Prior to the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, slaves had to hand pick over one hundred pounds of cotton per day. New technology, ways of transportation, and innovations in markets had a positive major effect on the United States from 1793 to 1850. New technology in the U.S. allowed the states to produce goods more efficiently. In 1793, American inventor Eli Whitney created the cotton gin, which allowed slaves in the South to easily separate cotton fiber from the seeds. The economic impact of Whitney’s gin was vast because it enabled slaves to produce over two hundred pounds of cotton per day. In the North, the invention of the Lowell mills spun and wove cotton consequently leading to much faster production and an increase in textile manufacturing. Before the Lowell system, textile manufacturing was much smaller and more individual. Invented in 1837, the steel plow caused farming in the West to become much easier and faster as it broke up the tough Midwest soil. …show more content…
In the South, steamships enabled the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to be “highways” of commerce. They made round-trip shipping goods and products more efficient and self-sufficiency decreased as steamboat transportation increased commercial trading. The Erie Canal in the North stimulated economic growth by decreasing transportation costs and the prices of the good themselves. Canals also encouraged westward expansion and ended isolation in the West. Railroads eventually replaced canals since they were cheaper and faster to build and were essential for America’s economy by linking all the states together and providing access to new land for farming. The Cumberland Road was a major route to the west from Maryland to Illinois. The road changed small western towns into booming commercial
In the Northeast innovations such as: textile machines broke out as a result of Samuel Slater’s English plans, the cotton gin and concept of interchangeable parts both created by Eli Whitney, as well as the sewing machine created by Elias Howe then perfected by Isaac Singer all stimulated other innovations making industrialization and manufacturing much simpler. Innovations to make tasks easier were also present in the West including one of the most important, the McCormick reaper which increased the amount of food produced in both the domestic and foreign markets. Although all of these smaller innovations were important to developing the economy, it was the transportation that really set America apart. For example, the Northeast’s economy was greatly furthered by the Erie Canal which linked the Hudson River with the Great Lakes. This effected the value of land along the route as well as industry within the state increased dramatically.
2. In what ways did development in transportation bring about economic and social change in the United States in the period 1810-1840? Thesis: The developments in transportation in the early 19th century brought about the completion of new canals and roads, these developments linked the east to the west an example of this on page 161 in amsco is “The completion of the Erie canal in New York state in 1825 was a major event in linking the economies of western farms and eastern cities” This is showing that transportation simulates an economic dependency of the cities on the farms in which they are receiving goods from.
The Erie Canal played an enormous part in the economic growth in the United States. The Canal helped to cause an increase in industry along the Hudson River. Now, commercial vessels could travel all the way from the Hudson River to Lake Erie (Doc. 1A). This meant that they could bring goods to the people that couldn’t normally get them, because they were too expensive, or they had no way to get to them. Thousands of settlers began to utilize the Erie Canal to move west (OI).
As stated in Background information "America's economic transformation in the 1800s was linked to dramatic changes in transportation networks.” This was followed up by "The development of canals, steamboats, roads, and railroads led to the expansion of
The Transcontinental Railroad not only made travel and shipping faster and cheaper, but it also contributed greatly to the Westward expansion of the United Stated (Haycox, 2001). In 1830 America introduced the
Rivers flowed only to the North and the South, but not to the East and the West. The first major development in transportation was the building of a network of roads and turnpikes that by the 1820s helped knit together the major urban areas along the eastern seaboard. Roads and Steamboats were a vast improvement in transportation, lowered cost and linked farmers to markets, but they were expensive to maintain. Horse drawn wagons could carry only limited produce. Roads and Steamboats were used to promote trade.
The American Revolution, was an inspiration to black people and they’d hoped the words and rules of the Patriots go for them as well. But that wasn’t the case. When all of the Armies had gone away from the land, we were a country of farmers founded by notions of freedom. We had over 700,000 slaves working in the US at its birth.
Now that the transcontinental railroad had been built, transportation time was minimized drastically and it was now year round. This allowed people to travel at a very fast rate, an extremely safe travel, and at any time of the year. The speed and minimized price allowed for more people to come to the West. Not only did people come but also supply’s and food so there were no worries involving famine or despair. Transportation innovations reduced cost and increased the speed of moving goods, helping to create a national market.
Alexander Hamilton i. Alexander Hamilton was born in 1755 and became one of the leading founding fathers of the United States. He was a strong opinioned federalist. ii. Alexander also became the first Secretary of the Treasury. While being the secretary of the Treasury he wanted to assume states debts into a federal system of tax in order to help get the newly independent country out of debt.
With the cotton gin, the farmers could separate cotton faster, so they could grow more cotton. To grow more cotton, more slaves would be need to plant and harvest it. Also, the plantation owners could afford more slaves because their was more cotton that brought it more money. The plantation owners would repeat this cycle as they got more money. They could also borrow money from the banks to buy more land, or slaves.
Railroads were an alternate to water routes because they were a less dangerous approach of transportation. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which was built in 1830,connected the port of Baltimore to the Ohio River. Settlers moved west quickly due to the aid of The Pacific Railway Act of
, and as the US expanded further west, the manufacturing of goods increased a considerable amount leading to new innovations. Early Expansion of the United States The Market Economy Large scale manufacturing and commercial agriculture surfaced in America during the early 1800s, which produced a substantial amount of economic growth and raised the American standard of living. Transportation made a major breakthrough with inventions like railroads, steamboats, canal systems, and clipper ships. These improvements led to faster transportation of goods and people (Shi and Tindall 267-270).
As American factories and farms started to produce more goods businessmen and legislators began to create a faster and cheaper way to get goods distributed to consumers. Around 1820, Americans began to build canals and steamboats, railroad, and extend roads linking the Atlantic Coast with new states in the Trans Appalachian west. Canals and Steamboats shrunk the distance of carrying goods from one place to another and could haul the most cargo for transportation. A well-known waterway called the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Ocean and cost 7 million dollars.
This connected the eastern coast of the United States to the western coast. It also branched off to reach many different places throughout the whole continental U.S. This allowed the easy access to transportation of goods and services. A farmer’s grains, livestock, and any other goods could be easily shipped due to the connected railroads. This helped people in the agricultural industry reach out to the industrial economy
The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.