are technological improvements always good?

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