for federal employees (1840)







 

Works Cited

[1] (2007). Steam Engine. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine.
[2] (2007). Lowell System. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_system.
[3] (2007). United States Technological and Industrial History. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_technological_and_industrial_history.
[4] (2007). United States Immigration 1790 to 1849. In Wikipedia i> [Web]. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States#Immigration_1790_to_1849.
[5] (2007). California Gold Rush. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush.
http://www.answers.com/topic/textile-industry
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566973_2/Immigration.html#s10
[8] http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_cotton.htm
[9] http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/cotton-gin-patent/
[10]
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/us-art-19c/us-19c-arch-sculp-photo/v/seneca-village-the-lost-history-of-african-americans-in-new-york

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