Industrial Revolution

How does innovation impact people's lives?

In the latter 1700s, inventions in the textile industry in Great Britain were the first signs of major changes in a revolution in production that greatly altered many aspects of society. Steam-powered machines began to do what animals or people had formerly done by hand. Textile mills could produce high quality cloth cheaply and in huge quantities. Factories sprang up, creating new jobs for factory workers but driving individual weavers who usually worked at home out of business and leading to the growth of cities. Industrialization spread to the iron industry, creating greater demands for mining of ore and coal. Soon the factory system spread to the rest of Europe and the United States. For their owners, factories could create great wealth. Workers, however, often toiled for long hours for low pay under harsh working conditions.

Industrialization of Agriculture

A tremendous growth of machine-power transformed agriculture in the 19th century. Using factory-produced machinery like the steel plow, the reaper, mowers and threshing machines powered by horses, farmers were able to expand the size of their operations and produce far more than they could when farming was done by hand. The invention of the cotton gin to separate seeds from the cotton fiber made cotton-growing profitable and increased the enslavement and abuse of people in southern states. Over the long term, it greatly reduced the number of people required to produce the nation’s food and fiber. Around 1800, nearly 90 percent of Americans were farm families. Today, the number is under two percent. The growth of cities was a direct outcome of the Industrial Revolution as families left the farms to find work elsewhere.

Transportation, Electricity and More

By the mid-1800s, changes in transportation were making a big difference. Steam powered ships could travel much faster than those depending on the winds. Railroads were able to haul freight, mail and passengers long distances with greater convenience and reliability than horse-drawn vehicles. The invention of Morse code enabled rapid communication across great distances and helped draw the nation closer together. Telephones followed giving individuals the power to converse whenever they wanted regardless of whether they were together or not.

In the late 1800s, electricity began its revolution of the home and office. Light bulbs replaced smoky kerosene lamps, refrigerators replaced home deliveries of ice and electric washing machines and irons relieved some of the heavy drudgery of housework. At first, electricity was available only in towns because of the expense of stringing long lines through the countryside, but in 1936, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act that helped to finance the creation of rural co-operatives to supply farm families with this advantage.

Beginning in the early 20th century, gasoline-powered engines led to the development of automobiles and tractors that further reduced our dependence on horses. Henry Ford built a factory that broke down the manufacture of an automobile into many small steps and allowed him to mass produce the Model-T that had a major impact on American life. Now a reliable automobile was available to the average family, providing a mobility undreamed of only a few generations earlier. Families were no longer bound to travel from town to town by rail but could drive where they wanted on short trips or even long family vacations. Farm children could attend high schools and other activities in town.

The invention of the computer, Internet and the entire digital industry is yet another stage of the Industrial Revolution, and one whose impact people are still experiencing. Who knows what another 20 years will bring?

Impact of the Industrial Revolution

With all the advantages of the Industrial Revolution that provides us with goods, services and opportunities unavailable to past generations, there are downsides, too. There is a much greater inequality in wealth, with some super-rich people while others live below the poverty level. Factories and industrialization make great demands on the environment for raw materials and often pollute the air by burning coal or the rivers with toxic dumps of toxic chemicals. Because Americans no longer produce (or even know how to produce) many of the items upon which they depend on, people are vulnerable to forces over which they have little control.

For the past 300 years, civilization has changed more than it had for thousands of years, and those changes are accelerating. What impact will those changes have on the environment and how will it affect the ability to cohabitate the globe with the natural world and other nations? The answers remain to be seen.

Supporting Questions

How did the Industrial Revolution change the production of goods?

• Occupational Portrait of a Watchmaker, between 1840 and 1860 (Image)
• Occupational Portrait of a Blacksmith, between 1850 and 1860 (Image)
• Occupational Portrait of a Woman Working at a Sewing Machine, ca. 1853 (Image)
• Occupational Portrait of Two African American Chimney Sweeps, between 1860 and 1870 (Image)
• African-American Women Weaving Rug at Hampton Institute in Virginia, 1899 (Image)
• Sadie Pfeifer, Child Worker, at Lancaster Cotton Mills in South Carolina, November 30, 1908 (Image)
• "Assembly Line at the Ford Motor Company's Highland Park Plant," ca. 1913 (Image)
• Washing Machine Assembly Line in Maytag Plant in Newton, Iowa, 1949 (Image)
• "More Than Just Washing Machines" Article about Maytag Plant in Newton, Iowa, June 21, 2019 (Document)
• Barrel Makers in Union, Iowa, Date Unknown (Image)
• "Rise of Industrial America: Work in the Late 19th Century" from Library of Congress (Document)

How did the changes in communication and transportation affect people's lives?

