Technology Transforms Americans’ Daily Lives
Life Before 1800 A. A Nation of Rural Farmers
B. Local Lives and a Lack of Trade: Benefits and Burdens
C. Separate But Equal: Women and Children Work on the Family Farm
II. New Technology in the Early 1800s
A. New Farming Technology: Cotton Gin, Steel Plow, and Mechanical Reaper
Steel Plow
Mechanical Reaper
B. The Transportation Revolution: The National Road, Canals and Steamboats
Travel Times - 1800
Travel Times - 1830
Travel Times - 1857
C. New Factory Technology: Interchangeable Parts & The Power Loom
III. Life After the Early 1800s – Better or Worse? A. Better: More Technology -> More Production More Wealth
B. Better or Worse? A Nation of Rural Farmers and Urban Workers
Local Lives Depend on National Markets
The Cult of Domesticity & New Images of Women