industrial revolution part ii
TRANSCRIPT
Industrial Revolution in America part II
How do advances in agriculture lead to an increase in Westward
Expansion?
Steel Plow: John Deere
• In 1837 John Deere invents the first steel plow in Illinois
• The blade is polished so the clay in the western soil will not stick to the blade
• Farming becomes easier in many parts of the West during the period of expansion- farmers who are in the west benefit from this new technology- tilling the soil for planting becomes easier
• Westward Expansion continues to increase
Mechanical Reaper:Cyrus McCormick and others
• 1834- Replaces harvesting grain with hand tools • McCormick buys the rights to some of his
competitors ideas and begins producing a model that is successful in the west
• Crops could be cut far faster than before, and with fewer farm hands to pay
• Displaced farm workers joined America's westward expansion and contributed to the industrialization of the U.S. economy
• More soldiers available for the Union war effort
How does the Cotton Gin affect Slavery and Westward Expansion?
• The Cotton Gin makes it easier to “clean” the seeds out of the harvested cotton
• Now that this time-consuming part of the process is made cheaper, easier and quicker- more enslaved people are forced to plant and harvest cotton to keep up with the increasing demand from factories in the North and in Europe
• 1. This technology breathes new life into the slavery system of the U.S. : more slavery
• 2. This makes it cheaper to expand plantation labor into the west: more slavery