• 6.2 Invention and Protection of Trade Secrets

    The Industrial Revolution's technology spread as it developed in England. Despite efforts to keep the construction and processes of its machinery secret, England could not keep valuable knowledge under wraps for long. Enterprising individuals brought copies of the English fabric processing machinery to the United States and created similar machines and factories in places like Lowell, Massachusetts.

    While patents may protect an invention and make the inventor wealthy, these legal agreements often failed in the long term. Inventors simply produced similar machines or were able to profit in other ways. The invention of spinning jennies, water frames, and power looms initiated the Industrial Revolution in England. However, the single most important and influential invention in the United States was Eli Whitney's cotton gin. This machine made cotton production profitable, helped kickstart the Industrial Revolution in the United States, and changed the course of American history by reinvigorating slavery and causing it to spread throughout the southern states.