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Submarine
David Bushnell created the first one-man pilot called the "Turtle" in .It was an extremely unsafe practice with a poorly lit inner frame and foot-powered mechanism to let water in and out of the machine. The Turtle never sunk any ships, but it was the beginning of a new era of naval warfare. The submarine became a crucial weapon during many American battles and wars. The submarine was the first ship to be piloted underwater, and was an ambitious invention for America. -
Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin facilitated the harvesting of cotton tenfold. The machine enabled workers to separate cotton from seeds much quicker. Collecting cotton by hand would sum up to about a pound a day. With the cotton gin, workers collected up to 50 pounds a day. -
Steam Engine
Not one person is credited for the invention of the steam engine, but in 1803, Richard Trevithick had the idea to use steam to power a cart on rails.He produced the first steam locomotive. However, it's design to carry loads of iron proved to be too heavy to carry. So, in 1814, another man from England, George Stephenson, created a locomotive that could carry eight cars at 4 miles an hour. It started off slow, but steam engines continued to evolve. Transportation changed completely after this. -
Telegraph
The telegraph was used to transport coded messages from typewriters to other people. Samuel Morse is mainly credited for this invention after he successfully created a universal code for communication. The telegraph made communication far easier between cities and even countries. This was the most popular method of communication by the time the telephone was invented. -
Machine Gun
Hiram S. Maxim patented the first machine gun in 1844. It was small, light, easy to operate, and proved to be an excellent infantry weapon. This invention sped up the amount of shots a soldier could fire, and raised the strength of their military drastically. The original machine guns became a basis of the modern weapons we have today. American soldiers became far greater threats than ever before with the new weapon.
