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Chapter 11

Chapter 11. Life, Leisure, and Culture 1840-1860. In England, the Royal Astronomer said that a transatlantic cable would be impossible. But Cyrus West Field made it happen So what if the line snapped? It worked.

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Chapter 11

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  1. Chapter 11 Life, Leisure, and Culture 1840-1860

  2. In England, the Royal Astronomer said that a transatlantic cable would be impossible • But Cyrus West Field made it happen • So what if the line snapped? It worked. • Here was the advent of Technology ( a word popularized after 1829) meant that science would improve life, making it more convenient and prosperous

  3. But the questions of this chapter…. • In what ways did technology transform the daily life of ordinary Americans? • How did it divide them? • How did it affect intellectual and artistic life?

  4. Agricultural Advancement • Steel tipped plow made by John Deere allowed people to move out into the prairies • Wheat became the crop of Midwest • Cyrus McCormick made the mechanical reaper in 1834, which made wheat harvesting 6X faster • Used strategies such as deferred payments, money-back guarantees

  5. Did McCormick’s reaper helped the North win the Civil War? • It was key in helping the North win • It kept Northern agricultural production high at a time when labor shortages caused by troop mobilization could have slashed production • The South didn’t use the reaper and kept slave labor instead

  6. Eli Whitney used interchangeable parts by 1798 • Used widely in America which meant that inventor could fix just one part of his item, and not have to throw whole item away • Colt’s revolving pistol made in 1836 would be mass produced by Smith and Wesson

  7. What did America make? • Telegraph • Railroads that could travel 3 times faster than a European RR • RR track went from 3000 to 30,000 miles • different gauge track made changes of train necessary

  8. By 1860 few rail lines were west of the Mississippi • Where there were rail links, a whole town could be created • Chicago, served by 11 RRs by 1860, had 100,000 • Main commercial hub • Federal, state, and individual financing

  9. Technological advances made items cheaper • Clocks used to cost $50 if made by hand • By 1850: 50 cents • Annual wages improving • Towns and cities growing • Most people made $300 per year

  10. Was life better? • According to poet Walt Whitman…yes • Standard of living improved: new stoves, fresh vegetables, chairs, machines

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