Industrial Revolution Innovation: Spinning Jenny

Industrial Revolution Innovation: Spinning Jenny

Taking place between 1760 and 1850, the Industrial Revolution is a transitional period in history where shifts in manufacturing and economy took place, leading to technological advances and innovations. Sparked by new ideas of the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution's advancements were inspired by newly discovered concepts in mathematics, philosophy, liberty, and even astronomy. Numerous contributions made by the Industrial Revolution were highly important and many even made certain aspects of life easier for the people of the time. Invented by James Hargreaves, the Spinning Jenny was one of these remarkably significant innovations which improved the quantity of thread able to be produced as well as decreased the labor necessary for thread production.

British carpenter and weaver, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny in 1764 after observing one of his daughters knocking over his spinning wheel. As he watched the machine fall, he realized that spindle carried on spinning even after the machine dropped. This observation inspired him to create the Spinning Jenny, a hand powered machine which possessed the ability to spin more than one ball of yarn with the utilization of eight spindles connected to one wheel. Unlike the original spinning wheel, the Spinning Jenny allowed weaving looms to become more agile, decreasing the labor needed to produce cloth and linens. There are several theories about the name of Hargreaves innovation, including that the machine is named for either his wife or daughter, but none are certain.

Though the Spinning Jenny was an improvement which reduced the necessary labor of certain individuals, many workers were angered about losing their jobs due to the creation. Some even barged into Hargreaves home and destroyed his Spinning Jennys in 1768. Thought few were angered about the creation, the majority can agree that the Spinning Jenny was a positive achievement which reduced labor and improved the cloth industry, making it an essential advancement of the Industrial Revolution.