The United States faced rapid socio-political and economic changes between 1790 and 1860. One thing that is worth noting is that the United Stated has had an original number of states. At the time of independence, there were on 13 states. However, by 1860, the 13 states had increased by almost three times adding up of about 33 states. The increase of states was partly caused by the fact the US population was growing steadily during this time. It is estimated, through various censuses conducted between 1790 and 1860 that the US population was increasing 2 times for every 25 years. The growing populations were ignited by two important factors. First of all, the availability of resources in the America’s caused the increase in natural birth rates. This meant that the fertility rate of the US population was very high at this time.
In addition, there was massive immigration by different races and people from various nationalities into the United States. These two trends increased the population of the United States significantly such that the United States was in the year 1860 ranked fourth among the most populous nations in the West. The United States was ranked behind nations such as France, Russia, and Australia. With the increase in population, many cities in the United States had to focus on socio-economic restructuring so as to make sure that the people enjoyed high standards of living. One of the greatest challenges that the United States had to wrestle with was over urbanization. The high growth rate of urban populations led to social problems such as the mushrooming of slums, insecurity in cities, poor sewage disposal, and inadequate number of law enforcement officers to make sure that social order prevails at the midst of the growing populations. Considering the high population growth rate, there was a need for increase in production in order to meet the needs of the growing populations. This was one of the factors that led to the birth of the American Industrial revolution.
The American Industrial Revolution & the growth of Textile Industry
The American Industrial Revolution sought to increase the output of production in order to meet the demands of the growing populations. One of the ways, in which the output of production was increased, was through the shift of the US economy from agrarian-based economy to an industrial-led economy. The Industrial led economy was factor driven. Samuel Slater is considering as being the pioneer of the factory system. Slater constructed the first machine that was used in the spinning of cotton in 1791. It was Slater’s invention that prompted more people to come up with more inventions.
Two years after Samuel Slater had invented the cotton spinning machine, another inventor Eli Whitney invented the cotton ginnery. This machine was used to pick cotton from the farm. This meant that manual labor that was used in hand picking cotton was reduced by the discovery of the cotton ginnery. It is estimated that the cotton ginnery that was invented by Eli Whitney had the ability to pick cotton more than 50 times faster that if manual labor was used in the process. It is also estimated that it took a slave a whole day to pick about 3lbs of cotton. This reflects that benefits that Whitney’s cotton ginnery brought to American cotton industry.
The discovery of the cotton ginnery made cotton a profitable crop to grow. Many farmers in the south shifted from other major crops and began to grow cotton. One thing that is worth realizing is that cotton is a labor intensive crop. This means that the expansion of the cotton industry meant that more land was required in order to meet the growing demand of cotton. The demand for land caused many people in the South to embark on the expansion of their power and influence towards the West such that they conquered states such Alabama and Mississippi (Donovan 31). The south was able to expand cotton farming to these states. In addition the growth of the cotton industry saturated the domestic market with cotton products such that there was a need to expand markets to outside the United States. The South became a key source of cotton for England. However, before the discovery of the cotton ginnery cotton was shipped to England’s textile industries. However, with the discovery of the cotton ginnery, the United States was able to spin cotton in its own local ginneries such as the New England Textile Mills (Hindle and Lubar 48).
The growth of the cotton industry also led to the discovery of other technologies in the industry. In 1846, Elias Howe discovered the sewing machine. However, Howe was not able to completely improve his machine so that it could meet industrial standards. Isaac Singer improved the sewing machine such that it could be used for large-scale purposes. It was Singer’s invention that used in the large scale production of army boots and shoes during the American Civil War. Singer’s machine shifted the production of cloths from manual laborers who in many cases worked under the comfort of their home to industries. Therefore the discovering of the sewing machine was instrumental in the commercialization of the manufacture of clothing.
The commercialization of cloth production led to the construction of industries that both served the role of spinning cotton and at the same time using the fiber produced from the cotton to produce textile products. The first factory that served both of these purposes was constructed by Francis Lowell in Massachusetts. This factory was organized in such a wire that both textile production and cotton spinning happened in the same factory. The discovery of this factory system in the textile industries had various impacts on the society. First of all, the role of women in the family changed. This is because many young women were now employed in these textile industries. The employment of these women meant that they were more independent (Mays 26). They did not have to rely on their husbands for their livelihood because they were earning a pay from these industries. The availability of jobs at various textile industries attracted more immigrants into the United States. Since most immigrates who came to the United States to work in these factories were generally poor, they were more willing to work for lower wages. This created a situation where female labor in the textile industries was replaced by poor Irish and German immigrants who were willing to work at a lower pay compared to the locals.
In conclusion, the textile industry is among the key industries that grew between 1790 and 1860. The birth of the American Industrial Revolution during this period was instrumental in the growth of this industry. Some of the social effects of this industry included an increase in the independence of women and increased immigration into the United States by workers from different nations.
Works Cited
Donovan, Susan E. Becoming free in the cotton South. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007. Print.
Hindle, Brooke, and Steven D. Lubar. Engines of change: the American industrial revolution, 1790-1860. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986. Print.
Mays, Dorothy A. Women in early America: struggle, survival, and freedom in a new world. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2004. Print.
