Immigrant Farmers In The 1800's Essay

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During the late 1800’s, the United States was undergoing major change. Reconstruction was occurring in the southern states, and sizeable groups were migrating westward away from the large, eastern cities and homesteading on new western lands. This migration caused many new states to appear in the next 50 years. Like the history of most states, Minnesota’s history is not an easy one to tell. Although it is complex, Minnesotans have a major group of people to thank for the creation of their state. The massive set of immigrants who would play a huge role in the formation of Minnesota arrived in the late 1800’s after millions of acres of land west of the Mississippi was acquired by the United States government (Early Settlement). These immigrants …show more content…

Along with the hopes of creating successful lives they additionally brought a revolution to agricultural systems. Many inventions and innovations were created in the United States during the 1800’s because of the influx of immigrant farmers. Immigrants contributed new ideas for businesses, farming, and transportation. Because agriculture was the main industry in Minnesota at this time, immigrant farmers needed a way to transfer their products easily and fast. With the high demand from immigrant farmers for innovations, solutions were finally produced by the mid-1800’s. Roads in between towns were officially marked, railroads were laid from small towns and farms to major cities, and rivers were dug up to make room for steamboats. These innovations were all devised for the benefits of farmers to move their goods and for people, such as immigrants, to be able to easily access any place in the United States. With these inventions it made it easier for new businesses and towns to emerge. New farming inventions such as the mechanical reaper and walk behind steel plows were also invented during this time. Finally, in 1862 to 1875, the first agricultural revolution occurred as farmers switched from hand power to horses. From then on everything was horse-drawn. Innovations in the agricultural industry were due to the high demand from the large numbers of immigrant farmers, without these innovations, the agricultural business in Minnesota would not have progressed as rapidly as it

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