Social and Technological Impacts of Samuel Slater and Eli Whitney’s Innovations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i4.3435Keywords:
Samuel Slater, Eli Whitney, Textile Industry, Cotton Gin, Cotton Mill, Rhode Island System, First American Industrial Revolution, Social Impact, Technology, MechanizationAbstract
The first American Industrial Revolution was a period of technological innovations that led to the mechanization of American industries along with the proliferation of factories. This essay introduces the inventions and innovations of Samuel Slater and Eli Whitney, and analyzes the effects of their inventions on Industrialization and the textile industry. Eli Whitney and Samuel Slater’s innovations influenced Industrialization in America and mechanized the textile and cotton industry, leading to prominent social impacts such as reorienting the roles of women and increasing the utilization of child labor. This paper will demonstrate the social impacts brough forth by Whitney and Slater’s innovations, while also articulating their impacts on the American Industrial Revolution.
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