McCormick Invents the Reaper
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History: North American Series
- Categories: Technology, Inventions, Economics
- Subcategories: Business, Inventors, Farms, Farming, Rural Life
- Curriculum: American History 1816-1855
- Geographical Location: Virginia
- Date: Summer, 1831
Article abstract: One of the first commercially successful mechanical reapers dramatically reduces the need for labor and makes large-scale wheat production possible.
Summary of Event
In 1830, the total wheat crop in the United States amounted to approximately 40 million bushels. Within nine years, this figure had doubled, and in 1860 it exceeded 170 million bushels. In the 1830’s, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia were major wheat-producing states, but the center of the wheat-growing area moved steadily westward. In 1839, the Old Northwest produced...
[The entire page is 1439 words long]