Industrialization Spreads To the United States
Britain wanted to keep its industrial secrets to itself
Did not allow anyone with industrial know-how to leave the country
Samuel Slater, a British mill worker, disguised himself as a farmer and went to the U.S.
Taught others the latest British industrial innovations
Lowell, Massachusetts
Francis Cabot Lowell revolutionized the American textile industry
Mechanized every stage of cloth production
Mill girls were women who left their rural homes to work in factory towns
US industry expansion = Railroad
Railroads expanded to transport resources and manufactured goods
Led to the growth of cities like Chicago
Technological boom in coal, oil, iron, telephone, and electric light bulb
Corporations
Building large businesses like railroads required a lot of money
Entrepreneurs sell shares of stock to raise money
Shareholders become part owners of the business (corporation)
First U.S. corporations: Carnegie Steel Company, Standard Oil
Sought to control every aspect of their industry for big profits
The Assembly Line
Mass production of identical items with interchangeable parts
Division of labor, interchangeable parts, assembly lines
Ford Motor Company
Henry Ford saw potential in the assembly line
Conveyor belt carried automobile frames, workers added parts
Industrialization expanded into Continental Europe
Belgium and Germany adopted Britain's technology
Germany imported British equipment and sent children to England to learn
Germany became an economic and military powerhouse
Worldwide impact of Industrialization
Industrialized countries needed raw materials and markets
Extracted resources and opened markets in Africa and Asia
Western Europe and the U.S. developed economic power and technological achievement
Asian and African countries remained agrarian societies with fewer manufactured items
Transformation within industrial societies
Increased life expectancy and better health
Population increased
Rising middle class and higher standard of living
More opportunities for education
Industrialized societies tended to remain more