Actual Industrial Revolution

Question 1

Industrial Revolution (Late 1700s-1800s)

Answer 1

Shift from handmade goods to machine production.

• Factories and new technology led to mass production, urbanization, and economic growth.

Question 2

Samuel Slater

Answer 2

“Father of the American Industrial Revolution.”

• Brought British textile factory designs to America by carefully memorizing designs of textile mill machines (first successful cotton-spinning factory, textile mill)

Question 3

Eli Whitney

Answer 3

• Invented the cotton gin (1793) → Increased cotton production & slavery in the South. (cleaning cotton was faster)
• Developed interchangeable parts → Made manufacturing faster & easier

Question 4

Interchangeable parts

Answer 4

Parts of a machine that are identical for a purpose. Made fixing machines easier & mass production possible

Question 5

Mass production

Answer 5

The efficient production of large numbers of identical goods = cheaper & faster

Question 6

Francis Cabot Lowell

Answer 6

Created the first textile mill that did both spinning and weaving in one building.

Question 7

Lowell System

Answer 7

• Hired young women (“Lowell Girls”) to work in factories under strict rules.
• Provided housing and education, but had harsh conditions.

Question 8

Lowell Girls

Answer 8

• Young women working in textile mills (low wages, long hours, child labor).
• One of the first groups to protest for better working conditions.

Question 9

Trade Unions & Strikes

Answer 9

• Groups that tried to improve pay and working conditions
• Workers on strike refused to work until employees meet their demands

Question 10

Robert Fulton & Clermont

Answer 10

Robert Fulton built the first successful steamboat (“Clermont”).

• Steamboats made river travel faster & cheaper

*Allowed cotton to be transported easily

Question 11

Gibbons V. Ogden (1824)

Answer 11

Supreme Court ruled that only the federal government (not states) could regulate interstate commerce (trade between states)

Question 12

Samuel F.B. Morse

Answer 12

• Invented the telegraph (1837) → Allowed instant long-distance communication.
• Developed Morse code (dot-dash system)

Question 13

John Deere

Answer 13

Invented the steel plow → Made farming easier in tough soil (cutting through was easier)

Question 14

Cyrus McCormick

Answer 14

Invented the mechanical reaper → Made harvesting crops faster and easier

Question 15

Telegraphs (1837) & Morse Code

Answer 15

• A device that could send information over wires across great distances
• Different combinations of dots & dashes that represent each letter of the alphabet

Question 16

Where did the Industrial Revolution start and why?

Answer 16

Britain (late 1700s), then spread to the U.S. (early 1800s)

• New inventions made production faster and cheaper
• More demand for goods = factories replaced small shops
• People moved to cities to work in factories (urbanization)

Question 17

Urbanization

Answer 17

Cities grew rapidly because people moved from farms for factory jobs

Question 18

Factory System/Child Labor

Answer 18

• Mass production became possible, making goods cheaper
• Kids as young as 7-8 worked in dangerous factories for low pay

Question 19

Free Enterprise

Answer 19

Businesses competed with little government control

Question 20

Impact on the North & South

Answer 20

• North: Factories & cities expanded
• South: Relied more on slavery & plantations

Question 21

Impact on Transportation

Answer 21

• More railroads in the North = faster industry growth
• Limited railroads in the South = slower industrialization

Question 22

Women in Factories

Answer 22

Worked in textiles; this led to the early women’s rights movement