Industrial Revolution Comes to America

The American Revolution may have won the U.S. its independence, but it also proved that huge changes were in order. Even the new president, George Washington, worried that the new country might not last if improvements in communication, transportation, and travel did not occur. And so came America's second revolution: the Industrial Revolution. This primary source portfolio traces the progress of the fledgling nation as it strove to match and, eventually, overcome England's industrial capabilities. This portfolio provides a comprehensive Study Guide with reproducible activities including vocabulary, writing, research and creative thinking exercises, and a teacher's answer key. A timeline provides a summary of important events in America's Industrial Revolution. 4 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * The Other American Revolution * The Role of Inventors in the Industrial Revolution * The Millworkers' Story * Improving Transportation 14 Primary Source Documents: * Subscription agreement to the Incorporation of the Middlesex Canal, September 2, 1793 * Letter from Samuel Slater to his employer, William Almy, August 19, 1795 * Oliver Evans' design for a fully automated gristmill, 1783 * Oliver Evans' Columbian steam engine, 1804 * Letter from Eli Whitney to Decius Wadsworth, Commissary of Ordnance, August 9, 1814 * Two pages from the Thomas Hurd Mill wages book, 1827 * Amoskeag Mill regulations, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1859 * Mechanic's certificate awarded to Amos Dow by the Amoskeag Mills, 1871 * Broadside, "Enlarge the Canals!" 1832 * Map showing the principal canals and highways, 1840 to 1860 * Map showing the principal railroads and highways, 1840 to 1860 * "Steamship Savannah / The First Ocean Steamer," from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, Boston, May 20, 1854 * Certificate for nine shares of stock in the California Petroleum Company, 1865 * Poster: Contributions to Technology