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The industrial revolution advantages
Technological advancement in the industrial revolution
Technological advancement in the industrial revolution
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Industrial Revolution Essay
The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) had many great inventions that mostly made life easier, though some of them also had disadvantages. Some of the most important inventions of the Industrial Revolution had negative effects on society, the creation of steam engines, canals and improvements in agriculture greatly affected people’s way of life during the Industrial Revolution. Although all of the inventions made things easier, some of them had considerable disadvantages that negatively impacted society.
Without a doubt the most important invention during the Industrial Revolution was the steam engine. Thomas Newcomen built the first safe and successful steam engine in 1705, then James Watt made substantial improvements
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The Duke of Bridgewater owned coal mines in Lancashire but needed to transport it to a market in Manchester 6 miles away to sell it. He tasked James Brindley with building a canal from his coal mines to the market. Once it was finished in 1761 it made the Duke of Bridgewater very rich, the price of the Duke’s coal dropped by 50% so people were buying it more than ever. Others saw the potential of creating their own canals and thus began the massive network of canals that spanned all over Britain. Canals were man-made rivers wide and deep enough to fit barges that could carry nearly 40 tonnes of cargo on board to get from one place to another. They were created because during the Industrial Revolution there was too much coal and made for a horse and carriage to move, and canals solved that problem by allowing barges that carry more and could get somewhere faster making them very valuable to anyone with lots of goods to transport. Canals were extremely beneficial to people who needed to move a large amount of produce a long distance because it made them more money and got their merchandise to markets
The Erie Canal was a man made water way that stretched to be three hundred sixty three miles long. The canal started construction in1817, and took nine years to completely finish the building process. People during this time had many positive, and negative opinions about the fact that this expensive canal was being built. The idea of the Erie Canal originates with Jesse Hawley, the idea was to connect the great lakes to the Atlantic ocean making an easy path to the west from the east without having to pass Niagara Falls. The canal was mostly built by Irish immigrants who were hated, or disliked, by most people. People had ideas and predictions about what would come of this canal. Let's just see which of the predictions were more accurate to
Before any canals were even built, there was a great demand for better transportation to and from the west. During this time of exploration, something was necessary in order for settlement to progress. After the canals were built, people living in to north grew exceedingly wealthy from the trading benefits of the canals. This wealth would eventually create economic differences with the southern United States(Drago 178).
Transportation improved from the market revolution through many new inventions, railroads, steamboats, and canals. Pressure for improvements in transportation came at least as much from cities eager to buy as from farmers seeking to sell. The first railroad built was in 1792, it started a spread throughout the states. Cumberland which began to be built in 1811 and finished in 1852, known to be called the national road stretched over five hundred miles from Cumberland to Illinois. By 1821, there were four thousand miles of turnpike in the United States. Turnpikes were not economical to ship bulky goods by land across long distance across America, so another invention came about. Robert Fulton created steam boats in 1807; he named his first one ‘Clermont.’ These steam boats allowed quick travel upriver against the currents, they were also faster and cheaper. The steamboats became a huge innovation with the time travel of five miles per hour. It also stimulated agricultural economy of west by providing better access to markets at lower cost. While steamboats were conquering the western rivers, canals were being constructed in the northeastern states. The firs...
In 1822, Congress gave Illinois a large portion of land on which to not only build the canal, but to sell to raise funds for its construction. The land contained the portage between the two rivers and about 100 miles of land to the south and west of it. It had just recently been coercively and dishonestly purchased from the local Blackhawk Indians in a treaty that ended the Blackhawk War.
Industrialization is the process in which an economy is changed from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing approach and manual labor is replaced by machines in factories. Industrialization brought a more diverse amount of goods and more total goods and improved living for many but, for others it resulted in harsh working and living conditions for the poor and working class. Many positives and negative were present during the industrialization of the U.S. Positives such as more goods being distributed, easier way of doing things, and being able to mass produce. Negatives like children working long and difficult jobs and many workers having poor working conditions.
The completion of the canal in 1825 led to a two way trade system. Boats would travel East with supplies from the Great Lakes and the surrounding territory and return with settlers and passengers travelling West, which became an extensive business (Johnson 375). The economic success and prosperity of the Canal also provided motivation for the construction of railroads West, including the transcontinental railroad (Seelye 264). The Erie Canal determined the flow of commerce in the United States for over a century (Seelye 252).
