The United States caught up to the rest of the world in technological changes and advancement with its own industrial revolution. President Grant open the Centennial Exhibition …show more content…
The biggest advancement was the mechanization of agriculture equipment. Almost every part of production was made easier when equipment was mechanized. Incomes increased with the mechanization of farming equipment, new innovations, new methods, and new knowledge. There were thousands of new innovations, but barbed wire, plows, tractors were a few of the most significant. Barbed wire was a cheap fencing type, that allowed farmers to keep livestock out of their crops. Plows that were now made with iron, made planting easier in varying soil conditions. The innovation that changed the farmers’ life the most was the tractor. “Farmers’ fortunes were also enhanced by technological improvements, most notably steam-traction engines and then gasoline-powered tractors …Tractors reduced the number of hours of labor needed to produce crops, compensated for a growing scarcity of workers, and then freed millions of acres for food production that had been used to support horses and mules (Inventing America, p. 629-630). Tractors enable farmers to be able to grow more at a lower cost. This lead to low cost form the consumer. Other equipment was then invented that could be pulled behind a tractor, this only increase the importance of the tractor. For example, “the seed drill, or drill planter, conserved seed and made it easier to grow grains in easily tended, regular rows. Hay balers, …show more content…
With Henry Ford’s Model T (was first introduced in 1908) and the Model A (replace the Model T in 1927), horses became used less for transportation and work, and more for pleasure. Ford’s technique of the assembly line, revolutionized production. The assembly line increase production and decrease cost to produce and the sale price. The Model T and Model A was affordable for most Americans due to the assembly line. Railroads become major form of transportation in the United States in the 1800’s, and remain until the popularity of the car and plane. The amount of rail lines boomed in the late 1800’s, covering coast to coast and border to border. With rails crisscrossing the country, made it easier to ship products all around the country. Consumers were no longer restricted to products created in region they lived in. The Sears catalog took advantage of all the railways and postal service to bring urban annuities to rural areas. The invention of the refrigerated boxcar allowed products to be shipped around the country, without spoiling. Aviation became the next major transportation, there was no long car or train rides to the other side of the country or long boat rides to Europe. Aviation advancement came from the military, lead to boom in the public and private aviation. The same technological advances that assisted military aviation, also contributed mightily to