Industrialization In The 1800's

Industrialization grew in many ways during the 1800’s. “It was largely pioneered by the northeastern cities in the united states” (Lecture 11). Many factors made Industrialization in America possible, including Natural Resources, New Transportation Systems, Industrial and Mechanization. The Industrial Revolution began in England because it had the resources that were needed. It all started with cloth industry. Making cloth by hand for pants, shirts, socks, bedspreads and other domestic items always required lots of skill and time. But this domestic production system could not keep up with the growing demands of England’s growing population. Instead, a series of innovations shifted textile production to a new factory system. As a result of the Industrial Revolution,
New Transportation systems were introduced with the Steamboats of the 1800's, the Erie Canal and the Railroads. Water transport is cheaper at this time and it begins with the Erie Canal in 1825. By building canals, you could connect cities by water and make inland transportation quicker and easier. The Erie Canal was about 325-mile long connecting many cities. When completed in 1825, it became very popular. It was an inexpensive route from New York to the Old Northwest. Not only were goods able to be transported faster, but the cost went down as well. Of all the advancements of the Transportation Revolution, the construction of railroads was the most significant. The first railroads carried goods for short distances, but the idea of a railroad sparked interest. Inventors and engineers wanted to be able to develop a railroad that could be used to carry goods or even passengers long distance. Different companies used different widths of track, so only certain trains could travel on certain railroads. “By 1860, the railroad network had grown to 30,000 miles, more than the total in the rest of the world combined” (Give Me Liberty pg.