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honestlyuniversallyexpert · 3 years

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A Changing World, Steam and coal in Britain

*I will be talking about the 3 inventions that were made in the old days in a storytelling form.

JAMES WATT’S STEAM ENGINE

Back In 1769, a Scotsman, James Watt invented a machine called a “steam engine”.

The Steam Engine was invented a hundred years ago by a French Scientist. But James Watt figured out how to make the steam engine put out more power for less fuel. This changed the West because it could run so many more machines quickly. But there was one problem = steam engines need coal to work.

MINERS GETTING COAL

So they started to dig coal. Miners suffered from lack of air “choke damp”. Miners also started having black lungs which brought dust and toxic chemicals to their lungs. After digging the coal they needed, there was another problem brought up. “How would the coal be carried to the machines?” The answer: Railroads! A steam engine hooked to a train would burn coal to keep itself running. By using a little bit of coal, it could pull tons more all the way across the country.

THE INFLUENCE OF STEAM ENGINES

Steam engines grew more popular and railroads were built across more land. Millions of people began to use trains and to travel farther away from home. Steam power began to change life in England and it started to spread across Europe and North America.

COTTON AND GUNS IN AMERICA

THE PERFECT PLACE

The warm, damp fields of the southern United States were perfect for cotton plants. But cotton balls weren’t as smooth like the ones we buy in stores these days. It was filled with seeds and all of them had to be pulled out one at a time. It took so much time and effort to get these cottons.

NEW INVENTION

A college boy from Massachusetts named Eli Whitney came south and thought, “There must be a better way to get the seeds out.” He started to do diverse experiments. He built a metal roller and he pulled up cotton and scraped it across the grill. He had succeeded! Now, a slave could clean 15-20 pounds of cotton per day. Unlike before, when they could get a single pound of cotton done everyday. With this invention called the “cotton gin”, cotton growers made so much more money than they have ever dreamed.

NEW WAY OF MAKING GUNS The United States Army wanted their army to have better guns. The parts of each gun could fit only that gun and no other. Eli Whitney wondered, “Why can’t guns be designed so that every gun had the same size barrel, the same size trigger, and the same size bayonet?” These days, it is very obvious and common that a new light bulb will fit into any lamp or ceiling light in your house but at that time, no one thought of doing that. So the way of making everything the same was called, standardization. All the officials were very glad about this new idea! They told Eli Whitney to build a gin factory which could make guns for the whole United States Army. Soon, this way of making products was called the “American system”. Just like steam power, Whitney’s two inventions would help to change everyday life forever.

Thank you for reading!

#history #achangingworld #britain #inventions #newfoundation #historyblog

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