There have been many important technological advances in our past.The invention of the telegraph and the cotton gin made a huge impact and continue to influence us today. The telegraph played a key role in the Union’s victory during the United States Civil War. During the 1800’s the cotton gin played an enormous role in slavery. By examining the telegraph and the cotton gin and also consequences of both, it is clear that they have greatly influenced history. The first invention that changed the past is the telegraph. It played a particularly key role in the American Civil War. In 1861 President Lincoln set up the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps and in just one year the U.S. military sent over a million messages to and from the battlefield. Because President Lincoln could now talk to any of his officers at any point the Union was able to coordinate its troops more effectively than the C.S.A. who did not have the large scale communication capabilities of the telegraph. For example, during the battle of Gettysburg Lincoln communicated with General Hooker who was going to attack the C.S.A.’s capitol when the Confederates moved North. Instead Lincoln convinced General Hooker to continue to attack the Confederate troops which led to …show more content…
Before its invention it took hours to get the seeds out of just a few pounds of cotton. However, in 1794 Eli Whitney created the hand cranked gin which could clean the seeds out of 50 pounds of cotton each day. This newfound technology allowed plantation owners to sell more cotton faster. Because of this huge plantations began popping up all throughout the South and each plantation needed more slaves to harvest the cotton. In the period after the gin’s invention until Congress abolished the importing of slaves it is estimated that Southern states brought in around 100,000 slaves from Africa. Slavery grew so large that by 1860 one-third of every Southerner was a
Invented by Eli WHitney in 1793, because of the cotton gin it reduced the amount of time and cost of separating the cotton seeds from white fiber. Due to the cotton gin, cotton farming became much more profitable in the South. Because of the cotton gin, the demand of the cotton grew and increased slavery. There was economic consequences due to the cotton gin and the increase of the cotton
The "King Cotton" forever changed the Southern Economy and Society with production change, the movement of slavery, and slavery itself. Eli Whitney invented the machine known as the Cotton Gin. The Cotton Gin uses a spiked cylinder to remove seeds from cotton fibers. Before this introduction, people used to remove seeds by hand, which was very time-consuming compared to the Cotton Gin. With the Cotton Gin, cotton was much more profitable.
Because the war, “... produced unique circumstances that required unique solutions…” (McNeese, Mountjoy, p. 14, 2009). The need for new inventions made the Civil War an important time for new inventions and creations. One of the most important inventions during the Civil War was the telegraph. Most people underestimated the importance of the new technology. But in 1862, Lincoln used the telegraph to communicate with his troops in the second battle of bull run.
A few of these new technologies include things like the railroad, hot air balloons, submarines, the telegraph, improvements on weapons, canned food, pocket watches, and sewing machines. These new technologies helped determine the outcome of the war and was the beginning of an era of creativity. The development of railroads and hot air balloons made it possible to travel in different ways than before. The railroads gave a major advantage to the Union.
Lastly, another incredible advancement in technology and engineering was the Boston Subway finished on September 1st, 1897. This subway was the first to be made in North America and it proved to be successful. On the first day it was released over 100,000 people used the subway, a brilliant solution to traffic. All of the inventions above are still very relevant in our society now. These inventions are still in use and being used to inspire even more advanced and efficient
As the antebellum Americans made several advancements in technological innovations, this helped the North overcome the South agriculturally. With the new inventions such as the cotton gin, the reaper, the steel tipped plow, and new ways to revive unfertile soil, the North had many advantages to aid them while they were gone to war. As these new inventions were created each had an impact on how and why the differences between the North and South came to be. Although the creation of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney improved the South’s economy it also made the South more dependent on slaves.
These inventions made more jobs for others lowering the poverty level at the time. This caused a influx in money being put out and the price the the technology to go down with the amount of that invention
The American Civil War and the Reconstruction periods played an important role in defining the nation’s political, social, and economic identity in the sense that the country’s survival and democratic principles were radically tested. As the country was becoming a hemispherical power, sectional tensions and dissenting attitudes of opposing groups make these periods comparable with the Revolutionary War in three major components: the issue of slavery and struggle for equality, the role of the federal government vs. states’ rights, and scuffles related with economic power. Prior to the Revolutionary War, there was an existing struggle between social classes as the southern states had an inflexible social structure, whereas in the northern states the Industrial Revolution was beginning to take place, causing a dramatic shift of labor force after the country gained its independence in 1783. With the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1791, southern landowners took advantage of the slave force to increase their profits radically, and this reliance on slaves for the
It revolutionized the cotton industry by making it more profitable. A machine was now used to remove seeds from cotton rather than having to remove them by hand. This allowed more cotton to be processed quicker which made production of cotton more efficient for farmers. Prior to the invention of the cotton gin, slavery was actually dying out in the southern United States due to how labor intensive the removal of seeds from cotton had become.
Did you know the purpose of the cotton gin was to decrease the number of slaves but in fact doubled the amount? The cotton gin was made in early 1790 by Eli Whitney. The cotton gin was made to be used by slaves and became popular in Georgia. It was made to clean cotton faster and easier but made owners gain more slaves. The cotton gin was increasing trade, manufacturing, transportation, slavery, and railroads throughout America and the world.
The rise of new technology changed the nation's productivity and improved communication networks. These new inventions also led to the rise of new industries which increased wealth and employment rates. During the late 1800s, innovations such as the telephone and the light bulb increased economic development. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone and created a telephone company called the American Telephone and Telegraph Company which is known as, AT&T (Sussman, Gregg, n.d., p. 411). This invention changed the world by improving communication during the Gilded age.
The Great Change The Industrial Revolution represented great change, from the year 1760 to 1820-1840. This movement began from Great Britain and it affected the way people lived. Some inventors that contributed to the process were James Watt and his steam engine (Watt’s Steam Engine), John McAdam (road transportation), and finally George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson (The Liverpool- Manchester Railroad). The question asked was which set of inventions caused the greatest change and what were some pros and cons of the inventions?
Automobiles. Telephones. Lightbulbs. These were some of the major technological innovations created during 1865 to 1920. These creations impacted many Americans, even to this day.
The use of the cotton gin had a major impact on slavery by expanding the use and population of slaves. “This machine revolutionized the process of separating cotton from its seed, making it dramatically faster and less expensive to turn picked cotton into usable cotton for textiles” the author said. Harvesting the cotton fields was intense work and the more cotton that was being produced lead to more fields causing more slaves to be needed to work those fields. All the large cotton plantations that the south maintained, by 1850 the slave population increased tremendously. “Southern wealth had become reliant on this one crop and thus was completely dependent on slave-labor.”
Leading up to the 1920s, advancements had been made in terms of economy, industry, and technology. In this time, numerous technological advancements were developed such as the railroad, new weaponry, and telegraph lines which were an early link to modern long-distance communication. This technology not only enriched society and the war effort, but it also played a role in the economic success that took place in this time. Industrial advancements such as the assembly line and the rise of individual industries (such as the automobile industry) worked alongside these technological advancements (and the attainment of money from European countries) in order to fuel one of the largest economic booms in American history. It is common opinion that