The Grain Reaper
Season 1, Episode 3
The construction of the Erie Canal and the invention of the McCormick wheat reaper actually forced the Atlantic States, particularly upstate New York, to undergo a massive agricultural transition from wheat production to the farming and production of perishable products. This agricultural transition continues to display lasting societal impacts, particularly in the relationships humans form with nature.
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Works Cited:
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[1] Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Baron von Humboldt (1817) Provided by the Library of Congress.
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[2] Varnished Color Lithograph Advertisement for the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. Provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society (1882)
[3] Engraving of the McCormick Reaper Works Works Provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society (1867)
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[4] Barton, James L. Commerce of the Lakes. Buffalo, NY: Press of Jewett, 1847.
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[5] Casson, Herbert Newton. Cyrus Hall McCormick: His Life and Work. Chicago, IL: A.C. McClurg, 1909.
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[6] Cochrane, Willard W. The Development of American Agriculture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993.
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[7] Cronon, William. Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1991.
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[8] Jefferson, Thomas, and H. A. Washington. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1869.
[9] North, Douglas C. The Economic Growth of United States 1790-1860. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961.
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