Important Inventions

Cotton Gin Mechanical Reaper Steamboat

In your own words, explain what the problem In your own words, explain what the problem Why did farmers use the rivers? was with cotton. harvesting wheat. to ship their goods Harvesting wheat was done by hand, using a Needed to be handpicked, seeds had to be sickle or scythe. This was a very time- In your own words, explain what the problem removed, took very long, plantation owners consuming and exhausting process (similar to with traveling upriver. were using other crops for money mowing your lawn with a pair of scissors.) Going up the river against the current was very difficult. Boat crews would have to either Who did most of the cotton picking in the Who invented the mechanical Reaper? Who paddle against the current, push against the South? helped him? river bed with wooden poles, or pull the boat Slaves Cyrus McCormick, Jo Anderson upstream with ropes. Needless to say, this was a very slow process. Who invented the cotton gin? How did the mechanical reaper make Eli Whitney harvesting wheat easier? Who invented the steamboat? only required two farmers – one to ride the Robert Fulton What did the cotton gin do? horse and another to rake the wheat into Cotton could be put into the machine and piles after it was cut. Before the arrival of the How did steam make the steamboat run? forced through a wire mesh. The cotton mechanical reaper, a single farmer might be Used burning coal to boil water. When the fibers would fit through but the seeds would able to harvest one acre of wheat in a day water turned into steam, the steam started the not How many people were required to work this engine which turned the paddles and propelled machine? the boat forward. How did the cotton gin impact the lives of 2 African Americans? Why did the mechanical reaper cause some Because of the steamboat, what was now Created more cotton fields and more work people to move to cities? possible? Fewer people became farmers because It was now possible to travel up and down How did the cotton gin affect the spread of fewer people were required to do the work. river, as well as north and south along the slavery? Because they no longer had to worry about Atlantic Coast. producing their own food, many people What did the steamboat help connect? Lead to the spread of slavery in the South began moving to big cities, particularly in the East to West North, looking for work in factories and other businesses.

Steam Locomotive Telegraph

In your own words, describe transportation before the steam In your own words, explain what the problem with communication in locomotive. the 1800’s? Americans had to stay local because transportation was very poor. Letters and packages had to be physically carried over dangerous terrain There were no motorized means to move people or cargo. and were often lost or destroyed. Exchanging letters with someone Transportation technology was limited to harnessing animals for land across the country could take up to a year. transport and using wind for water transport. Waterways were often the only routes for getting goods to and from market. Horses traveled What was the early communication network? faster (between 5 and 10 miles per hour) than people on foot, but they The Pony Express were not as common as you might think. Horses were expensive to feed and required special care. People used carts and wagons pulled by Who invented the telegraph? horses and oxen to get things from one place to another. Oxen were Samuel Morse much slower than horses, but they were stronger and could haul heavier loads. What was the name of the code that carried messages? What is the steam locomotive? Morse Code A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine Who invented the steam locomotive? What country was he from? How did the telegraph impact the lives of Americans? James Watt developed the first commercially successful steam engine in The telegraph allowed Americans to communicate with family and Great Britain friends in all parts of the nation. People could now get information in a How was travel time affected by the steam locomotive? matter of minutes, rather than a matter of days. Railroads cut travel time by 90%, transforming a dangerous journey of months into an easy trip of a few days How did the railroad impact farmers? How did the telegraph help the Union Army during the Civil War? farmers switched from raising subsistence crops (food to feed their During the Civil War, Lincoln was able to communicate with his generals families) to cash crops better suited for their local soils, thus increasing almost instantly. This communication was a major advantage for the crop yields dramatically. They could then sell the crops, buy the food Union Army. needed to feed themselves, and still have money for buying consumer goods.

The railroad proved to be a much ______safer______form of ______transportation______.