Starting with the better side the Erie Canal substantially impacted many economies across the New York state. “The Erie Canal is considered the engineering marvel of the 19th Century. When the federal government concluded that the project was too ambitious to undertake, the State of New York took on the task of carving 363 miles of canal through the wilderness with nothing but the muscle power of men and horses.” The canal changed the culture of more then 50,000 people as their lives become more revolved around a waterway system. Traveling on the canal by boat was a major change and exciting for many families as they were brought together at a cheaper cost, being able to spend more time with each other. For cities like New York City, traffic was improved greatly. “Within 15 years of the Canal's opening, New York was the busiest port in America, moving tonnages greater than Boston, Baltimore and New Orleans combined.” As for Buffalo, “freight r...
Farmers, who had moved out west looked for a way to send their produce back east. However, roads were far too expensive and inefficient for this. Thus, canals and steamboats were used to link the country commercially and allow for the transport of goods across the nation. The Erie Canal was one of the greatest technological achievements of its time. At 363 miles long it connects New York to the Great Lakes by water (Sheriff 251). The canal provided easy passage halfway across the country for people and goods and sparked a push for westward movement. To travel on these new canals steambo...
The development of canal, steam boats and railroads provided a transportation network that linked different regions of the nation together. When farmers began migrating westward and acquiring land for crops, cheaper forms of transportation provided the means to transfer their goods to other regions for s...
People in the northern United States during the early nineteenth century wanted to rapidly industrialize and increase the amount of money they were making. The Erie Canal they believed was a great way to reduce the distance and time of shipping goods to the west. They also realized that the canal would probably increase their markets, which would mean a larger profit. The problem with all of this was how people had to destroy parts of nature in order for this to happen. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent writer during the time, described the canal as “too rapid, unthinking advance of progress.” (57) Hawthorne and his supporters were very upset to see how forests and swamps were being destroyed and ruined in order t...
Roads, steamboats, canals, and railroads lowered the cost and shortened the time of travel. By making these improvements, products could be shipped into other areas for profit (Roark, 260). Steamboats set off a huge industry and by 1830, more than 700 steamboats were operating up and down the Ohio and Mississippi River (Roark, 261). Steamboats also had some flaws, due to the fact of deforesting the paths along the rivers. Wood was needed to refuel the power to the boat.
The Erie Canal created what was the first reliable transportation system, connecting the eastern seaboard (New York) and the western interior (Great Lakes) of the United States that did not require on land travel. Along with making water routes faster then travel on land it also cut costs of travel by 95 percent. The canal started a population surge in western New York, and opened regions farther west to settlement. This was the start of New York City becoming the chief U.S. port.
Trade was very important. We needed to be able to trade with each other so that we could move out westward. Chart one gives many examples of how the canal increased trade in the U.S. . The canal made it so that more could be traded for a lesser transport fee. It costed 100$ a ton going along a dirt road, but by canal it costed 6$a ton and let people take more at a time. This canal also changed the trading method used by the new settlers moving west. They no longer had to use mules and wagons , a more expensive and time consuming method, instead they used a barge and two mules and got to where they wanted to go in way less time. This method was also much safer than a wagon and horses. Chart four shows an increase in wheat
The current size, inherent values, and economic status of the United States owes greatly to the paramount figures and events that took place during the Early National Period of the country. However, while there is no doubt that such events- and the figures behind them- were of great importance and have molded the country into the pristine product that it is today, the various construction projects of that time have gone largely unnoticed. Canals, being one of the most prominent advances in transportation, are prime examples of forgotten catalysts of the American nation. The construction of canals- particularly the Erie Canal- during the 19th century played a key role in the geographic, economic, and cultural development of the country by allowing an easier and faster mode of transport, and contributing greatly to the preservation of the Union during the Civil War.
The Blessings of the Industrial Revolution The modern world is extremely reliant on technology, whether it has to deal with smartphones, cars, or medicine. Without the Industrial Revolution, the present day would not be the same. The Industrial Revolution was a blessing for the middle class because production, healthcare, and transportation improved. Industrialization improved the lives of all groups of people in Europe because of the advancement of technology. Lifestyles began to improve due in part to the introduction of efficient machines rather than hand production.