• "First Telegraphic Message" from Samuel Morse, May 24, 1844 (Image)
• Building of the Boone Viaduct (Kate Shelley High Bridge), December 8, 1900 (Image)
• First Flight of Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, December 17, 1903 (Image)
• Post Office in Solon, Iowa, ca. 1910 (Image)
• Alfred Solbrig Sitting on His Aviator Father's Curtiss Hydroaeroplane, ca. 1912 (Image)
• Downtown Intersection in Front of William Crewse Drug Company in Des Moines, Iowa, 1930 (Image)
• "Carrying the Load" Essay from The Goldfinch, November 1983 (Document)
• Excerpt from "Getting Away From It All" Essay from The Goldfinch, November 1983 (Document)
• "Railroads in Iowa" Essay from The Goldfinch, November 1983 (Document)
• "What Time Is It?" Essay from The Goldfinch, November 1983 (Document)
• Chicago & North Western Railway Viaduct (Kate Shelley High Bridge) at Boone Data Papers, August 1995 (Document)
• Workers Assemble Recreational Vehicles at Winnebago Industries in Forest City, 2013 (Image)
• Assembly Line Workers Under an RV at Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Iowa, March 2016 (Image)
• "Forest City-based Winnebago Industries turns 60" Newspaper Article, May 6, 2018 (Document)
• Elevation of Truss, from North, with Train, Date Unknown (Image)

What were the advantages and disadvantages of industrialization?

• Breaker Boys at the Woodward Coal Mines in Kingston, Pennsylvania, ca. 1900 (Image)
• Push Cart Vendors on the East Side of New York, New York, 1900 (Video)
• Tenement Yard in New York, New York, between 1900 and 1910 (Image)
• Young Girls at Spoolers at Lincoln Cotton Mill in Evansville, Indiana, October 1908 (Image)
• Newsies in Hartford, Connecticut, March 1909 (Image)
• People Picking Cranberries in Pemberton, New Jersey, September 1910 (Image)
• Mortaria Family Makes Silk Flowers in New York, New York, February 1912 (Image)
• "Hymn for the Working Children," ca. 1913 (Document)
• Tenement Kitchen in Hamilton County, Ohio, December 1935 (Image)
• "Kids at Work" Essay from The Goldfinch, 1996 (Document)
• "Progress and Unemployment" Excerpt from The Goldfinch, 1996 (Document)
• "Working the Environment" Essay from The Goldfinch, 1996 (Document)
• "Iowa Inventors and Inventions from A to Z" Excerpt from The Goldfinch, 1998 (Document)
• "Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900" from Library of Congress (Document)

Additional Resources

How did the Industrial Revolution change the production of goods?

• Industrial Revolution
  This webpage from the History Channel provides some important historical context about the Industrial Revolution. 
• Profiling Portraits: Occupational Portraits of the 19th Century
  This resource from the Library of Congress provides more information about occupational portraits from the 19th Century and what they tell people about the past.
• The Rise of the Industrial Revolution Video
  This video focuses on the development of the spinning machine by Sir Richard Arkwright in England, which led directly to the rise of the Industrial Revolution, and a new world of manufactured products.
• The Industrial Revolution Video
  This video shows an assembly line at work during the Industrial Revolution. Beginning in the 19th Century, advances in manufacturing revolutionize the American way of life.
• Inside Ford's Moving Assembly Line Video
  In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the moving assembly line, introduced by Ford Motor Company and led by Henry Ford on October 7th, 1913, the automaker went inside its manufacturing facilities to document the fast-paced and efficient assembly lines.
• History of Iowa Farmers - Living History Farms
  This webpage from Living History Farms looks at the history of farming in Iowa and the people who are important to its growth. 
• "Inside the LEGO Factory: How robots & machines make LEGO" Video
  This video focuses on the creation of a LEGO by robots and machines. 
• Invention of the Telegraph
  This collection from the Library of Congress includes primary sources from Samuel Morse that follow his journey to creating the telegraph. 
• Industrial Revolution and Technology from National Geographic
  This article from National Geographic highlights inventions created during the Industrial Revolution. 
• Full of Beams: Henry Ford Grows A Car by Peggy Thomas
  This biographical story walks through Henry Ford's life and the challenges that came from it, from the failed tractor that Henry Ford made as a teenager, to the Great Depression, as well as the switch in production that came with the beginning of World War II.

