Technological Advances During the Industrial Revolution.
During the Industrial Revolution many changes occurred. The most important one was the change in technology and how goods were being produced because of it. Inventions such as the cotton gin, the mechanical reaper, and steam power completely transformed the speed of production and the amount of products that were produced. The industrial revolution that occurred in America almost a century ago totally transformed America's way of living and thinking forever. The inventions and advances that took place during the industrial revolution still have an affect on America's society today. .
The Industrial Revolution was called a revolution because it changed society both significantly and rapidly. It began in Great Britain one hundred years before it reached the United States. It shifted American society into a modern industrial society, which has never been the same since. Society as a whole changed because now production went from its traditional locations at homes to workshops and factories. A majority of America's population relocated from the rural countryside to more urban towns and cities because of all the industrialization that was occurring at the time (Encarta, 2000). .
Transportation revolutions over the past two centuries have changed society dramatically. The steam engine was one of the most significant and important inventions that were developed at the time. The advancement of the steam engine meant that a factory could be located anywhere, as opposed to waterpower that was used before in which a factory had to be located by water (Pursell, 1995). .
The steam engine did make a large impact on farming, but the first engines that were produced were stationary engines, which did not provide adequate power for American farmers, who needed something more flexible. The first portable engines were built in 1849. Robert Fulton, an American inventor and engineer, is credited with designing the first efficient steamboat.