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OBJECTIVE - This lesson will give you a better
understanding the various factors that allowed the United States to
be a leader in the Industrial Revolution.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
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In 1850 what advantages did America’s
geography provide that aided in our Industrial Revolution?
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What resources do you think are necessary for
industrial growth?
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In 1850 did the United States have the
resources you feel are necessary? If so, which ones, where were
they and how much?
DISCUSSION
The year is 1850. In England, a Revolution is
taking place that would have far reaching effects. This revolution
involves no guns, swords or pitchforks yet its outcomes will rumble
throughout Europe and the rest of the world. What allowed England
to lead the charge in the Industrial Revolution? Three factors
combine to allow any country to industrialize:
- resources (materials)
- capital (money and ability to raise money)
- labor (people to do the work)
England, during the mid 1800’s is a country
with a highly developed banking system, which provides the capital
for industrialization. Natural resources (especially coal and iron)
also abound in England providing the raw materials needed for
industrial growth. Finally, England boasted some of the most
skilled workers in the world. The fact that the Industrial
Revolution began in England seems almost obvious.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic a country in its
infancy is feeling the rush of industrial desire. The U.S.
Constitution has now been in place for just 50 years (final
ratification by states was December, 1792). Millard Fillmore is
President having been elected in 1850. Note: The U.S. Civil War
has not yet occurred and the southern states depend on slave labor
to harvest their crops. While not nearly as advanced as the
“motherland,” the United States also has the key components needed
to industrialize. However, the financial system is not as well
developed as England (some Americans are still bartering with animal
skins). There are vast natural resources of the United States,
unlike many other countries. Labor seemed to be the only thing
standing in the way of America’s rise to industrial might. In time,
the many new inventions of the era would overcome this deficit.
Even though many nations around the world barely recognized the
United States at this point in time, they would quickly realize that
we were becoming a force in the world!
Look at the list of inventions from the
Industrial Revolution listed below. Choose a
different invention from each of the time periods listed below (you
will have a total of 3):
- The First Industrial Revolution: Textiles
and Steam: 1712-1830
- The Spread of the Industrial Revolution:
1830-1875
- The Second Industrial Revolution:
Electricity and Chemicals: 1875-1905).
The
First Industrial Revolution: Textiles and Steam: 1712-1830
- 1712: The Newcomen steam engine.
- 1733: John Kay invents the flying shuttle.
- 1764: James Hargreaves invents the spinning
jenny.
- 1769: Richard Arkwright patents the water
frame.
- James Watt patents a series of
improvements on the Newcomen engine making it more efficient.
- 1779: Samuel Crompton perfects the spinning
mule.
- 1785: Edmund Cartwright patents a power
loom.
- 1793: Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin.
- 1807: Robert Fulton begins steamboat service
on the Hudson River.
- 1830: George Stephenson begins rail service
between Liverpool and London.
The Spread of the Industrial Revolution:
1830-1875
- 1840: Samuel Cunard begins transatlantic
steamship service.
- 1856: Henry Bessemer develops the Bessemer
converter.
- 1859: The first commercial oil well is
drilled in Pennsylvania.
- 1866: The Siemens brothers improve
steelmaking by developing the open hearth furnace.
The Second Industrial Revolution:
Electricity and Chemicals: 1875-1905
- 1836: Samuel F. B. Morse invents the
telegraph.
- 1866: Cyrus Field lays the first successful
transatlantic cable.
- 1876: Alexander Graham Bell invents the
telephone.
- 1879: Thomas Edison invents the incandescent
light bulb.
- 1892: Rudolf Diesel patents the diesel
engine.
- 1899: Guglielmo Marconi invents the
wireless.
- 1903: The Wright Brothers make the first
successful airplane flight
(Resource link:
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/industrialrev/a/indrevoverview.htm
THE OVERALL
ASSIGNMENT (see the
rubric in the
assignment box below)
Choose one invention from each of the three time periods listed (The
First Industrial Revolution: Textiles and Steam: 1712-1830; The
Spread of the Industrial Revolution: 1830-1875; The Second
Industrial Revolution: Electricity and Chemicals: 1875-1905) and
then create a PowerPoint presentation. You will have three (3)
different inventions.
Create a PowerPoint presentation that
addresses these questions for each invention:
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·
Name the invention and year/date it
was invented.
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·
Who was responsible for its
development?
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·
What did your
inventions/advancements do?
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·
What role did they play in the
Industrial Revolution?
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·
Find a picture of the original
invention and, a modern day picture of it as well (or something
that does essentially the same job today).
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Cite the web sites or book used for each invention.
Organize your PowerPoint presentation in
this order:
- Slide 1 – List of 3 inventions and time
period of each. Put your name on this slide!
- Slide 2 – Invention 1 –
picture of invention, year of invention, inventor’s name and
picture. (Bonus points if you can find the patent number for this
invention in the U.S. Patent website -
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html)
- Slide 3 – What did the invention do? Who
used it?
- Slide 4 – What role did the invention play
in the Industrial Revolution?
- Slide 5 - Do we still use a version of this
invention today? If so, what impact does it still have on life in
America? (Include a picture if you can)
- Slide 6 – Invention 2 –
picture of invention, year of invention, inventor’s name and
picture. (Bonus points if you can find the patent number for this
invention in the U.S. Patent website
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html)
- Slide 7 – What did the invention do? Who
used it?
- Slide 8 – What role did the invention play
in the Industrial Revolution?
- Slide 9 - Do we still use a version of this
invention today? If so, what impact does it still have on life in
America? (Include a picture if you can)
- Slide 10 – Invention 3 –
picture of invention, year of invention, inventor’s name and
picture. (Bonus points if you can find the patent number for this
invention in the U.S. Patent website
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html)
- Slide 11 – What did the invention do? Who
used it?
- Slide 12 – What role did the invention play
in the Industrial Revolution?
- Slide 13 - Do we still use a version of this
invention today? If so, what impact does it still have on life in
America? (Include a picture if you can)
- Slide 14 – Your conclusions, reflections and
thoughts about how these inventions and their impact on the world.
- Slide 15 - One invention of our world today
that you feel has made a significant impact and how it (or a
version of it) will change the world in the future.
- Slide 16 - Sources Cited.
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