In the early 1800s, busy factories and whirring machinery were part of a revolution that was reaching the
United States. Unlike the American Revolution, this one had no battles or fixed dates. The new revolution—the
Industrial Revolution—was a long, slow process that completely changed the way goods were produced and
where many people worked and lived.
Before the 1800s, most Americans were farmers and most goods were produced by hand. As a result of the
Industrial Revolution, this situation slowly changed. Machines replaced hand tools. New sources of power,
such as steam, replaced human and animal power. While most Americans continued to farm for a living, the
economy began a gradual shift toward manufacturing.
Technological Innovations and New Ways of Making Products The Industrial Revolution started in Britain
in the mid-1700s. British inventors developed new machines that transformed the textile industry.
Since the Middle Ages, workers had used spinning wheels to make thread. A spinning wheel, however, could
spin only one thread at a time. In 1764, James Hargreaves developed the spinning jenny, a machine that
could spin several threads at once. Other inventions speeded up the process of weaving thread into cloth. In
the 1780s, Edmund Cartwright built a loom powered by water. It allowed a worker to produce a great deal more
cloth in a day than was possible before. These technological innovations would change how goods were made
not only in Britain, but also in America and around the world.
The Factory System New inventions led to a new system of producing goods. Before the Industrial
Revolution, most spinning and weaving took place in the home. Industrial production involved large machines,
however, and these had to be housed in large mills near rivers. Water flowing downstream or over a waterfall
turned a wheel that captured the power to run the machines.
The word “revolution” means “to change.” What change took place in the Industrial Revolution?