-
The Spinning Jenny
James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny so that a single textile mill worker could become much more productive. The Spinning Jenny eventually led to the invention of the water frame in 1769. In effect, cloth became much more attainable to the public and was a better quality material. -
The Cotton Gin
Invented by Eli Whitney in Georgia, the cotton gin separated cotton seeds from cotton at a pace much faster than that of manual separation. The need for such an invention occured when the demand for cotton for making new types of cloth increased. This caused cotton to become the dominant crop in the southern United States. It also increased slavery. -
The Reaper
Created by Cyrus McCormick, the reaper helped farmers by mechanically cutting down crops. They needed a way to speed up harvesting to keep up with popualtion demands and this was the answer. He invented the reaper in Virginia. It also caused farmers to venture out west, acquire more farmland, and inspired the upgrading of other farm machinery. -
The Sewing Machine
Elias Hoew Jr. invented the sewing machine in order to stregthen the stitchwork in garments and speed up the sewing process itself. However, it couldn't do any ther types of stitches other than a traight lockstitch and could only work with a small amouont of material at one time. -
The Light Bulb
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, among many other things, here in New Jersey. He invented it because of the need for light in a form other than lamps and candles, which burned out quickly. Today, they are essential to our way of life and light almost every building we enter. -
The Machine Gun
Hiram S. Maxim patented the first automatic machine gun, a gun with multiple barrels that rotate around a central axis. The first machine guns were products of the need for better weapons in the Civil War. The invention led to many improvements on the idea and led to the creation of modern day machine guns.
