Inventions that changed america

COTTON GIN Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin removed the seeds from cotton. This allowed farmers to plant more cotton, therefore increasing the need for slave labor to cultivate and pick the cotton. file://C:\Users\cahorvat\AppData\Roaming\com.nbcuni.aodplayer.38154C9B00B8386E5872F08BE16716F44323C112.1\Local Store\catalogue\nbcfiles\1740.nbc

Steam locomotive In 1830, a small, powerful steam engine or locomotive, was invented. It ran on iron track. Within ten years of this invention over 2800 miles of railroad track had been laid in the U.S. making it cheaper and faster to transport farm and industrial goods and passengers. As a result, the economy of the United States expanded.

Erie canal In the early 1800s, Americans built canals, man-made waterways, to improve water transportation. The Erie Canal was build across New York state connecting Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson River. Canals made transporting goods cheaper and faster.

Mechanical Reaper Cyrus McCormick was another entrepreneur, who developed a better product to market. Along with his slave, Jo Anderson, he created a way to harvest grain faster. His reaper increased farmers’ productivity—ability to cultivate and harvest large amounts of grain.

Steamboat Robert Fulton, an entrepreneur, someone who brings a better good or service to market. He improved upon John Fitch’s idea and created a type of boat that easily traveled upstream on providing faster river transportation. This invention connected Southern plantations to Northern industries.