Industrialism Sophia Wright, David Suescun, Oliver Santos, Kayla Gardner
Industrialism- What is It? Before industrialism, mainly farming and agriculture took place in the United States, despite Alexander Hamilton s strong belief in the idea of manufacturing However, ideas of manufacturing were present throughout the nation The War of 1812 forced the U.S to become more self sufficient due to the country s inability to get goods from Europe Industrialism is the idea of straying away from agricultural roots and shifting towards producing material using machines
Free Enterprise System an economic system in which few restrictions were placed on business activities and ownership in a free enterprise system individuals have the ability to make their own economic decisions without government limitations was put in place to encourage innovation individuals could make money and decide how to use it without strict government controls
Francis C Lowell Lowell was originally a Boston merchant when he took a trip to England he became fascinated with the loom, a device that wasn t present in America at the time During this time period it was illegal to export models and designs of innovations from England So Lowell memorized the loom itself and with the help of mechanic Paul Moody the loom was able to be reproduced from memory In 1814 the Boston Manufacturing Company was founded in 1812 by Lowell and his brother in laws was able to get the operation under one roof in a mill in Waltham Massachusetts, where raw cotton was spun into cloth Lowell system - pioneered employment for women from 15-35 as textile workers he paid the mill girls or lowell girls lower wages than men but included special benefits such as religious and educational activities Lowell died in 1817 before he could witness his company expand to later name a mill town at Pawtucket Falls after him
Francis C Lowell (left) and Power Loom (right)
General Appearance of Mill Workers document written by charles dickens the women at the Lowell mills were living under good conditions and kept healthy all of the proper equipment was provided for these women this document shows the growth and development of industrialism in the states
Letters from Mary Paul Mary Paul worked in Lowell wrote letters to her father about how her life was improving I think that the factory is the best place for me and if any girl wants employment I advise them to come to Lowell In the end Mary tells her father there are problems, her pay is being reduced, and she is struggling between returning to the mill or returning home this is an example of the not only the positive aspects of industrialism but also the negative aspects
Labor Unions a labor union is an organization of workers formed for the purpose of advancing its members interest formed due to issues with long hours, low pay, and unsafe work conditions unions were usually local and strived for similar changes such as higher pay and less hours first labor unions unsuccessful due to imbalance of power which would later lead to strikes courts saw unions as unlawful conspiracies that limited free enterprise Labor Unions were an effect of the industrial revolution
Strikes a strike in relation to work is refusing to work temporarily in order to achieve a goal the lack of wealth and power that accompanied the limited success of labor unions made supporting strikes and achieving goals difficult Strikes were a part of actions taken by those in labor unions and were also an effect of the growth in industry Great Railroad strike of 1877 - railroad workers spanning from Pennsylvania Maryland West Virginia and Ohio put down their tools and disrupted rail traffic in order to protest pay cuts great strike lasted six weeks before it was put out by the federal government exposed the divisions between working people and big businesses, also the federal government s partisan role on the side of businesses Labor s Great Upheaval - strikes and protests occurred all across the country in major industries (railroads, steel, coal, mining)
Urban Centers and Immigrants people from other places left their home countries in order to move to America the land of opportunity these immigrants were housed in urban centers major groups of immigrants- italians, irish, and germans irish immigrated after irish famine italians immigrated to escaped low wages and high taxes migration lead to drastic increase in population the growth in industry required more manpower to work the machines, leading to the need for immigrants
Yeoman Farmers An English farmer who owned or leased his farm and could do as he pleased on the land. The Yeoman farmer had become a symbol of the Agrarian paradise in America Yeoman farmers did not rely on slavery to run their farms which helped white workers gain jobs
Plantations Following John Adams ideology the north requested the south to abolish slavery south declined since plantations required manpower and was main source of income John Adams ideas would imply payment to workers, resulting in a decrease in profit strong disagreements that arose from this conflict with the north and south resulted in the civil war
Works Cited http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/cir451.pdf http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/francis_cabot_lowell.aspx http://inventors.about.com/od/indrevolution/a/francis_lowell.htm http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/rise-of-labor-unions-industrial-revolution-52458/ http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/the-early-labor-movement/