“Don’t Fear the Reaper!”

This is the weekend of inventions here at the Fun with History blog! Today in 1834 Cyrus McCormick received a patent for the reaper. It is necessary to first take a step back and recognize the changes in the U.S. during this time and why a reaper would be an important invention. In the early to mid-nineteenth century, the nation was experiencing a market revolution. This reflected the transformation of the North into an integrated economy with commercial farms and manufacturing cities. This would impact the lives of Americans in many ways, from the Second Great Awakening to the reform movement (but that is for another day and another blog). As the nation moved west, the Northwest became more stable as transportation and credit become more available. Farmers found themselves drawn into this market economy. This new type of farmer concentrated on growing crops and livestock to sell, rather than just produce food for his family. This commercial farmer also stopped producing other home goods, purchasing them at local stores instead. Farmers found that growing cities in the Northeast made for good markets to sell their produce and livestock. They also found credit available there. Loans from eastern banks and insurance companies financed the farmers’ purchase of more land and supplies to raise more produce for market. In the mid-nineteenth century, farmers also used these loans to buy new agricultural machinery, such as the reaper, to expand their production. Along with John Deere’s steel plow, McCormick’s reaper became a huge asset to the farmer. The reaper is a horse-drawn machine that greatly increases the amount of wheat the farmer could harvest. Soon after McCormick received his patent, his company was producing it in large quantities, up to the tens of thousands on the eve of the Civil War. Between 1840 and 1860, America’s output of wheat nearly tripled! His father, who had patented earlier versions of the reaper, largely influenced McCormick. In fact, daddy McCormick had worked on versions of the reaper for twenty-six years. He finally passed along to his soon, who made some minor changes and then patented his version. The McCormick reaper, as demonstrated earlier, sold extremely well. This was partially due to savvy marketing techniques, including the clever slogan, “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” McCormick also used innovative business practices and the newly important railroad. The reapers came on the market just as the railroad was offering distribution to distant markets. McCormick’s reaper represented the core of the market economy, one that is linked to multiple businesses and reaches across the United States. Loans from eastern-based banks financed the reaper’s production, new transportation moved across the nation, farmers purchased it (with loans from the previously mentioned banks), and then sold their produce back to the Northeast. This is the economy that would eventually evolve into our modern-day system.