Manufacturing Engineering : The Industrial Revolution

Industry and agriculture in the 1800s was significantly changed with the invention of both interchangeable parts and the cotton gin. Eli Whitney revolutionized agriculture and manufacturing in America during the 1800s with both his invention of interchangeable parts and the Cotton Gin. With the invention of interchangeable parts Eli was able to initiate factory production and influence the American Industrial revolution. According to the articles about the Eli Whitney Museum article “Whitney’s work in making muskets from a number of interchangeable parts once identified him as the sole originator of the idea.”(https://www.eliwhitney.org/7/museum/about-eli-whitney/factory) The purpose of interchangable parts was so that if one piece on a machine

The introduction of an a highly efficient steam engine by Thomas Watt in 1769 was undoubtedly a crucial factor in the advent of the industrial revolution. This made it possible for mills and later factories to be located nearly anywhere by eliminating the necessity of a running stream to provide power. It was the rise of the factory system of manufacture with its strategy for the specialization of labor which contributed most to the

The Market Revolution began with the advancement in manufacturing. In 1793, inventor Eli Whitney developed a machine known as the Cotton Gin. This was used to separate cotton from cotton seeds rather than do it manually. This development revolutionized agriculture and factory work, and unfortunately also led to a mass exploitation of African-American slaves. With an increase of machinery, the Boston Manufacturing Company was created by Francis Lowell as a place for all

In 1794, U.S. inventor Eli Whitney patented a machine that transformed the production of cotton by significantly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber called the cotton gin. By the middle of the 19th century cotton had become America’s leading export. This gave Sothern’s the rationalization to maintain and expand slavery despite large number of abolitionists in America. While the cotton gin made cotton processing easier, it facilitated planters in earning greater profits, resulting in larger cotton crops. This in turn increased slavery because it was the cheapest form of labor. As for the North, particularly New England, the cotton gin and cotton’s increase meant a steady supply of raw materials for its textile mills.

In addition to the plentiful raw materials that England supplied, Britain had an expanding economy to support their industrialization. With the help of Britain's stable government and new investors, factories were able to quickly adapt to newly purchased machinery. The Industrial Revolution was further spurred by a resolution of new technology. These new inventions and expansion of factories led to a rapid increase in wealth of the overall nation. Which led the decrease in prices to come from the introduction of machines. For example, the creation of the well known cotton gin, by Eli Whitney helped revolutionized the production of cotton. Before, the cotton process took a long period of time and extensive work to produce a widely traded product. Whitney’s new tecnhioldingal invention was able to show tremendous growth in efficiency. This machine helped by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had became America’s leading export. In other words, this machine was designed to spin and weave the fabric, which helped to expand the Industrial Revolution’s productivity. This picture displays the sketches made to depict the parts of the original cotton gin. These gins were an important invention because it dramatically reduced the amount of time it took to separate cotton seeds from cotton fiber. This was one of the key

In the 19th century, America saw major expansions and technological advances that paved way for the grand expansion of agriculture that boosted the nation’s economy. Regardless of the fact that Great Britain had tried to keep secrets regarding machinery and inventions, most of America’s advances were propelled by inventions such as the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793, steel plow by John Deere, railway, steamboats, telegraph, and canals. In addition, technology’s profound effect on agriculture also led to the rise of the textile industry whereby factories produced materials such as cotton thread and cloth. Many of these initial factories are recognized in historical texts, but the Lowell factory system is one that is famous – precisely the

In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, a machine that removed seeds from cotton fiber. The cotton gin had a very important impact on society and economy. It was a basic, uncomplicated invention, yet, had a major effect during the Industrial Revolution (the change from an agrarian society to one based on industry which began in Great Britain and spread to the United States around 1800). The inventor, Eli Whitney, was encouraged by the system of free enterprise, the freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with minimal government regulation, to invent a machine that would remove cotton seeds from cotton quickly. As a result, he invented the cotton gin which basically removed seeds from cotton in a fast and

The cotton gin was a simple machine which de-seeded cotton. Eli Whitney created this cotton gin in 1793 when he was in Georgia. When living on a plantation in Georgia, he heard some visitors complaining about how cotton was a nice crop to have but took too long to seperate from the seeds (Patchett, 17). The visitors were told about how Eli was a good mechanic and saw some of what Eli had made. The visitors at the plantation went to Eli asking him to make something to help with this cotton problem. At first Eli was reluctant to make anything for the men because he, as he said, “had no extraordinary mechanical skills”(Patchett,18). Secondly, he said he knew nothing of cotton for he had never seen cotton or cotton seeds. Then Whitney changed his mind knowing he couldn’t resist the challenge and began a search for cotton. Once he found some cotton it only took Eli a few days to have a machine in mind (Patchett, 19).

