The Division of Labor and the Factory:-During the1830sand1830s, merchants inLynn, Massachusetts,destroyed the businesses of these artisans by introducing an outworksystem and a division of labor.-In the1830s,Cincinnati merchantsbuilt large slaughter-houses thatprocessed thousands of hogs every month.-By1850, factories were slaughtering334,000hogs a year, and400,000by1860.-Mineral-based economy of coal and metal in1830s-Iron, brass, copper, tinplate, pork, leather, wool, cotton, and otheragricultural goods.The Textile Industry and British Competition:-To protect the British textile industry from American competition, TheBritish government prohibited the export of textile machinery andthe emigration of mechanics.-Richard Arkweught invented the most advanced British machineryfor spinning cottonAmerican and British Advantages:-Cheap transatlantic shipping and low interest rates in Britain allowedproducers to import raw cotton from the United States, manufactureit into cloth, and sell it in America at a bargain price.-The most important British advantage wascheap labor:Britain had alarger population – about12.6 millionin1810compared to7.3million Americans- and thousands of landless laborers prepared toaccept low-paying factory jobs.-To offset these advantages, American entrepreneurs relied on helpfrom the federal government: in1816, 1824, and 1828,Congresspassed tariff bills that taxed imported cotton and woolen cloth.
-In the1830s, Congress reduced tariffs because southern planters,western farmers, and urban consumers demanded inexpensiveimports.Better Machines, Cheaper Workers:-In the 1820s, the Boston Manufacturing Company recruitedthousands of young women from farm families, providing them withrooms in boarding houses and with evening lectures and othercultural activities.-To reassure parents about their daughters moral welfare, the millowners enforced strict curfews, prohibited alcoholic beverages, andrequired regular church attendance.-Other sites in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the company builtnew factories that used this labor system, known as the WalthamLowell System-By the early 1830s, more than 40,000 New England women wereworking in textile mills.-With improved technology and cheap female labor they couldundersell their British rivalsAmerican Mechanics and Technological Innovation:-In1824, the Sellars and other mechanics founded the FranklinInstitute in Philadelphia-Between1820 and 1860, the number of patents issued by theU.S. Patent Office rose from two hundred to four thousand ayear.-American craftsmen pioneered the development of machinetools – machines that made parts for other machines.-Eli Whitneydecided in1798to manufacture military weaponsfor the wealth and fame he had long craved.-Using this machine, a worker could make300ax heads a day –compared to12using traditional methods.
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