Technological Transformations

TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS

University of Maryland University College

Introduction

Technological transformations occur daily, affecting many groups of people. Two groups of people that were most affected before 1900 were farmers and physicians. The advancement in technology for both farmers and physicians has made impact for all. The advancements for farmers helped them to cover more land, producing more goods and at the same time lowering the cost to take care of a farm. Physicians were able to expand their knowledge and give better care to those in need. The machines and tools were able to give them a better idea of what was wrong with a patient. There were many inventions that helped in making everyday tasks that they were performing daily much easier thus opening the door for more advancement in farming and in the medical field.

Farming

There were many inventions that impacted the work load of farming, one of which was the steel plow. The steel plow was invented by a blacksmith named John Deere. Farmers were not able to use the old style plow which was made of cast iron and was used more commonly in the eastern states. John Deere decided to make steel plows because the cast iron plows would easily break due to the soil being rich and thick in the Great Plains. Farmers were now spending more time harvesting land instead of fixing the cast iron plows. The steel plow had a wooden handle and was attached to a horse. The plow would dig the soil and turn it over in preparation for planting crops (Burns, 2012).

Farming consists of extremely difficult and tedious labor. One example of this involves picking cotton seeds out of cotton. Laborers would spend a whole day picking seeds out of cotton plant and only produce around one pound of cotton per day. That all changed in 1793, when Eli Whitney built the first cotton gin machine. The machine was made up of rows of close set wheels that had metal teeth attached. These teeth would grab the cotton, pulling it...