The Role Of The Economy In Nineteenth Century America

In the nineteenth century the American economy started to grow and develop. The mass movement to the west opened great opportunities for people to start up businesses and tap into the resources of the plentiful lands. Newly created machinery and ingenuity helped to increase harvesting and production of goods exponentially. Each geographic region of America had their specific contributions which enabled the nation to become a national and international economic giant. In the south cotton grew very well but amount of manual labor that was needed to harvest it and process it limited it's potential. Samuel Slater the “Father of the Factory System” in America, constructed and put into operation the first efficient machine for spinning cotton thread. Later, it was Eli Whitney that invented and built the cotton gin machine which made harvesting the lint from the seed fifty times more efficient than by hand. With these two machines the south became the King of cotton and the raising of cotton instantly became highly profitable. The mountainous heaps of cotton were sold to Britain and shipped out to the factories of Americas north and east to be manufactured into goods. The increase of cotton production brought the equal increase need to ship it and manufacture goods from it. Shippers and factories benefited highly because of the cotton boom. …show more content…
The invention of the sewing machine by Elias Howe in 1846 and perfected by Isaac Singer started the foundation for the cloth making industry. Factory production was at an all time high and with the demands of needed goods it gave women a chance to play an important role in the factory industry. Women and farm girls worked in the factories typically six days a week, but at least it took them out of the household role and into a contributing role for the national