when did the united states experience its first large industrial expansion
Technological and industrial history of the United States In the mid-1780s, Oliver Evans invented an automated flour mill that included a grain elevator and hopper boy. Evans' design eventually displaced the traditional gristmills. By the turn of the century, Evans also developed one of the first high-pressure steam engines and began establishing a network of machine workshops to manufacture and repair these popular inventions. In 1789, the widow of Nathanael Greene recruited Eli Whitney to develop a machine to separate the seeds of short fibered cotton from the fibers. The resulting cotton gin could be made with basic carpentry skills but reduced the necessary labor by a factor of 50 and generated huge profits for cotton growers in the South.[21] While Whitney did not realize financial success from his invention, he moved on to manufacturing rifles and other armaments under government contract that could be made with "expedition, uniformity, and exactness"â€”the foundational ideas for interchangeable parts.[22] However, Whitney's vision of interchangeable parts would not be achieved for over two decades with firearms and even longer for other devices.