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Samuel Slater's Factory Begins Construction
On December 20, 1790, Samuel Slater finished the blueprint for America's first factory - a textile mill. This Pawtucket, Rhode Island, mill wouldn't open until 1793, but its impact on America's Industrial Revolution would prove tremendous. As America's first factory, Slater's textile mill offered another form of work to Americans. As the business grew, it would prove to redefine the economy of America, with many leaving their farms and immigrants coming to the U.S. to work in multiple factories -
John and Arthur Schofield build their fortune
Sometime in 1793, John and Arthur Schofield arrive in Massachusetts and build a woolen factory of their own. In addition to Samuel Slater's factory, the economy of the United States was forever changed, with many Americans and immigrants now moving into cities to work in these factories, pushing the economic develop of the U.S. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson sends James Monroe to France in order to negotiate a deal for a large land tract just west of America's western Appalachia border called Louisiana. Monroe inks a deal with Napoleon securing the land for $15 million - around 4 cents an acre. This purchase would begin America's love affair with land acquisition and the pursuit of world power, two qualities that would lead to massive infrastructure projects and mass emigration during the mid 19th century -
American Corporations Build
Sometime in 1813, Francis Cabot Lowell, Nathan Appleton and Patrick Johnson form the Boston Manufacturing Company, what could be America's first corporation. Over 15 years, the company would charter companies from around Massachusetts and New Hampshire, recruiting investors and creating what would be a commonplace corporation by 1840. The company would hire thousands of immigrants throughout the course of the 19th century and push the "American Dream". -
Erie Canal Construction
On July 4, 1817, construction began on America's first great infrastructure project. The Erie Canal, or "Clinton's Ditch" as it was sometimes referred to, would not only revolutionize the economy of America's midwest and eastern seaboard and set the standard for America's early infrastructures, but it would also attract immigrants from around the world to help with construction. Other states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania would eventually follow the lead and build canals of their own -
Mass German/Irish Emigration
Escaping a terrible potato famine in Ireland and unstable conditions following a revolution in Germany, the U.S. saw many workers cross into their borders over the course of the 19th century. Lasting from 1820-1870, over 7.5 million European immigrants come to the United States and kick the infrastructure projects and factory workforce into gear, pumping millions of dollars back into the country and solidifying the economy of the U.S. -
America's First Railroad
After George Stephenson's inventions in Britain made it to the U.S., construction on America's first railroad begin in Baltimore in July of 1828. The Ohio-Baltimore Railroad would attract immigrants from around the world to build it, and would eventually turn a full day canal trip from New York to Ohio into an hour long train ride, revolutionizing goods and economy travel from the East further into the country. -
"Best Friend" train engine makes its first run
After construction on America's first railroad began two years earlier, the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company tested their new design for a steam locomotive called the "Best Friend Engine". And although the train fell off of its track in the first tests, the wheels were set in motion, and production of locomotives exploded in America, putting many immigrants to work in building the engines as well as the tracks they would be riding on. -
Oregon Treaty
Under Manifest Destiny, many Americans travel west and settle the British controlled Oregon territory. Britain, outnumbered, chooses not to fight for the territory, but rather to strike a deal with the Americans that they draw the border at the 49th parallel. This encouraged both immigration to America and movement of Americans from east to west, making the railroad efforts even more important. -
Western Gold Rushes
Starting in North Carolina in 1799 the multiple gold rushes around the east and most importantly in the west had a major impact on the population and economy of America. And although it did begin in the east just after the Revolutionary War, the full impact would not be felt until James Marshall would find gold in California in early 1848. Many immigrants came from all over the world to participate in the gold mining in California, Colorado, and Wyoming among other western states. -
Mexican American War / Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
After the Mexican-American war of the early 1800s, America received huge tracts of land from the Mexican government. These land gains included territories of New Mexico, Texas, and California. Much as the acquisition of Louisiana and Oregon did, the US ownership of the west encouraged many Americans to populate the new area as well as mass numbers of Chinese and European immigrants. This land was also prove very instrumental in the building of railroads later on. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
Utilizing the forces of Chinese/European immigrants, America's Transcontinental Railroad, linking the country from east to west, was completed in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. Symbolized with the installation of a golden spike, the railroad would prove to be one of America's greatest infrastructures, allowing goods and people to get west in a fraction of the time it would in wagons, revolutionizing and greatly strengthening the economy of the nation-all thanks to foreign immigrants.
