1 / 11

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.

ganesa
Download Presentation

Chapter 11

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  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

More Related