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    The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities
    The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities
    The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities
    Ebook299 pages2 hours

    The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities

    By Cheryl Mullenbach

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    About this ebook

    An NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

    ILA Children's and Young Adult's Book Award—Intermediate Nonfiction

    2014 VOYA Non-Fiction Honor List

    The Industrial Revolution for Kids introduces a time of monumental change in a "revolutionary" way. 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. In addition to wealthy industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie and ingenious inventors such as Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell, you'll learn about everyday workers, activists, and kids. The late 19th and early 20th centuries come to life through the eyes of hardworking Chinese immigrants who built the Transcontinental Railroad; activist Isaac Myers, an African American ship caulker who became a successful businessman and labor union organizer; toiling housewife Hannah Montague, who revolutionized the clothing industry with her popular detachable collars and cuffs; and many others who help tell the human stories of the Industrial Revolution. Twenty-one hands-on activities invite young history buffs to experience life and understand the changing technologies of this important era.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateAug 1, 2014
    ISBN9781613746936
    The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities

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      Book preview

      The Industrial Revolution for Kids - Cheryl Mullenbach

      INTRODUCTION

      Lucy Larcom, 11-Year-Old Doffer

      "ITHOUGHT IT WOULD BE A PLEASURE to feel that I was not a trouble or burden or expense to anybody … it really was not hard, just to change the bobbins of the spinning frames every three-quarters of an hour or so, with half a dozen other little girls who were doing the same thing."

      Lucy Larcom wrote those words about her first day as an 11-year-old mill girl in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1835. At eight years of age, Lucy had moved with her mother and siblings from Beverly, Massachusetts, when her dad died. Her mother ran a boardinghouse for women who worked at the Lawrence Manufacturing Company.

      Lucy’s older sisters went to work in the mills, and when the family needed more income, Lucy began her job as a doffer. She spent her days changing sewing bobbins on the water-powered looms that spun thread and wove fabric. Sometimes Lucy and the other girls explored the mill or played games among the machinery. Although the work wasn’t hard, Lucy did work long hours—5 AM to 7 PM. Lucy’s $1 in weekly wages helped the Larcoms keep a roof over their heads and food on their table.

      Lucy occasionally took time to gaze out the window at the Merrimack River as it flowed past the mill. In the summer it was difficult for Lucy to stay confined in the mill all day. She wished she had wings so she could fly away from the deafening clang of the machines. She dreamed of becoming a teacher or a writer.

      Lucy worked at the mill until she was 22. Then she moved with her married sister from Massachusetts to Illinois. In 1846 that trip was an adventure. The women boarded a steamboat named the Worchester in a snowstorm for the first leg of the 1,000-mile journey. There were beds on the boat, but they were three wooden shelves, or berths—one on top of the other. Lucy was sandwiched into the middle bed. And what made the situation almost unbearable was that Lucy got terribly seasick. Sharing the cabin with two other seasick family members and a crying baby made for a nasty trip.

      At Cumberland, Maryland, Lucy boarded a stagecoach to cross the Allegheny Mountains. Nine passengers and a baby spent the night packed into the tight quarters. Lucy described it as miserable. They caught another boat named the Clipper as they made their way to St. Louis, Missouri. There they spent the night on a canal boat as they waited for repairs to be made to the canal. They passed through the locks during the night—a very slow trip. In the morning they arrived at their destination—Illinois’s Looking Glass Prairie.

      In Illinois, Lucy was able to fulfill one of her dreams. After attending the Monticello Female Seminary, she took a job as a traveling teacher—spending three months at each school before moving on to the next. She was paid $14 per month but had to pay $1.25 per week for room and board—usually with the family of one of her students.

      When Lucy worked as a doffer in the mill, she used to dream of being a teacher. But once she fulfilled her dream, she may have wished she were back at the mill sometimes—especially when she had to deal with unruly students. One day one of her students, a boy she described as a misbehaving urchin, was acting very badly—annoying the other students. Lucy made the boy sit on a stool away from the other students, near the fireplace. She turned her back on the boy and continued to work with the other children. When she turned to look at the urchin, the stool was empty! Where was that naughty child? The other children directed Lucy’s attention outside where they saw the mischievous boy dancing in front of the school! He had escaped by climbing up the fireplace chimney!

