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How did the invention of the reaper change America?

After Virginia-born inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809–1884) built a reaper in 1831, grain production dramatically increased in the United States and throughout the world. McCormick's horse-drawn reaper, a machine for harvesting grain, replaced the sickle (a crescent-shaped blade on a short handle) and scythe (a blade on a long handle) in the fields, thus decreasing the amount of manual labor needed to harvest grain crops. The reaper consisted of a straight blade linked to a drive wheel. As the wheel turned, the blade (with safety guards) moved back and forth, cutting grain stalks. Then the cut grain stalks fell onto a platform and a worker used a rake to collect them. With the reaper, a farmer could harvest 10 acres of grain per day; previously 2 to 3 acres per day had been the norm. McCormick continued to improve his reaper, adding a self-raking...

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