How did the changes in communication and transportation affect people's lives?

• Morse Code & the Telegraph
  This webpage focuses on the creation of Morse Code and the telegraph during the Industrial Revolution. 
• Railroad Hotel Owney Tag - National Postal Museum
  This webpage includes a photograph of Railroad Hotel Owney Tag that is on display at the National Postal Museum. Owney was a dog that eventually became the mascot for the U.S. Rail Mail Service. 
• Public Transit: Iowa Transit History
  This webpage from the Iowa Department of Transportation looks at the history of public transit in Iowa. 
• A Lucky Dog: Owney, U.S. Rail Mail Mascot by Dirk Wales
  This book chronicles the travels of Owney, who arrived as a stray puppy at the Albany Post Office, and eventually became the official mascot of the U.S. Rail Mail Service and a solo national and world traveler.
• 100 Inventions That Made History: Brilliant Breakthroughs That Shaped Our World (100 in History) by DK
  This book presents an in-depth exploration of each invention in unprecedented detail with eye-catching visuals and informative text.
• The Revolution in Industry by John Perritano
  The book takes a look at how machines changed history. 
• The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World by Cheryl Mullenbach
  Learn about the new technologies and new forms of communication and transportation that impacted American life — through the people who invented them and the people who built, operated and used them.

What were the advantages and disadvantages of industrialization?

• The Goldfinch: Automobile Age (November 1982)
  Explore this edition of The Goldfinch magazine to learn more about the industrialization of Iowa. 
• "How Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse Battled to Electrify America"
  This article looks at the rivalry in the United States as to the development and implementation of electricity. 
• Child Labor Across Primary Source Sets and the Library’s Collections
  This primary source collection from the Library of Congress looks at the history of child labor in the United States. 
• National Child Labor Committee Collection
  This Library of Congress collection features primary sources from the National Child Labor Committee.
• Bandit's Roost, 59½ Mulberry Street
  This is a photo collection of Jacob Riis' work capturing New York tenement life in the late 1800s.
• Photographs of the Empire State Building Under Construction
  This collection from the New York Public Library includes general and detailed views of the Empire State Building under construction showing workers performing various tasks including positioning, welding and riveting steel, hoisting materials and supplies and operating and repairing machinery. 
• Child Labor Laws
  This webpage and video provides historical context about the use of child labor and the development of child labor laws. 
• Northwest Iowa's Top Industries
  This webpage includes pertinent information about Iowa's top industries in the northwest. 
• Innovation, The Calling Card to the Future
  This webpage from Iowa Economic Development looks the industrial future of the state. 
• Lewis Hine: Exposing Child Labor
  This is a photo collection of the work of Lewis Hine to document child labor in the Unites States for the National Child Labor Committee.
• Kid Citizen: Congress and Child Labor
  This webpage offers educator resources about the history of child labor and child labor laws in the United States. 
• Kid Citizen: Snap a Photo: Agent of Change
  This webpage looks at the work of photographer Lewis Hine and his work documenting child labor in the United States and its impact. 
• The War Between Bosses and Workers by Diana Star Helmer
  This book focuses on the changes in America's big cities due to the Industrial Revolution that created labor problems. By the end of the 1800s, these problems between bosses and workers were forcing much-needed reforms.
• The Child Labor Reform Movement: An Interactive History Adventure by Steven Otfinoski
  This book is a kind of "choose your own adventure" scenario and it deals with the issues faced by children in the workforce. 
• Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill by Jonah Winter
  A picture book about Mary "Mother" Jones and the 100 children who marched from Philadelphia to New York in a fiery protest against child labor.

Iowa Core Social Studies Standards (4th Grade)

Listed below are the Iowa Core Social Studies content anchor standards that are best reflected in this source set. The content standards applied to this set are middle school-age level and encompass the key disciplines that make up social studies for fourth-grade students.

• SS.4.8. Evaluate how civic virtues and democratic principles have guided or do guide governments, societies, and/or communities. (21st century skills)
• SS.4.19. Explain influences on the development and decline of different modes of transportation in U.S. regions.
• SS.4.20. Compare and contrast events that happened at the same time.
• SS.4.23. Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments.
• SS.4.24. Develop a claim about the past and cite evidence to support it.
• SS.4.25. Analyze the impact of technological changes in Iowa, across time and place.