      Despite the occasional misbehaving urchin, Lucy loved teaching. She decided to move back to Massachusetts in 1853. She taught at Wheaton Seminary for several years but left to make a living as a writer. She was a very successful writer—publishing several books of poetry and a book about her days as a mill girl.

      Lucy Larcom lived during a time that became known as the Industrial Revolution in America. It was a time when extreme—or revolutionary—changes occurred in the way people lived and worked. Those changes were a big part of Lucy’s life, from her days as a mill girl to her adult years as a teacher and writer. In some ways Lucy was like many other people who lived during the Industrial Revolution. She worked in a factory to help support her family. She struggled to make a living. She dreamed of a better life.

      Lucy’s dreams became reality. Many of the men, women, and children who lived during the Industrial Revolution were not as lucky as Lucy. Throughout the 1800s and into the 1900s, many spent their lives in factories. They had little or no education. And, unlike Lucy, their dreams of leaving the drudgery of the factory never became real.

      The Industrial Revolution spanned about 100 years and introduced revolutionary changes to many parts of American life. Enormous shifts occurred in the way people traveled, communicated, worked, and played. Many of those changes brought about improvements in people’s lives. Some created hardship and misery.

      When 11-year-old Lucy Larcom walked to work at the mill in 1835, she couldn’t have imagined the world that would exist by the time she was old in the 1890s. She may have looked back to the days at the mill and thought about the amazing changes she witnessed over time. When she was an adult, she wrote about her childhood days at the mill: Life to me, as I looked forward, was a bright blank of mystery.

      As you learn about the revolution that rocked the lives of kids growing up during the 1800s, think about your way of life. What would those kids say about the way you travel, communicate, work, and play? Try to imagine the world 100 years from now. What inventions and new ideas can you envision? Maybe they will pave the way for the next revolution.

      Lucy Larcom.

      Courtesy of the Marion B. Gebbie Archives & Special Collections, Wallace Library, Wheaton College, Norton, MA

      1

      A TIME OF SWEEPING CHANGE

      THE MARRIAGE OF LOUISA PIERPONT MORGAN, eldest daughter of J. Pierpont (J. P.) Morgan, took place on a November afternoon in 1900 in New York City. J. P. Morgan was one of the wealthiest men in the world. He had made his millions as a banker and business investor. Louisa’s dress was fashioned from French lace; her veil was held in place by a large spray of diamonds. The reception was held at the Morgan mansion— the first house in New York City lit entirely by electricity. The bride and groom received over 400 gifts, including paintings, furniture, silver dinnerware, and gold plates. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan gave their daughter a diamond tiara and necklace— and $1 million.

      About the same time that Louisa Morgan was celebrating her wedding, Nora Nelson, a young woman who worked at a factory in Troy, New York, was thinking about marriage too. She worked long days for little pay at a factory that manufactured detachable shirt collars. When she heard Tacoma, Washington, was a city with an unusually large number of single men, she got an idea. Nora sent a letter to a Tacoma newspaper writing that there were plenty of single women working at the factory who would be willing to move west for a suitable husband. Within a very short time, she received 250 letters from interested men! Nora decided to form a matrimonial club made up of women with marriage in mind who would consider a move to Washington. Everyone who joined paid monthly dues to help send members to Tacoma. Within a day Nora’s club had 40 members.

      Louisa Morgan and Nora Nelson lived at the same time and only about 150 miles apart, but their lives were vastly different. Nora’s situation was much like that of thousands of young people at the time—constant struggle in a harsh, bleak environment. Louisa’s circumstances were shared by a privileged few. And though Louisa and Nora never knew one another, they depended on each other for their livelihoods. Nora’s job existed because of wealthy investors like J. P. Morgan, and Louisa’s lifestyle was possible because of hardworking men and women like Nora.

      FORMER TEACHER REVOLUTIONIZES MANUFACTURING

      When a former schoolteacher from Connecticut promised government officials in 1798 that he could produce 10,000 muskets within a span of only two years, it seemed like an impossible task. But Eli Whitney convinced the officials that he was up for the challenge, because he had a new way of manufacturing guns. As it turned out, Eli came up a little short on his promise. The actual number of muskets he produced was only 500.

