The Industrial Revolution is also known as the _______.
Gilded Age
Mark Twain proposed that it looked glamorous but much corruption ran throughout the country.
What major changes did the Industrial Revolution involve?
- Transportation
- Manufacturing
- Communications
These changes transformed the daily lives of Americans significantly.
Who brought new manufacturing technologies from Britain to the United States and founded the first U.S. cotton mill?
Samuel Slater
He established the mill in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, which revolutionized the production of cotton by speeding up the process of removing _______.
seeds
This invention justified the expansion of slavery in the South.
What did Eli Whitney promote through his project of building muskets for the U.S. government?
interchangeable parts
This concept allowed for faster assembly and easier repair of devices.
The Lowell System was developed by which individual?
Francis Cabot Lowell
He established a successful textile mill and implemented vertical integration.
What is vertical integration?
A production approach where the entire process occurs in one place
This strategy reduces transaction costs and improves coordination.
What was the primary mode of travel before the widespread introduction of the rail system?
Canal boats
The Erie Canal was one of the most famous canals built during this time.
The Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, ______.
1869
It connected the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.
The telegraph system patented by Samuel Morse allowed for easier and faster _______.
communication
This led to increased journalistic accuracy.
By 1900, the number of people working in manufacturing companies had increased to _______.
4.5 million
This growth was driven by industrial and commercial expansion.
True or false: Skilled craftsmen made significantly more money than their unskilled counterparts.
TRUE
Skilled laborers generally lived in relative comfort compared to unskilled laborers.
What environmental issues arose from the American Industrial Revolution?
- Air pollution
- Water pollution
- Health issues from industrial waste
These problems were particularly severe in urban areas.
Factory jobs were often characterized by _______.
monotony
Workers performed one task repeatedly under strict regulations.
Without government regulation, there were no limits on the number of hours a person could be required to _______.
work
This led to poor working conditions and numerous industrial accidents.
What was the first railroad chartered in the United States?
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
It was developed to compete with New York’s transportation systems.
What were the working conditions like for industrial workers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
- No building codes or fire inspections
- No limit on working hours
- No child labor laws
- High number of industrial accidents
- No employer obligation to compensate injured workers
The lack of regulation led to severe safety and health issues for workers.
What was the Knights of Labour?
One of the first labour unions in America
It opened its doors to disgruntled workers seeking better conditions.
Between 1830 and 1880, about nine million immigrants entered the United States primarily from which countries?
- Ireland
- Germany
- Great Britain
- Scandinavia
Immigrants came seeking better opportunities due to various crises in their home countries.
What were the two main groups of immigrants that arrived in the late 1800s?
- Italians
- Jews from Poland, Russia, and Romania
These groups significantly influenced American culture and labor.
What types of jobs did first-generation immigrants typically take?
- Steel factories
- Meatpacking
- Construction
- Garment industry
- Agricultural jobs
Many immigrants worked in the least desirable jobs available.
By 1900, approximately how many children under the age of sixteen worked in factories?
1.7 million
This number had increased significantly over the previous thirty years.
What were common jobs for children during the industrial era?
- Textile mills
- Mines
- Glass factories
- Canneries
- Newsboys and messengers
Children were often preferred by factory managers due to their lower wages.
What is the Cult of Domesticity?
A social norm where women stayed home while men worked
Women were denied political and legal rights and faced significant societal restrictions.
