Week 6. Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution began in Great Britain in the late 1770s before spreading to the rest of Europe. The first European countries to be industrialized after England were Belgium, France and the German states.

The rest of Europe didn’t industrialize until after 1850. Spain, Portugal, Austria-Hungary, Italy and the Ottoman Empire started to industrialize very late in the 19th century.

Belgium became the world’s second industrial power, after Britain.

The industrial revolution in America began after two textile manufacturers, Samuel Slater and Francis Cabot Lowell, introduced mechanized textile manufacturing to the United States in the late 1790s and early 1800s.

The industrial revolution came late to India, due to its complicated political and economic relationship with Great Britain.

Although India, which was a British colony, dominated the global cotton textile markets, the Indian textile industry took a hit when the industrial revolution began in Great Britain.

10 Important Events during the Industrial Revolution

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin

In 1794, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which made the separation of cotton seeds much faster. The South increased its cotton supply and sent raw cotton north to be used in the manufacturazation of cloth.

Eli Whitney's 2nd Great Invention.

Eli Whitney also came up with the idea to use interchangeable parts to build muskets in 1798. If the standard parts were made by machine, then they could be assembled at the end much faster than before. This became an important part of American industry.

River Transportation

River transportation was made efficient through the creation of the first steamboat, the Clermont, crafted by Robert Fulton. This was made possible by James Watt’s invention of the first reliable steam engine.

The Cumberland Road

The Cumberland Road, the first national road, was begun in 1811. This eventually became part of the Interstate 40.

Cyrus McCormick's Reaper

Cyrus McCormick created the reaper which allowed quicker and cheaper harvesting of grain.

John Deere's steel plow

John Deere created the first steel plow in 1837 helping speed up farming across the Midwest.

Agricultural Revolution

As industries and factories were becoming more abudent, people moved from farms to cities. This led to other issues including overcrowding and disease. However, some people stayed in the rural areas and advances were made in agriculture too including better machines and cultivators.

Elias Howe's Sewing Machine

In 1846, Elias Howe created the sewing machine which revolutionized the making of clothing. All of a sudden, clothing began to be made in factories as opposed to at home. This allowed for mass production of clothing.

Samuel F. B. Morse's Telegraph

With the increased size of the United States, better communication networks became even more important than before. In 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse created the telegraph and by 1860, this network streched from the eastern coast to the Mississippi.

There are several periods of the industrial revolution. And at the lesson we divided into groups and sorted out in detail each period.

After we received 3 IR maps which allowed us to unite them

Unfortunately, by this time I had to leave the lesson due to health reasons, but my classmates shared photos with me and explained that when we connected these maps we could find something in common, find something that connected all these 3 periods