INVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS THAT CHANGED THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Industrial Revolution Era took place very rapidly. Many inventions made improvements to older inventions that were made prior. These inventions were made in order to make the ways of life cheaper and easier to do.
Cotton Gin - Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. It had teeth inserted in it that picked and pulled the seeds of the cotton. It allowed a tremendous increase in cotton production. It made it as if one person equaled fifty people. The cotton gin easily and swiftly removed picked cotton seeds from the cotton.
Roads and Turnpikes
Before the Industrial Revolution, cities had roads, but they were muddy and slippery most of the time. This made it hard for wagons to travel across them. Private companies created roads and turnpikes in the 19th century. Roads were created for Americans to travel across the country and for them to ship goods to far away places. When roads got too muddy for people to use, private companies put logs in the road. Toll roads made users pay in order to help others pay for the construction of the roads.
The first National Road, which was a highway, was built in 1811. This highway is considered as a historical place in history. It was built in order to provide a route between the Ohio River and the Maryland. It was also to connect the east to the west.
Canals
Canals are man made waterways. Canals were made in order to give people any easier way of traveling from city to city because it connected them. In 1817 officials in New York authorized the Erie Canal, which connected Albany on the Hudson River and Buffalo, New York. Through this canal goods were able to be transported faster and costs for transportation went down. The Erie Canal linked farms (West) to markets (East) which allowed goods to be transported quicker as well as easier. The canals changed the ways of transportation and it made it easier for other states and cities to start making their own canals that would promote the industrial revolution.
Steamboats - John Fitch
In 1787, John Fitch made the first steamboat that had twelve paddles and was propelled by a steam engine because these engine were extremely popular at the time. Over many years steam engines were being improved and then James Rumsey created the world's first boat that was propelled by jet propulsion. Robert Fulton made a steam engine that was able to carry passengers, it was called the Clermont. This steam engine made the travel from Albany to New York. They were also used to promote trade while traveling through canals and waterways.
Telegraph- Samuel F. B. Morse
Before the Industrial Revolution, it took months to deliver or receive a message. Since it was taking so long to receive a message, the nation needed to find a way to communicate faster. Fortunately, Samuel Morse was able to improve an already made telegraph. One of Morse's friends, Joseph Henry was experimenting with magnets and his own telegraph. He shared his discoveries with Morse and Morse improved the telegraph that could only send messages through a mile long wire by using a battery (for electricity), an electromagnet , and an electric switch. For a message to send a person would have to click on the key which was soon called the Morse Code. His invention changed the Industrial Revolution Era by making communicating so much more simple and easy.
Sewing Machine- Isaac Singer
The first sewing machine was made by Elias Howe. His sewing machine was the Lock-Stich machine which used two threads instead of one. It helped time wise, but the crank on the side made it harder to sew because one hand had to crank it and the other hand had to sew. So Isaac Singer improved this sewing machine. He replaced he crank with a foot petal. He also made it easier to sew continuously without stopping.