Technology and the West

I. Production A. Factories 1830's-1840's 1. Conversion to steam power 2. Increased productivity 3. Could be built anywhere 4. Poor working conditions & increased pollution B. Farming 1. Mechanical reaper a. Invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 b. Machine that harvested crops 2. Steel plow a. Invented by John Deere in 1837 b. Easier to cut through hard soil of the west

II. Communication A. Telegraph 1. Invented by Samuel Morse in 1832 2. Instant electronic communication 3. Messages translated into Morse code B. Pony Express 1860-1861 1. Mail service from St. Joseph, MO to California 2. Stations located 10-15 miles apart 3. Riders covered 1800 miles in 10 days 4. Telegraph lines to west coast put Pony Express out of business

III. Transportation A. Stagecoaches 1. Carried passengers & freight to the west 2. Traveled 10-20 miles per day 3. Wells, Fargo & Co. specialized in valuable cargo B. Railroads 1. Railroads started in U.S. in 1830's a. 2800 miles of track by 1840 b. 30,000 miles of track by 1860 2. Impact a. Travel was easy & affordable b. Faster and cheaper distribution of factory products Technology and the West fill in the blank notes

I. Production A. ______1830's-1840's 1. Conversion to ______2. Increased productivity 3. Could be built anywhere 4. ______working conditions & increased pollution B. ______1. Mechanical reaper a. Invented by Cyrus McCormick in ______b. ______that harvested crops 2. Steel ______a. Invented by John ______in 1837 b. Easier to cut through ______of the west

II. Communication A. ______1. Invented by ______Morse in 1832 2. Instant electronic ______3. ______translated into Morse code B. Pony Express 1860-1861 1. Mail service from St. Joseph, MO to ______2. ______located 10-15 miles apart 3. Riders covered ______in 10 days 4. ______lines to west coast put Pony Express out of business

III. Transportation A. ______1. Carried ______& freight to the west 2. Traveled ______per day 3. Wells, Fargo & Co. ______in valuable cargo B. Railroads 1. ______started in U.S. in 1830's a. ______of track by 1840 b. 30,000 miles of track by ______2. Impact a. Travel was easy & ______b. Faster and cheaper distribution of factory ______Technology and the West teacher notes

I. Production A. Factories 1830's-1840's (switching from water wheels to steam power) 1. Conversion to steam power 2. Increased productivity 3. Could be built anywhere (it doesn’t have to be on a river any more, downside is that it is more dangerous, machines are more powerful, they are faster because they are driven by steam, pollution increases because of coal power. A lot of new inventions come out of this) 4. Poor working conditions & increased pollution B. Farming (these inventions increase farm production 1. Mechanical reaper a. Invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 b. Machine that harvested crops 2. Steel plow a. Invented by John Deere in 1837 (this guy is an actual person) b. Easier to cut through hard soil of the west (everyone in a covered wagon has a John deere plow, you can farm in the west without one).

II. Communication A. Telegraph (the first text message, almost instant electronic communication. In order for it to work you need wires to connect them, so the country starts to put in wires. Each letter is given a certain number of taps. You have to go to a telegraph in town and they type the message in to a different telegraph and whoever revieves it turns it into a telegram. 1. Invented by Samuel Morse in 1832 2. Instant electronic communication 3. Messages translated into Morse code B. Pony Express 1860-1861 (delivers mail in small packages) 1. Mail service from St. Joseph, MO to California (in place of morse code, because there isn’t any telegraph between these areas) 2. Stations located 10-15 miles apart 3. Riders covered 1800 miles in 10 days (4-5 months to take a message around south America) 4. Telegraph lines to west coast put Pony Express out of business (bad timing for pony express, because telegraph wires are put in about a year after.

III. Transportation A. Stagecoaches 1. Carried passengers & freight to the west 2. Traveled 10-20 miles per day (travel all day, stop for the night, then keep going) 3. Wells, Fargo & Co. specialized in valuable cargo (they started carrying payroll for pony express and morse code guys, shotgun comes from the guy who sits in the front and protects the security for the wagon. They transition to banks shortly after because these stopovers are a perfect place to easily transition) B. Railroads 1. Railroads started in U.S. in 1830's a. 2800 miles of track by 1840 b. 30,000 miles of track by 1860 2. Impact a. Travel was easy & affordable (first time for people to travel easily and quickly. Born before the year 1800, most people spent entire life within 20 miles of where they are born. With railroads, this all changes. It allows people to travel and see parts of the country and think differently. If you were living in the north, you have never seen a slave. Slavery has had an impact on you, but not so obvious. Also, it allows factorties and manufacturers to get their goods across country more quickly, more flow of goods and $$). b. Faster and cheaper distribution of factory products

** Advertisement: select one – reaper, plow, telegraph, pony express, stage coaches, railroads.

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