Industrialized America

          During this unit, we learned all about the Industrial Revolution and it’s impacts on various people throughout America. Our exhibit was about slaves and their impact on the Industrial Revolution. We had multiple photos of sources we used. These included charts, graphs, maps, and excerpts. In our first source, it showed us the map of British cotton trade around 1850. We highlighted all the routes that entered and left Britain to really emphasize Britain’s reach on the world. Our next source was the cover of a history textbook, which showed an African boy in an hour glass doing manual labor. It emphasizes how the back breaking labor and terrible treatment of the slaves fueled the Industrial Revolution. Next, we had a picture showing what a typical piece of land with factories on it would look like. The factories were right by the water for the water’s power, and in the distance were the boarding houses. Following that we had a graph, which showed the amount of slaves in a few states from 1770-1860. After those 90 years, Texas lead the way with almost 4 million slaves. Next we had a table showing the year and number of textile mills in Lowell in relation to the number of men/women working there, the yards of yarn produced each week, the pounds of cotton consumed each week and the slave population in the US. After, we had a document of the invention of the water frame by Sir Richard Arkwright. Our last source was a picture of a spinning frame.

          Our group came up with our exhibit title of “Cotton or Freedom? You Decide”. We thought this title was appropriate because it tied together the main points of our poster. If people during the Industrial Revolution wanted more cotton, they would have to sacrifice the freedom of other people (the slaves) in order to achieve this.

Spinning Into the Future: Here we could see what typical homes looked like during the Industrial Revolution. Something I found interesting was that families had to choose between relying only on the father’s income or face the harsh factory conditions.  

Hot Stuff: I learned here that not all people appreciated the invention of the steam engine. I also realized how far trains have come since their invention.

All Work, No play: I learned at this exhibit that children were commonly used and abused in these factories. Many children were injured or even killed.

The Dark Side of the Industrial Revolution: I realized that with all the mass production and growth in America during this time, there came a price. Pollution increased and populations became overcrowded.

          I see the Industrial Revolution as a positive thing, even though there were many downsides to it. People died, children were forced to work long, hard hours, and the environment was polluted. From this time, we also received factories, mass production, improved methods to making clothing, the steam engine and many more improvements to everyday life.