Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - History Other Industrial Revolution6 Industrial Revolution6 During the 1800’s, phenomenal changes took place in America. These changes would impact our society incredibly for years to come and even still in the present. The major changes that took place were in transportation and industry. American society expanded so much in the early 1800’s that it very well could have been the only time in history where this happened in such a short amount of time. From steamboats to railroads and from textile mills to interchangeable parts, the revolutions of this century were key to America’s expansion as a country. First, the Transportation Revolution began early with simple roads. The National Road, from Baltimore to Illinois was finished in 1838. This road was originally intended to aid in westward migration, but in the end, served much greater purposes. Soon, Americans began to settle all along the National Road (Enduring Vision 241). People also began to start building canals. Due to the extreme high cost of canals, they were often harder to finish and took an exasperating amount of time to build. Merchants in New York supported the building of canals though, because for them, it would be a great improvement. This would mean that they would have connection with the Midwest through the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal reshaped the Northeast. It allowed people to move from the East to the Midwest easily, which before was very expensive and time consuming. It also gave farmers cheap access to New York and made it easier for manufactures to ship products. Canals reduced shipping costs from 30 cents a mile to around 3 cents a mile (Enduring Vision 247). Clearly, this was a huge improvement economically because now people could ship their products faster and cheaper. Coming along with these improvements were some negatives. Canals were extremely expensive to build and could only be built on gentle terrains. Overall the Erie Canal was a great improvement to the social and economic problems in America. Around the time of the building of canals, the steamboat was invented. In 1807, Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston created the Clermont on the Hudson River. Steamboats changed transportation drastically. They could travel faster, carry more cargo, and meet schedules on time. A ferry service was created to link New York and New Jersey. Steamboats became essential along the Mississippi-Ohio River system. Steamboats were also a step up in the Social class because they had places called saloons. Saloons were created for wealthy families. They were lavish cabins were people could go to relax during their trip. Like canals, Steamboats also had a downside. There were cases where steamboats exploded and killed many people. Also, the amount of fuel for steamboats was very limited. Steamboats made transportation and shipping much easier on American society (Enduring Vision 247). Along with canals and steamboats, railroads made their way into society in 1840. Railroads were by far the most influential change in society during that time. Railroads cut shipping and traveling prices in half, not to mention the time they saved people. Cities like Baltimore and Boston benefited especially from railroads because of their lack of waterways. Now all cities could be internally connected make use out of each other. Railroads were relatively cheap to build and touched more cities. When railroads were first created, they carried more passengers than cargo. Finally, in 1849, freight revenue surpassed passengers and the railroads were now taken advantage of (Enduring Vision 248). Like the other transportation improvements, railroads also had a slight disadvantage. They often called for many repairs, which was not a good factor. Overall, the creation of railroads was a huge improvement for the society in America (Enduring vision 248). On the other hand, many changes also took place in the industry. The industrial revolution had huge impacts on class and gender. These changes were both social and economic, whereas the transportation revolution was generally economic. The assembly line was put into use in 1830. This made it easier for manufactures to produce their products quicker and more efficiently. Power Driven machines were used. The Flour Mill, which was powered by water, made it possible for 6 men to mill 100,000 bushels of grain a year. Skilled artisans came over from other countries and helped the U.S. to create more products cheaper and faster. Textile mills began to use women and children in their factories, which was cheaper for them. One of the biggest advances in that time was the cotton mills. Cotton textiles were the leading product in the South. Samuel Slater created a mill where cotton could be spun into yarn. Many women and children worked in these mills while the men or husbands worked out in the fields. Later, mills in the towns of Waltham and Lowell were created and ran their businesses very differently than Slater’s mills. Eighty percent of Waltham and Lowell’s workers were women. The conditions of these mills were not the best. Workers had to live in boardinghouses, and the working environment was harsh. The workers worked long hours for low pay. Though this was not typical of all industries in the middle 1800’s, the conditions were still bad for some (Enduring Vision 252). Aside from large changes, some cities had many advances that were small, but still notable. Some of the bigger cities had many artisans. Cities like Philadelphia and New York had artisans with many craft skills that benefited the city and those around them. Skills like cutting leather and sewing were highly regarded. Also, many people began to open their own businesses and make trips to keep their business going. All of these advancements created many social changes in American society. Changes in social relationships occurred, as well as changes in women and men alone. There were changes in how people related to each other, and people also began to challenge each other’s ideas, independence and individualism. Aside from changes in agriculture, transportation, working place and industry, all of these improvements in America also changed how people acted socially (Enduring Vision 253). It is clear to see how the advancements of the 1800’s impacted society. Every person and place in America was affected by the changes that were going on. Developments and progress occurred that changed our society permanently. Almost all of the inventions or ideas that were introduced in the 1800’s are still in active use today. Clearly, the transportation and industrial revolution had an immense affect on how society was back then, as well as how we live our lives today. Bibliography: Word Count: 1084
Copyright © 2005 College Term Papers, INC All Rights Reserved.