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

McCormick Reaper

Reaping Machine 1833: Obed Hussey

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

Roller Gin

The Cotton Gin: Eli Whitney