Life During the Years 1771-1780

Life During the Years 1771-1780
When one thinks of the years 1771-1781, one thinks of the Revolutionary War, The Boston Tea Party and the Articles of Confederation. Though these are important historical milestones, life, aside from the war, still went on. The population in the colonies was growing. New jobs were being created. Scientists were hard at work inventing things. Medicine was improving, and changes in technology, transportation and communication were occurring.
When someone thinks of famous inventors of 1771-1780, the first person they think of is Benjamin franklin, with his bifocal eyeglass invention in 1780, but, there were many other important inventors. Some of them include, Alexander Cummings who invented the flush toilet, and Jacques Perrier, who invented the steamship in 1775. George Louis Lesage who patented the electric telegraph in 1774. In 1776, David Bushnell invented the submarine, which was used during the Revolutionary War. Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule. David Rittenhouse was an astronomer who in 1774 used his observation of space to help create canals.
There weren’t any major roads in the years 1771-1780. The easiest way to travel was by sea. Due to the bad roads and lack of transportation, during the war, many soldiers died waiting for food and supplies. The Conestoga wagon was used to transport produce from 1750 through 1850. It had a curved cargo bed designed to keep the cargo from shifting. A box in the back held food for the horses. When the wagon stopped for a rest, the box was moved to the front to feed the horses. A big problem was that the Conestoga wagon was expensive. In addition, it cost a lot of money to feed the horses (attached please find a ...

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... the war, and many soldiers dying, and poor healthcare, the total estimated population of both black and whites in the colonies in the year 1770 was 2,148,076. Ten years later in the year 1780 there was a total population of 2,780,369. According to William Fogel in his book, “The Life Escape from Hunger and Premature Death”, Americans had a life expectancy in 1775 of 53.5 years as opposed to the citizens of England who has a life expectancy of 36.5 years.
As you have just read, despite being at war, colonists were inventing, exploring and experimenting in the medical, science, technological and communications fields. Countries in every continent of the world are using the breakthroughs the colonists made to make our world a safer and better place. Everything that the colonists experienced and went through ensured a better tomorrow for future generations.