USA HISTORY

THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY 1801 1825

WAR OF 1812

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
What conceptual breakthrough, used by Eli Whitney to produce rifles and the cotton gin, was vital to the 1st Industrial Revolution in the United States?
A
The Factory System
B
The Bessemer Process
C
Interchangeable Parts
D
Hydroelectric Power
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Interchangeable parts, popularized in America when Eli Whitney used them to assemble muskets in the first years of the 19th century, allowed relatively unskilled workers to produce large numbers of weapons quickly and at lower cost, and made repair and replacement of parts infinitely easier.

Detailed explanation-2: -The most significant effect of the cotton gin, however, was the growth of slavery. While it was true that the cotton gin reduced the labor of removing seeds, it did not reduce the need for enslaved labor to grow and pick the cotton. In fact, the opposite occurred.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825) patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export.

Detailed explanation-4: -Interchangeable parts is the idea that manufactured goods could be quickly constructed and parts replaced by unskilled workers. Eli Whitney first developed the cotton gin in 1794, which helped clean cotton fibers more effectively. The cotton gin allowed for the growth of the cotton industry in southern agriculture.

Detailed explanation-5: -First, the machine helped to boost productivity and increased cotton usage. Second, the cotton gin helped to increase production of cotton in the United States, and made cotton into a profitable crop. Third, the machine helped to strengthen the United States’ economy and laid the foundations for the slave trade.

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