Hello everyone from “History in 3 Minutes Podcast.” Welcome back! Today, let’s take a look at “A Growing Nation.”
The building of the National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major east-west highway in the United States built by the federal government between 1811 and 1838. The federal government funded about 500 miles of the highway. It connected the Potomac and Ohio River and was a main path to the West for thousands of settlers. This highway began in Maryland and ended in Illinois.
To protect the growth of the nation, President James Monroe issued a statement in December 1823. It said that the American continents were not to be considered as subjects for colonization by any foreign powers. This foreign policy became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
New inventions, technologies and methods of transportation transformed America. The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain in the 1700’s and made its way to a textile mill in Rhode Island in 1793. At this time, people left small shops and started working in large factories. These changes made life easier and more fast-paced.
Some of the more useful inventions during the Industrial Revolution included the spinning jenny, steam engine, steamboat, cotton gin, light bulb, phonograph, telegraph, kerosene, and telephone.
The Spinning Jenny was an engine for spinning wool or cotton invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which removed seeds from cotton fiber. In 1832 Samuel Morse perfected the telegraph and developed the Morse code. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. Thomas Edison invented a longer-lasting, durable lightbulb in 1879.
Many immigrants heard of opportunities in a far-away land and flocked to America. The Irish came as a result of a devastating potato famine in Ireland. Many of the immigrants did not speak English and were willing to accept jobs at lower wages than the locals. This caused a conflict between workers. Unions were developed to create a safe working environment for all, better wages, and shorter workdays.
So, Homeschoolers: your vocabulary words to look up today are highway, doctrine, industrial, inventions, and unions.
Younger students: print each vocabulary word 5 times. Draw a picture. Write a sentence using your vocabulary word.
Older students: Write each vocabulary definition 5 times. Sketch an illustration and write a short summary. Imagine you are an immigrant living in America in the 1800’s. Describe which inventions would be the most important to you and why.
All students – read out loud what you wrote. You can look for a future word search for review. That’s all folks. Bye. Bye!
