INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION207Cotton gin The US became the
world’s leading cotton producer,
thanks to the invention of the cotton
gin by Eli Whitney. This machine
could quickly separate the cotton
fibers from the seeds, which had
previously taken ages to do by hand.1785
Textile-making could be done
much faster by Edmund
Cartwright’s
power loom.
1793
The world’s first all-steam
passenger railroad opened in
Britain.Cotton could be
produced much
faster with Eli
Whitney’s
cotton gin.1830
TELL ME MORE...The Industrial Revolution caused
much unrest. Skilled textiles workers,
in particular, were angered by the
introduction of looms that could be
worked by unskilled workers making
low wages, forcing them out of work.
One group, known as the Luddites,
destroyed the machines in cotton and
woolen mills.HISTORY AND POLITICSWHO’S WHO?OJames Watt (1736-1819) A Scottish
engineer who made improvements to the
steam engine in 1769 so that machines
could be powered without water.
OEli Whitney (1765-1825) An American
inventor who designed the cotton gin
while staying on a plantation in the
Southern states.
OFrancis Cabot Lowell (1775-1817)
An American merchant who established
the first textile mill in the United States.
OGeorge Stephenson (1781-1848)
An English engineer who built the first
public railroad line in the world.
OIsambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-
1859) A British engineer who designed
many tunnels, bridges, railroad lines,
and ships.Railroad mania In 1804,
Richard Trevithick added
wheels to his steam engine
so that it could run along
tracks. Within thirty years, a
network of railroads for
transporting raw materials,
goods, and people by steam
locomotives was constructed.
Traveling around was now
much quicker.TAKE A PICTURECanals were built to transport the heavy loads
to and from the factories. The boat lifts on the
Canal du Centre, Wallonia, in Belgium, show
the amazing engineering feats of this age.Joseph-Marie Jacquard’s
loom was the first
machine to be controlled by
punched cards—
an idea later used
in computing.1801