Throughout the times of stressful manual labor and the heat of the unbearable sun there were many inventions and ideas that not only directly impacted the way society is today but also how people were seen back then. There were many breakthrough inventions such as the railroad, steamboat and the cotton gin that seem to be miracles for that period of time.
The first topic I want to assess is the way economic changes that agricultural advances made changed the work ethics and stress exerted on the slaves of the 1800's. The first invention that changed the work ethics of slaves was the cotton gin, which was made by Eli Whitney. This invention changed how much the slaves had to work from very much to just much. Another obstacle that white owners had to put up with were the new laws that were placed to protect the slaves from being harmed to the point of death.
A cotton gin on display at the Eli Whitney Museum.
"The First Cotton Gin" conjectural image from 1869
English: "Eli Whitney," portrait of the inventor, ...Those laws made it possible for the slaves to actually live a semi-descent life.
Transportation was greatly altered by the invention of the steamboat and the railroad. The railroad made it much easier for the transporting of goods, and also the transporting of people. Many American colonists were enabled the opportunity to see more of the west with the invention of the railroad, which increased the possibility of Manifest Destiny to be fulfilled. The steamboat made it more convenient for people along the riverside to receive goods, like tea, clothes, sugar, and even rum. These inventions single handedly changed the way people travel today whether it be by water, land or air people find someway to get where they want to go.
These technological advances not only altered the ways of lives for the early American colonists, but they also helped shape...