Industrial Revolution Dbq

Begun in England in the early second half of the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution did not reach America till the late 18th century. This revolution brought about a great many changes in American Society. The surge of new ideas, techniques and technologies that was the Industrial Revolution had a great impact on America, not only economically, as one would typically expect, but also socially, politically, and morally.

The bringing of the textile mill to America by Samuel Slater was one event that had a great impact on many aspects of American society. These machines were able to spin thread and weave cloth at a speed and at such a high volume unequalled by hand weavers. The factories changed many things in the Northeast, as the area became factory dominated, and the structure of families changed. Young women were now going to work in the textile mills instead of staying at family farms. The women in the mills formed friendships and clubs with each other as well. As more people moved to work in the factories, the areas grew and became more crowded in a process called urbanization.

He is most famous for inventing the cotton gin, a machine which separated cotton seeds from the fluff using waterpower. This machine had an enormous impact on the southern part of the United States especially. The gin was able to do the job much faster than people ever could, and greatly increased the profit from cotton which led to more of the land in the south being devoted to the crop. Of course, the increase in the number of plantations led to an increase in the number of slaves in the area, as more people needed cheap labor. Another of Whitney’s innovations is the idea of interchangeable parts, which allows multi-part objects such as guns to be built quickly and have broken pieces more easily