Sydney Worth American History 131 IT30 Revolutionary Era Writing Assignment 4/25/2017 How Revolutionary was the Revolutionary War? The Revolutionary War completely changed the world for the better. It was a major turning point for Americans. Americans wanted to produce more, make new inventions, make more money, and be better all around. They made huge advances in transportation, jobs, farming, economy, and even communication. Women also experienced a huge turning point during this time. They were eventually allowed to work.
I believe that the Revolutionary War was very revolutionary and played a large role in where America is today. This era was full of changes. One of the biggest being transportation. Transportation technologies like canals, turnpikes, steamboats, stagecoaches, and railroads made the cost of transportation go down by ninety-five percent. Clipper ships were then developed to carry goods around the world. John Jacob Astor used these ships to trade fur, he then founded the American Fur Company. As he made more money he began to trade worldwide to places like Mexico.
He was one of the first global companies. New York funded a 363-mile canal that would connect the Hudson River to Lake Erie. This was called the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal employed two thousand boats, nine thousand horses, and eight thousand men. This helped to revolutionize America because it employed so many people. Railroads and steamboats made trade more efficient than ever. With a steamboat, you could actually transport good up river. This also invented two-way traffic. Although railroads were still dangerous, the track expanded from one hundred miles to thirty thousand and six undred miles.
This allowed news to travel a lot faster than before. In 1844, the telegraph was invented and made it much easier to communicate and spread the news. Samuel Morse invented a few things but most importantly, he created lines and stations to run telegraphs. The first line was run from Annapolis to Maryland and then to Washington, DC. By 1860, over fifty thousand miles under the Western Union Telegraph Corp, primarily with lines running from the northeast to the west. This was a huge advance in communication because now there could be communication worldwide.
Another thing that helped to revolutionize this time period was the attitude of most Americans. Their motivation to invent new ways, to make money, and to earn more money is what made this time period thrive. The Northern industry got most of the credit for the American development and advancements, but southern planters were just as eager to make things more efficient and maximize their profits. This period of intense economic change is referred to as the Market Revolution. This Revolution lasted from about 1815 into the 1840s.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison helped push this movement to make money by employing trade embargoes. Americans could not import goods so they had to make their own. They couldn’t export so they had to develop new markets that were available to them. The Market Revolution also brought along many new inventions. Americans needed to make money so inventing things was one of the best ways to do so. During the winter, Frederic Tudor used the frozen water from ponds and lakes to obtain and sell ice. He would harvest this ice from New England and ship it around the country.
Shipping the ice also helped to keep sawdust from melting. Cyrus McCormick invented the reaper/ mechanical harvester which made wheat more efficient to harvests. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This machine efficiently separated cotton seeds from fiber, this would also make cotton a very profitable crop. This invention had a huge impact on southern farmers making it easier and more profitable to sell cotton. The cheaper and faster it was to make this crop, the more you could produce and sell.
As the production of cotton began to grow, Francis Cabot Lowell started and ran mills. He powered his mills from waterways and employed women. Of course, he made more money because women did not get paid as much as men. These women lived in dormitories owned and ran by the company. They also had to buy groceries in company owned and ran stores. This allowed women to work and save up money for their future. Although women were not treated as fairly as men, they still were able to have jobs and their own money.
In my opinion, it is not fair to pay men more than women. We still have this problem today These are just some examples of how the Revolutionary War boosted America and its economy. As you can see, this was a very productive time period. Americans were motivated to improve their lives so they did. This motivation is what has transformed the world into how it is today. This is one of the first times in history that you see Americans actually take charge and start bettering themselves and the economy. I believe that it had a huge role in where we are today.
