Industrial Growth in the North - A New Way of Life
(Lecture Notes from Mr. Kersey's 8th Grade U.S. History Class)The Industrial North
- The Industrial Revolution was a period of rapid growth in the use of machines in manufacturing and production.
- In the 1800’s, it changed the way people lived and worked in the North.
- The Industrial Revolution began with textiles and slowly grew to include other products.
- Soon machines were being used to help manufacture all kinds of items like tools and firearms.
- The new idea of interchangeable parts became popular. Using this idea, all parts that make up a product are identical.
- Mass production of goods became possible. Because it is cheaper to produce goods in this way, the prices of many items fell, which allowed more people to buy them.
- It wasn’t long before the North was dotted with factories and mills producing all kinds of goods like cloth, guns, clocks, and tools.
- Many people in the North began to move from the rural areas to cities and more populated areas to work in these factories.
- The movement from rural to urban areas is called urbanization.
The Transportation Revolution
- Transportation also became much better in the early 1800’s.
- Steam power caused the growth of railroads. 1000’s of miles of track were laid down in the North.
- The steam boat changed the way goods were shipped on the nation’s rivers. They were fast and could lots of goods and people.
- Clipper Ships, though not steam powered, were very fast and increased the speed at which goods were shipped across the ocean and from port to port along the coast.