      But it didn’t seem to matter to the government officials. They were willing to forgive Eli because he told them about his unusual method for making things. His new idea was called interchangeable parts. No one knew it at the time, but Eli’s ideas would become the basis for a process that would revolutionize manufacturing.

      Eli knew that if guns were made using interchangeable parts, they could be made much faster. But for parts to be interchangeable, they had to be exactly alike. And that was possible only if the parts were made by machines—not people.

      Eli’s method would eventually be applied to many different products. His ideas were used almost 100 years later by Henry Ford, who manufactured automobiles. By using interchangeable parts, Henry was able to mass produce automobiles. Without Eli’s innovations, mass production of cars and other products would not have occurred.

      Revolutionary Changes in Industries

      LOUISA MORGAN and Nora Nelson lived during the time that became known as the Industrial Revolution. It was a time when workers began to use machines, rather than their hands, to make products. The Industrial Revolution occurred between the early 1800s and 1900s in America. Over about 100 years revolutionary changes took place in industries— manufacturing, transportation, and communication.

      It’s difficult to say how and where these innovations started, because it wasn’t just one event or person who brought about the Industrial Revolution. But most historians agree it began with machines designed to make thread and cloth—the textile industry. These inventions led to even more innovations, in areas other than textiles. Soon machines were used for transportation and communication too. This was a shift, because before 1800, people and animals supplied the energy for making, transporting, and communicating things.

      These remarkable changes meant people from all backgrounds worked, traveled, and communicated differently than their parents and grandparents had. They played and relaxed in new ways too. It seemed as though every part of life was undergoing gigantic change.

      ACTIVITY

      Analyze Interchangeable Parts

      DURING THE Industrial Revolution manufacturers began to use interchangeable parts. Today most products are made with interchangeable parts. You can find an example in an ordinary product in your home—the toilet.

      YOU’LL NEED

        2 toilets

        Pencil and paper

        Computer with Internet access

      Remove the lid from the back of a toilet in your house. Draw a picture of each item you see.

      Do the same with a second toilet.

      Do you see the same objects in each toilet tank? Place a star next to the items you find in both tanks. These parts are interchangeable. You could take a part from one toilet and use it in the other.

      Conduct an online search to find the name of each object you saw in the tanks. Label your drawings with the terms. Identify the function of each item. How does it make the toilet work?

      Changes in the Way Products Were Made

      FOR CENTURIES workers made products like shoes, clothes, tools, furniture, and food by hand. Skilled craftsmen and craftswomen, not machines, produced these goods. As machines were invented to make these products, people began to work in different ways.

      Before the Industrial Revolution, people worked in small shops, on farms, or in their homes. Women made clothes, soap, and candles for the family. Men chopped wood for fuel and raised animals for food. Most of the items they used every day were homemade or purchased from local craftspeople. Many people in America lived in rural areas and small towns.

      As the Industrial Revolution began in the 1800s, that began to change gradually. More and more items that people used every day were made in factories in large cities. People operated the machines. Each worker made one part of an item. All the parts were put together for a finished product. It was a very different way of working.

      Samuel and Harriet Slater opened a factory in Rhode Island in the late 1700s that made thread—an important product for textile manufacturing, but it was only one part of making cloth. They hired hand weavers in the community to finish the cloth in their homes.

      Francis Cabot Lowell took the process a step further in Massachusetts. Like Samuel Slater, Francis used ideas he had seen at a mill in England. In 1813 he formed the Boston Manufacturing Company in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later moved his company to the banks of the Merrimack River at a location that became known as Lowell, Massachusetts. At Francis’s mill, machines wove the thread into cloth, and all the other steps in the process were completed within the mill. This was a turning point in the making of cloth. Soon other investors built textile mills in the northeastern states. From 1814 to 1850 many mills were started. This growth of the textile industry marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America.

      As the Industrial Revolution evolved between 1800 and the early 1900s, many improvements were made to machines. People were constantly adjusting to new ways of working and making products. Changes in the way people worked meant changes

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