are technological improvements always good?
DESCRIPTION
Are technological improvements always good?. One BAD Example…. Cotton Gin. Eli Whitney - 1793 Increased demand for cotton Textile mills in Europe and in the North MUCH faster than by hand. Is Cotton the “fabric of our lives?”. But what if it cost 100x more?. Cotton Craziness!. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Are technological improvements always
good?
One BAD Example…
Cotton GinEli Whitney - 1793Increased demand for cotton
Textile mills in Europe and in the NorthMUCH faster than by hand
Is Cotton the “fabric of our lives?”
But what if it cost 100x more?
Cotton Craziness! By 1850, cotton
prices dropped to 1% of what they cost in 1784
Why? 1860
Cotton = $191 million export
2/3 of U.S. exports
Major Increase
Raw Cotton
QuickTime™ and aH.264 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
http://cottonclassroom.com/videoofcottonbeingcleaned.html
Under Pressure On their first day,
slaves were often tested
Pick and clean cotton while being watched
Eli Whitney’s Next Big Thing
1798 - accepted offer from Thomas Jefferson to make rifles for armyWanted 10,000-15,000 rifles in two yearsBut how???
InstructionsEach paper must have:
BLUE squareBLACK triangleRED circlePURPLE stick figureFolded in halfStacked in a neat pile
Interchangeable PartsWhitney used interchangeable parts to
create the guns fasterEach person has specific taskTogether they are assembled into a
gunPreviously everything was done
individually, but now it was assembly lines