Development of Industry in the US (College Board AP® US History)

Summary

The “market revolution” began in the early 19^th century. During this period, innovations in transportation, industry and agriculture changed and led to the growth of the US economy. Industries produced products and farmers grew crops that arrived more quickly at national and international markets.

Timeline

Innovations in transportation

• Transportation aided the growth of industries because it made it more reliable and efficient to move products to market

• Improvements and innovations in transport included new roads, canals and the use of steamships and trains

National Road (Cumberland Road) 

• The Cumberland Road was built between 1811−1834 and: 

  • was the first highway entirely paid for with federal funds

  • stretched from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois

  • made the Ohio River Valley and the Midwest region available for settlement and commerce 

•  Construction was stopped due to lack of money

Erie Canal

• The canal was built in New York between 1817−1825 and:

  • was the first canal in the United States to connect ports on the Great Lakes to eastern markets near the Atlantic Ocean 

  • helped New York City become a major commerce center 

Steamships

• The steamships allowed movement both upstream and downstream

• They were used for passenger travel and commercial shipping along the Mississippi, Ohio, and Hudson Rivers

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Railroads (1820s−1830s)

• Railroads were faster than steamships, they:

  • would connect small towns to larger markets

  • did not have to worry about weather affecting journeys, such as ice in canals

  • were a more reliable way to transport agricultural products

• The railroads led to increased settlement and economic development in Florida and other parts of the South 

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O Railroad) 

• The B & O railroad operated from 1830−1987 and was the first steam railway in the United States to transport passengers and freight 

• In the 1860s and 1870s, it ran from Baltimore to Chicago and St. Louis

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Innovations in the industry

• New patent laws protected intellectual property, which promoted a surge in innovation and new ideas 

Key contributions to manufacturing

• Eli Whitney introduced interchangeable parts (early 1800s) which:

  • allowed unskilled laborers to replace skilled workers

  • led to mass production instead of individual pieces being made by hand 

• Samuel Slater (1793) built the first successful water-powered cotton mill in the United States (Rhode Island)

  • The mill mass-produced cotton yarn

• Lowel Textile Factory (1823) opened in Lowell, Massachusetts and was:

  • the city’s first textile factory

  • large-scale cotton textile production

• The “Mill Girls” workforce

  • Factories employed a young female labor force known as “Mill Girls”

  • The females were mostly aged between 15−30 years old, from New England farm families

  • Factories controlled all aspects of women’s lives, including when they worked, slept, and had time for leisure activities

Innovations in agriculture

• Southern cotton was in high demand in the United States, Britain, and international markets

• The demand led to a move from subsistence farming to commercial farming focused on profit

• Eli Whitney changed agricultural production by inventing the cotton gin (1793)

  • The cotton gin removed seeds from cotton fibers

  • It made it possible to process more cotton, which meant more possible profit

  • More cotton and higher profit led to an increase in enslaved labor to handle the workload

• John Deere invented the steel plow (1837) which:

  • made it easier to plow prairie farms

  • could work tougher soils

• Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper (1831) which:

  • replaced scythes to cut crops at harvest

  • allowed farmers to increase crop production by harvesting crops faster

• The invention of the mechanical reaper occurred around the same time as the expansion of farmland in the Midwest

• This increased crop production and contributed to the economic boom