Inventors and Inventions
During the Industrial Revolution, inventors and engineers attempted to improve technology to make it easier to relay information, transport goods, farm more efficiently, spin cotton quicker, etc. The few main inventions of the time period were the automated flour mills, the sewing machine, the telegraph, the cotton gin, the mechanical reaper, and many others.
Oliver Evans's automated flour mills
In 1780, Oliver Evans went into the flour-milling business with his brothers. At that time, flour mills required a lot of labor to carry bags of flour, pour the bags into a tub, and hoist the bags up a floor. After that, workers had to rake the flour and load them onto wagons. Evans wanted to replace labor with machines. He focused primarily on the movement of grain through the mill. He invented a grain elevator that raised the flour vertically using pulleys, rather than having a person put effort into pulling the flour up. He built conveyor belts that moved the flour through the mill, transporting the flour from machine to machine. He built another machine named the "hopper boy" that cooled and raked the flour. His collection of inventions made the flour finer and easier to store. He revolutionized the flour-mill business because his inventions made it so that the entire flour mill could be run by one person.
The Sewing Machine
There are many versions of the sewing machine before the Industrial Revolution. However, the inventor Elias Howe improved previous models of the sewing machine. His sewing machine, the Lock-Stitch Sewing Machine, used two threads at a time instead of one. This greatly increased the speed at which cloth could be sewed. However, a hand crank was inefficient because the person could only use the machine with one hand while the other cranked the hand crank.
A few years later, in the 1850s, Isaac Singer invented the modern sewing machine. He improved Elias Howe's lock-stitch sewing machine. He replaced the hand crank with a foot pedal, so that the person using the machine could use both hands to sew. He also made it so that the machine could stitch continuously, even in curved lines. These inventions made it easier to mend clothing in your own home, rather than go out and have someone else hand-sew your clothing for you. This also increased the efficiency of sewing.
A few years later, in the 1850s, Isaac Singer invented the modern sewing machine. He improved Elias Howe's lock-stitch sewing machine. He replaced the hand crank with a foot pedal, so that the person using the machine could use both hands to sew. He also made it so that the machine could stitch continuously, even in curved lines. These inventions made it easier to mend clothing in your own home, rather than go out and have someone else hand-sew your clothing for you. This also increased the efficiency of sewing.
Cyrus McCormick's Mechanical Reaper
As the population in the United States grew, there was a lot of pressure on farmers because there was an increasing demand for wheat. Farmers had a hard time keeping up with this demand for wheat. Cyrus McCormick attempted to solve this problem with the use of a machine. He invented the first working reaper in 1831, but it wasn't very useful. Determined to improve his machine, he spent the next ten years improving it. His final model was pulled by a horse. It harvested grain rapidly as the blade cut the wheat, and the wheat fell on a platform. His reaper harvested twelve to fifteen acres a day. His reaper revolutionized farming because it could harvest more with less effort. In 1830, 40 million bushels of wheat were harvested. Twenty years later, 170 million bushels were harvested. McCormick's reaper changed farming forever and made it extremely easier for farmers to satisfy the needs of the growing population.
Samuel F. B. Morse's Telegraph
Before the industrial revolution, it took weeks to relay information simply from the North to the South. How could a nation be expected to operate if it took a month to send and receive information? Although the United States had a federal postal service, it was still extremely slow. The nation needed a faster way to communicate.
Joseph Henry had been experimenting with electromagnets and a telegraph system. However, signals could only be sent through a mile-long wire. He shared his findings with Samuel F. B. Morse and they improved the telegraph. Morse used a battery for electricity, an electromagnet, and an electric switch, also known as the key for his telegraph. To send messages, a person would press down on the key in a code, which became known as Morse Code. Morse Code consisted of short clicks and long clicks. Although Morse didn't invent the telegraph by himself, he is most credited with the invention. In 1843, Congress provided $30,000 to build a telegraph line from Washington, D. C. to Baltimore. Morse tested his telegraph for the first time with the words "What Hath God Wrought". His telegraph was a success. This invention revolutionized communication because what used to take weeks and even months, now happened almost instantaneously. In less than ten years, every state had a telegraph system.
Joseph Henry had been experimenting with electromagnets and a telegraph system. However, signals could only be sent through a mile-long wire. He shared his findings with Samuel F. B. Morse and they improved the telegraph. Morse used a battery for electricity, an electromagnet, and an electric switch, also known as the key for his telegraph. To send messages, a person would press down on the key in a code, which became known as Morse Code. Morse Code consisted of short clicks and long clicks. Although Morse didn't invent the telegraph by himself, he is most credited with the invention. In 1843, Congress provided $30,000 to build a telegraph line from Washington, D. C. to Baltimore. Morse tested his telegraph for the first time with the words "What Hath God Wrought". His telegraph was a success. This invention revolutionized communication because what used to take weeks and even months, now happened almost instantaneously. In less than ten years, every state had a telegraph system.