Biography Of Elias Howe: The Great Inventor Of The Industrial Revolution

Before the war, industry in the United States had just begun. Samuel Slater, also known as the “Father of the Factory System”, established the United States’ first factory in 1790 at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Slater built the spinning jenny, which was one of the key inventions of the industrial revolution. As demand for cotton rose, many sought out an easier, more efficient way to pull seeds from cotton. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.

This conversation helped inspire Howe to invent a sewing machine. He heard that the person who invented a sewing machine that could make a lock stitch would make a fortune off it. People wanted a lock stitch, because there were only chain stitches before that. Chain stitches can easily unravel, so they were not a very good stitch to hold together fabrics. Before Howe’s lockstitch sewing machine, it took approximately 14

1845: Elias Howe invented a new type of sewing machine. It stitched on both sides of the material. 1839: An Austrian tailor Josef Madersperger designed several machines during the early 1800’s including a machine to sew caps.

During the Industrial Revolution, many inventions were made like the mill in 1790 when Samuel Slater Brought the textile mill to the U.S. from England. He came by using a false name because England wanted to be the only one with textile mills so the tried to make sure that anyone who had knowledge of the machines could not leave. Samuel Slater found a way to using a false name got to the U.S. and found a capitalist to invest in his idea and the age of the Industrial Revolution began. Other inventors like Eli Whitney made all different types of inventions. Some of his were the Cotton Gin and interchangeable gun parts.

In the Northeast innovations such as: textile machines broke out as a result of Samuel Slater’s English plans, the cotton gin and concept of interchangeable parts both created by Eli Whitney, as well as the sewing machine created by Elias Howe then perfected by Isaac Singer all stimulated other innovations making industrialization and manufacturing much simpler. Innovations to make tasks easier were also present in the West including one of the most important, the McCormick reaper which increased the amount of food produced in both the domestic and foreign markets. Although all of these smaller innovations were important to developing the economy, it was the transportation that really set America apart. For example, the Northeast’s economy was greatly furthered by the Erie Canal which linked the Hudson River with the Great Lakes. This effected the value of land along the route as well as industry within the state increased dramatically.

For instance he invented the cotton gin in 1793. He went to plantation owners named Catherine Green and Phineas Miller. Catherine said it was very hard to take out the seeds from cotton balls. So they asked him to make the cotton gin for the south. Phineas Miller said he will pay all cotton gin expenses.

So before the cotton gin was patented some farmers made their own copies of the cotton gin. Some of their copies even worked better than Eli Whitney’s. Since plantation owners took his invention Eli did not see much profit from the cotton gin. Although, this invention changed America’s economy drastically. The cotton gins were made of different sizes.

Francis Cabot Lowell, like Slater, had a great memory and he memorized designs of important textiles. He travelled to England for 2 years, from 1810 to 1812, and memorized the power loom in detail. He brought his knowledge of power looms back to America and invented a new textile machine. He created the first textile mill in 1814 in Waltham, Massachusetts called the Boston Manufacturing Company. The entire cotton manufacturing production happened in this one building.

Elias Howe was an American inventor who was born July 9th, 1819 in Spencer, massachusetts. He had a wife named elizabeth jennings howe and three kids named James Robinson Howe, simon Ames Howe, and Julia maria Howe. In 1846 Elias invented, built, and licensed the world’s first practical and successful sewing machine. He passed away on October 3, 1867 in Brooklyn, New York at the age of 48. Elias Howe was successful because he succeeded, although he had a very difficult childhood, invented the sewing machine, and lived through the time of the emancipation proclamation.

The First Industrial Revolution had such an enormous impact on the United States as a whole. One thing that it did was that it created new inventions. These inventions helped to make lives easier, more than anything. An example of an invention that was created in 1712, was the "steamboat." Also, the Industrial Revolution created never before seen technology, as well.

It helped mend clothing faster and soon became a hobby for many people. The biggest invention that changed American life was the electric light bulb invented by Thomas Edison in 1879. Factories used them so that people could have night shifts and get more done. Did the workers like having night shifts? I don’t think they did because they would have less time with their

Wool became scarce, silk hard to get and expensive, and rubber unavailable for civilian use. The lack of traditional materials led to increased research toward the production of synthetics.” (Batchelor) Regardless of the strict regulation of fabrics necessary for fashion, along with the scarcity of the materials overall, the United States continued to perform at what it excelled in: innovation. In 1935 the first synthetic fiber was produced, and it released a lot of the strain that was put purely on silk, cotton, and other fabrics.

Eli Whitney was visiting a plantation when he first heard of this crisis that the farmers were facing. He consulted with agriculturalists, and after a few months he finalized the idea of what he called a cotton gin. The “gin” in cotton gin is short for engine, so essentially this was a machine that sped up the process of producing cotton. The cotton gin consisted of a long box with a revolving cylinder. It also had saws that separated lint from seed.

With the assistance of innovations, older machines are able to be replaced with a more efficient and quick ability to produce products. Moreover, developments in textile machinery contributed to the start of industrialization in England. In Document 6, the table displays significant inventions that greatly impacted the textile industry. Three of the most important inventions that multiplied textile production are Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin, which quickly and safely separates the seed from raw cotton,

The Industrial Revolution began over 200 years ago. It changed the way in which many products, including cloth and textiles, were manufactured. It is called a "revolution" because the changes it caused were great and sudden. It greatly affected the way people lived and worked. This revolution helped to bring about the modern world we know today in many ways.