Industrial / Agricultural Revolutions

The most important inventions of the 1600s and 1700s are the cotton gin, and the steam engine. The cotton gin “kick started” the US economy. It made industrialization more needed because cotton was being produced more quickly, and cheaply, making cotton cheaper, therefore clothes more affordable, and able to be replaced cheaply. It also made slavery more prominent in America, specifically the south and caused the south to grow differently than the north, while the north began industrializing to accommodate for all the cotton produced by the south, the south stayed with agriculture because the money was in cotton. This also caused the north to win the Civil War because the north had greater amounts of people, more industry to create weapons, and railroads.

            The steam engine also had a huge influence on industrialization. The steam engine made transporting anything cheap and easy to do. With vast stretches of railroads spanning America and Europe, things could be moved quickly, including raw materials for industrialization. This made it much more affordable to move large quantities of coal, iron, steel, and wood, as well as machines used for industrialization.

            The effects of the agricultural revolution were simple; farming was made easier and more efficient. The more efficient farming meant less people could produce more food, meaning fewer farmers were needed to create more food than needed. More food meant there was a surplus of food, and a surplus of food creates more population because less people are dying of starvation and families are safe to make healthy babies. Another effect was, as stated before, fewer farmers were needed, so farmers moved to the city to get jobs. This made industrialization possible because the (formerly) farmers needed jobs.