United States History: Unit Six Worksheet.

1) Describe the important role played by cotton in both the southern and national economies. Cotton experienced a period of high demand because of the Industrial Revolution and its spread of textile mills. Green seed cotton could be grown throughout the south, but because its seeds had to be separated by hand, it remained in relatively low supply. This issue was reversed when Eli Whitney created the cotton gin. This caused cotton production to soar and revived slavery. Cotton began to be over half of American exports. The South provided the North with raw materials and a market for manufactured goods. 2) Describe the impact of technological developments on the development of western agriculture. The Iron plow proved a critical tool to farmers attempting to farm the treeless prairies of the Midwest. Improvements in the plow would follow in later years with the introduction of the chilled iron and steel plows. The development of the grain reaper was equally important as the cotton gin. 3) Identify the following: a) Eli Whitney: Eli Whitney was a Massachusetts Yankee who invented the cotton gin in 1793, which caused the boom in the Southern cotton industry. b) cotton gin: The cotton gin was the invention of Eli Whitney that separated the seeds from the fibers causing cotton to be a feasible crop to fuel the southern economy. c) "cotton kingdom": This was a moniker for the South after the invention of the cotton gin because cotton was the cash cow basis of their economy. d) iron plow: The iron plow was a critical tool to farmers in the treeless prairies of the Midwest because it was able to cut through the grass roots in their fields. e) John Deere: John Deere was an inventor who made improvements to the plow when he invented the steel plow in 1837. f) John Oliver: John Oliver was another inventor who invented a steel plow in 1855. g) Obed Hussey: Obed Hussey was the first man to secure a patent for a grain reaper in 1833. He would get in a feud with Cyrus Hall McCormick over the legal rights to the invention and would ultimately fall behind the other inventor. h) Cyrus McCormick: Cyrus Hall McCormick also invented the grain reaper and got in a legal battle with Obed Hussey, and emerged the winner because he was based in Chicago and was quicker to accept suggestions for improving the machine.

i) grain reaper: The grain reaper was a tool invented by Obed Hussey and Cyrus McCormick that was as important to the grain belt agriculture of the Midwest as the cotton gin had been for the South. j) Alan Wood: Alan Wood was a Representative from Philadelphia, who after retiring became the head of the Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company. k) Collins Company of Connecticut: This was an iron company from Connecticut that manufactured axes for which it became world famous. l) Henry Burden: Burden was an industry leader from New York who created Burden Iron Works which featured the most powerful water wheel in the world. m) Land Act of 1820: The Land Act of 1820 eliminated the previsions of the Land Act of 1800 reducing the minimum price per acre to $1.25 and reduced the minimum purchase to 80 acres. n) Preemption Act of 1830: The Preemption Act of 1830 permitted squatters to purchase the land that they occupied at the minimum price per acre. This was made permanent in 1841. o) Graduation Act of 1854: The Graduation Act had been advocated by Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri since the 1820s. It called for the price of unsold public lands to be reduced in stages until they reached 12.5 cents per acre. 4) How did improvements in transportation contribute to the development of a national market? The Wilderness Road opened wagon traffic ot Kentucky in 1795. The National Road was extended to Vandalia Illinois in 1850. Also, 4000 miles of turnpike had been created by 1821. The evolution of the steamboat also increased traffic along the rivers. These innovations together allowed goods to be shipped all over the country, instead of only the surrounding area. Also, the dredging of the Erie Canal and the use of Railroads all made the shipment of goods from city to city much easier, cheaper, and more efficient. 5) Identify the following: a) National Road: The National Road was a road from Cumberland, MD to Wheeling, VA initially, but by 1850 had been expanded to Vandalia, IL b) flatboats: Flatboats were the dominate river transportation in early American History. Ultimately, the evolutionary steamboat reduced the need for the flatboats. c) steamboat: The steamboat was the newest invention that revolutionized river trade by making it easier to trade than the flatboat.

d) John Fitch: John Fitch launched a steamboat on the Delaware River in 1787, and had passengers traveling from Philadelphia to Trenton regularly. e) Robert Fulton & Robert Livingston: Fulton and Livingston sent the Clermont up the Hudson River to Albany in 1807, launching the first successful steamboat service. f) Henry Sherve: Sherve took the Enterprise from New Orleans up the Mississippi River to Pittsburgh. g) Erie Cannal: The erie Canal was built to connect the Hudson River and Lake Erie. In 1825, the 350 mile lengthr from Albany to Buffalo opened with branch canals bringing much of the Upper Ohio Valley into New Yorks economic sphrere, and also diverted traffic away from New Orleans. h) Baltimore & Ohio Railroad: The B & O railroad opened in 1828 and had extended seventy three miles by 1832. i) Charleston & Hamburg Railroad: The Charleston and Hamburg Railroad was completed in 1833 and extended 136 miles to be the nations longest railroad. j) Western & Atlantic Railroad: The Western and Atlantic Railroad was a state founded railroad in Georgia which was one of several created by different states. 6) Why did the completion of the Erie Canal prove so significant to the South? The Erie canal connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie spanning 350 miles from Buffalo to Albany. Smaller branch canals were created off of it, bringing the upper Ohio Valley into New Yorks Economic Sphere. This carried great significance in the south because it lessened the trade traffic in the city of New Orleans. Prior to the canal, the city had been the hub of the frontiers trade because of its location at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Now, the northern parts of the frontier could trade out of a location that was much closer in New York City.