Page 83 - Copshaholm Curriculum Book_2015

What is a revolution?

Think about it:

¾ During the American Revolution, America declared its independence from
England and became its own country.

¾ During the French Revolution, the King and his entire court were beheaded
because the people wanted a say in the government that ruled them.

¾ Why did they call the Industrial Age a Revolution?

Help from the Dictionary: A sudden or momentous change in a situation.

What caused the American
Industrial Revolution?

In the 1800s after their independence from England, America saw the need to become
less dependent on England and Europe. England wanted America to remain dependent
on them. America shipped them cotton and they manufactured it into cloth and sent it
back. Anyone who worked in a factory was not allowed to leave the country. England
planned to keep the technology and not share. Americans offered a large reward for
anyone who could build a factory in this country. A brave man with a photographic
memory took on the task. Samuel Slater memorized everything in the factory, quit his
job, and moved to London where he worked doing manual labor. He didn’t tell anyone
he used to work in the factory. He caught a ship to America and built the first factory on
a stream in Rhode Island.

It is interesting that as soon as an idea becomes reality, someone else has already
thought of a way to improve it. In the 1800s there were so many ideas and
improvements on those ideas, it was like a revolution—a big dramatic change in the
way things were.