Within ten days Eli Whitney was already starting his first attempt to invent a machine to help this problem. Whitney failed the first try but tried a second time and succeeded. Therefore, the creation of the cotton gin developed.

In 1793 the cotton industry bloomed because of Eli Whitney when he invented the cotton gin. With the invention of the cotton gin, cotton became a tremendously profitable industry, creating many fortunes for white plantation owners in the antebellum South. “American inventor Eli Whitney and his cotton gin improved the cleaning of raw cotton, facilitating the continuing growth of the industry in many locales.” This proves that the cotton industry rose after the gin was invented. It is evident that Eli Whitney played a major part of the growth of the cotton industry. Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry.

During the industrial revolution, Britain forbid any mechanics and their machinery to leave the country because they feared that America would copy their machinery in British factories. Many British mechanics immigrated to the United States, disguised as Laborers, because they were attracted by higher wages and more jobs. Also, many new inventions were made during the Industrial revolution; many improved on British machinery. The new machinery allowed the faster manufacturing of goods and allowed the factories to produce goods more efficiently. Other farm equipment, like cotton gin, allowed farmers and slaves to harvest crops faster. With the cotton gin slaves could separate the seeds from the cotton faster, allowing the plantation owner to

The industrial revolution was a time of great change in Europe. Many of those changes were brought about by mechanical inventions that greatly increased efficiency by which raw materials were processed. "While working in the sciences and tinkering with mechanics, a few people were able to come up with new ways of doing things. New machines were invented" (MacroHistory and World Report) Three significant machines that were invented during this time period that greatly increased the cotton industry were the cotton gin, the spinning jenny, and the power loom. Since cotton was one of the major cash crops exported by the colonies to England, it is important to understand these inventions in order to grasp the changes brought about by this trio of machines on the cotton industry.

The Industrial Revolution set people away from farms and small villages and moved them to cities and towns because of the job opportunities that arose in the cities. The Industrial Revolution not only helped people move along in the late 1700s and early 1800s but also it has made the people what they are today. During the Industrial Revolution, the movement from an agrarian society to an industrial one reshaped the roles of families, widen the gap between classes, and led to the developments in communication, transportation, and other scientific fields that completely changed humanity.

Europe wanted to keep all this progress to itself, so anyone who had worked around the machinery could not leave the country. It was illegal, and if they were apprehended, they could be punished severely. Nonetheless, a certain Samuel Slater took the plans for a cotton mill and fled Britain in the year 1789. He quickly traveled to the United States, where the Revolution would soon expand and pop, like the balloon. Slater went first to Rhode Island, where he opened up a cotton mill powered by a waterwheel. His work was peculiar and new to the Americans, but once they realized how productive it was, and how much more available the textiles were, they loved the new mills. Machines could make more goods at a lower price. The ready availability of cotton, threads, and clothing. Slater had brought ideas for the new mechanical looms and spinning engines as well, and people liked the ideas. After people realized how productive Slater's new mills were, factories for all different kinds of goods and products started popping up all over the United States. The new factories, which used Adam Smith's division of labor theory, required a large amount of manpower. The more people worked, the more productive it was to own a factory.

Imagine a life where we would still have to ride in carriages to get down the streets and make our own clothes instead of just buying them. Well times similar to these have passed after the Industrial Revolution had started taking place. In addition to these inventions, there were the interchangeable parts, improved transportation, communication, clothes, and modern cities. The Industrial Revolution started with the invention of the Steam Engine by James Watt in 1775 (1). It was basically an engine that would induce the energy of steam to move other machines such as trains and powering factories. It was an incredible source of energy for transportation and goods. Public transportation such as locomotives could now be powered by the steam engine and this increased the speed of travel, which lowered the time to arrive at the destination. After the steam engine, the cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney was another remarkable invention during the Industrial Revolution. This machine easily separated the cotton fibers from its seeds. The invention and usage of the cotton gin augmented cotton production, mostly in the south. The rise in agriculture production increased greater