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"Manufacturing on the Rise!"
Using Local Census Data to Explore the Industrial Revolution

Machinists Were Artisans in Metal Source: National Museum of American History

  Introduction

In this unit, students examine the trend away from farming and toward manufacturing in 19th and early 20th century Massachusetts, and explore whether that trend was reflected in their own county. Students retrieve state- and county-level historical census data about farming, manufacturing, and population from the Internet. They create visual displays of the data with maps (generated on the website) and graphs (created by the students themselves). Students use the maps and graphs to answer questions about employment and immigration in their county long ago.

In this first lesson of the unit, students will explore census data about manufacturing in their county during the Industrial Revolution and create graphs that compare their county to Massachusetts in general.  Doing their own research may generate questions for students to explore further. For example, perhaps your community did not follow the state trend toward growth in manufacturing in the late 1800s. Why not? What happened?  How did people support themselves during this period? Encourage students to pursue the answers individually or as a class.

While it is easy to read words in a textbook that explain the effects of the Industrial Revolution, providing students with a firsthand look at local data invites them to experience what real historians do, providing a sense of ownership over the information, and a more thorough understanding of their own community's past.

This lesson is geared toward students in grades 9-12 studying U.S. history. It integrates graphing and data analysis.

Social Studies Standards Addressed

• USI.28 Explain the emergence and impact of the textile industry in New England and industrial growth generally throughout antebellum America.

• USII.2 Explain the important consequences of the Industrial Revolution.

• USII.3 Describe the causes of the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and describe the major roles of these immigrants in the industrialization of America.

Mathematics Standards Addressed

• 10.D.1 Select, create, and interpret an appropriate graphical representation (e.g., scatterplot, table, stem-and-leaf plots, box-and-whisker plots, circle graph, line graph, and line plot) for a set of data and use appropriate statistics (e.g., mean, median, range, and mode) to communicate information about the data. Use these notions to compare different sets of data.

Instructional Technology Standards Addressed

• 1.24 Produce simple charts from spreadsheet.

• 3.16 Collect, organize, analyze, and graphically present data using the most appropriate tools (e.g., spreadsheet, database, graphing, and concept-mapping tools).

Duration:  This lesson requires one class period.

Class Setup: Each student or work group will need access to a computer with Internet connection.  Before the lesson, decide whether you want students to work individually or in groups of 2 or 3 (depending on their experience and your level of computer access).

Do a little exploring on the website before the lesson to determine how you want students to gather the data given their skill level, amount of computer access, and the time you have. You might choose to let students gather all the data themselves, divide into groups and assign each group to collect a portion of the data, or collect the data yourself to give to students.

Explain to students that they'll be researching census data about the Industrial Revolution.   We will use the Historical Census Browser at the University of Virginia to explore census data. 

What is the census?  Show students a sample of a census page from 1900. Explain that not only does the U.S. Census Bureau conduct a population survey every 10 years, but also conducts many other surveys of people and businesses to gather economic and social data. The type and wording of questions has changed over time as our need for information has changed. A short description of the history and goals of the census is available from the U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/acsd/www/history.html

Locate our County:

To begin, we first need to know which county we live in.  If students do not know this, have them consult the Massachusetts Counties Map provided in this module to determine their home county.

You might also choose to spend some time exploring some present-day data about your town, city, county and state with students. Exploring this data will give students a sense of the kinds of information gathered by the census today and may reveal interesting information that either confirms or challenges their perceptions of their own community.

Gather data:

• Internet access for each student or group

• Microsoft Excel or similar graphing program for each student or group

• Copies of the Farms to Factories worksheet for each student

• Sample U.S. census page from 1870

• For this lesson you'll need access to the Historical Census Browser at the University of Virginia. This site provides access to historical census data at the state and county levels. Students will download census data from the website to make graphs.

Recommended background reading for teachers: Historical Atlas of Massachusetts, "Industrialization and Urbanization, 1860-1900" (pages 34-37). This wonderful volume, by Richard Wilkie and Jack Tager, is available in every community in Massachusetts, either in the public library or the school library.

Evaluate students' responses on the Industrial Revolution: Manufacturing in Massachusetts worksheet. Were students able to:

• Correctly read the graph to answer questions 1-3?

• Make reasonable analyses of the information on the map and graphs to answer questions 4-5?

• Use their own background knowledge to answer question 6?

1. Massachusetts Counties Map
   (Also available online at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cispdf/ma_counties.pdf)

2. Sample Page from 1870 and 1900 Censuses

3. Student Worksheet: Manufacturing in Massachusetts (see below)

Exploring the Industrial Revolution through Local Census Data
Lesson 1 - Manufacturing on the Rise
STUDENT WORKSHEET: "Manufacturing in Massachusetts"

Questions

1. Based on the graphs you created, in what year did the state of Massachusetts have the most manufacturing establishments? ____________

2. When did our county have the most manufacturing establishments? _____________

3. When was the biggest increase in manufacturing establishments in our county?
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4. Compare the graphs of manufacturing establishments in Massachusetts and in our county. Did the change in our county follow that in the state as a whole? Describe the patterns of change you observe on the graphs.
   
   _____________________________________________________________________
   
   _____________________________________________________________________
   
   _____________________________________________________________________
   
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5. Examine the map of manufacturing establishments in Massachusetts in 1900 below. Based on the map and on your graphs, do you think manufacturing was an important industry in our county in 1900? Describe how our county compared with other counties in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Counties in 1900: Number of Manufacturing Establishments	Source: Historical Census Browser at the University of Virginia
	Legend:
6. What evidence do you see today of manufacturing as part of our community's past? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

This lesson was designed by Elizabeth C. Finison.
Questions? Contact: k12.msp@umb.edu

The Mass. Studies Project	These curricular modules were developed with support from the John H. and H. Naomi Tomfohrde Foundation. The "Our Town, Our City" Curricular Resources Project is an initiative of the Massachusetts Studies Project, Institute for Learning and Teaching, University of Massachusetts, Boston The lesson plan formatting is based on The WebQuest template.