Ap Us History: Unit 4: Chapter 12: Key People

Front 1

Astor, John Jacob (1763–1848):

Back 1

German-born fur trader and New York real estate speculator, who amassed an estate of $30 million by the time of his death.

Front 2

Clinton, DeWitt (1769–1828):

Back 2

Governor of New York state and promoter of the Erie Canal, which linked the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. “Clinton’s Big Ditch”, as the canal was called, transformed upstate New York into a center of industry and gave rise to the Midwestern cities of Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago.

Front 3

Deere, John (1804–1886):

Back 3

Inventor of the steel plow, which revolutionized farming in the Midwest, where fragile wooden plows had failed to break through the thick soil.

Front 4

Field, Cyrus (1819–1892):

Back 4

Promoter of the first transatlantic cable which linked Ireland and Newfoundland in 1854. After the first cable went dead, Field lobbied for a heavier cable, which was finally laid in 1866.

Front 5

Fulton, Robert (1765–1815):

Back 5

Pennsylvania-born painter-engineer, who constructed the first operating steam boat, the Clermont, in 1807.

Front 6

Howe, Elias (1819–1867):

Back 6

Massachusetts-born inventor of the sewing machine. Unable to convince American manufacturers to adopt his invention, he briefly moved to England before returning to the United States to find his sewing machine popularized by Isaac Singer. Howe won a patent infringement suit against Singer in 1854 and continued to produce sewing machines until his death.

Front 7

McCormick, Cyrus (1809–1885):

Back 7

Inventor of the McCormick mower-reaper, a horse-drawn contraption that fueled the development of large-scale agriculture in the trans-Allegheny West.

Front 8

Morse, Samuel F. B. (1791–1872):

Back 8

Inventor of the telegraph and the telegraphic code that bears his name. He led the effort to connect Washington and Baltimore by telegraph and transmitted the first long-distance message—“What hath God wrought”—in May of 1844.

Front 9

Singer, Isaac (1811–1875):

Back 9

American inventor and manufacturer, who made his fortune by improving on Elias Howe’s sewing machine. Singer’s machine fueled the ready-made clothing industry in New England.

Front 10

Slater, Samuel (1768–1835):

Back 10

British-born mechanic and father of the American “Factory System,” establishing textile mills throughout New England.

Front 11

Whitney, Eli (1765–1825):

Back 11

Great American inventor, best known for his Cotton Gin, which revolutionized the Southern economy. Whitney also pioneered the use of interchangeable parts in the production of muskets.