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Within the time frame of the course, pre-Columbian to 1877, explain and defend your position

on what you think is the most significant event that has shaped America into the nation it is
today.
Throughout world history, text has been a commodity. Education and literacy were things of the
privileged, found only to those who had the time and the money. Written texts were hard to come
by and regularly had errors, being handwritten, or pressed through a print design. The world was
slowly growing and learning. This all changed in 1814 when a mechanical engineer named
Friedrich Koenig invented something that would change the world forever. The greatest
invention of all time was the industrial printing press. This press improved the way everyone
would live and learn across the face of the earth. It changed the textile industry for time and all
eternity. It made a safe, speedy and productive entrepreneurial solution to the way literature was
made. It created great revenue and pushed the spread of religion and abolition to slavery.
Without the Industrial Printing Press, we could not be in the advanced society we are in today.
The Industrial Printing Press was known for taking quite a load off the workers who had labored
their whole life in the business. It was known to be “…less physical labor. This is an important
point for the pressmen. Pulling that press lever hour after hour, day after day, leaves many men
with one-sided muscle development. In fact, it’s possible to tell an experienced pressman just
from the loping way he walks.” (“Industrial Printing Revolution.” Revolutions in
Communication, 19 Nov. 2017, www.environmentalhistory.org/revcomm/features/19th-century-
printing/.) With the same work every day putting a certain pressure on one particular muscle for
the pressman, it would regularly deform the person, and as stated in the quote, they would walk
differently, with an obvious physical difficulty. By instituting the industrial printing press, this
allowed the workers to do much more work with ease on their aching muscles.
The invention of this new press allowed for an extreme tempo change in the production rate of
literature. “Speed is also important for the business, … Where a crew of three men on a hand
press might print 250 pages per hour, on one side, a crew of six men on the new steam press
could produce 1,100 pages, on both sides, per hour — nearly four times the efficiency. (By 1828
it will be 4,000 pages per hour).” (“Industrial Printing Revolution.” Revolutions in
Communication, 19 Nov. 2017, www.environmentalhistory.org/revcomm/features/19th-century-
printing/.) With the invention of this great machine, the rate of printing had quadrupled, and
within fourteen years would quadruple again. The speed at which the books could exit the press
allowed for a movement that could not be matched at the time.
One of the beauties of this invention at the time was the amount of revenue that came in towards
the owners. “Costs of production come down, and due to mass circulation, the potential for
advertising support goes up.” (“Industrial Printing Revolution.” Revolutions in Communication,
19 Nov. 2017, www.environmentalhistory.org/revcomm/features/19th-century-printing/.) They
had created a machine that bested all others. No one could attempt to fight back, because, this
invention was so far ahead of it’s time. The productivity allowed for cheap mass production, and
therefore brought a high demand in the printing industry.
The time of the industrial printing press was a perfect time because it was in the middle of the
great awakening in the United States. Protestant religions were starting like a wildfire in the new
world, and this meant that there would be a high demand for religious texts. A speedy press
“…meant more access to information, more dissent, more informed discussion and more
widespread criticism of authorities,” and “played a key role in popularizing ideas associated with
the new Protestant faith during the European Reformation, allowing the press to “shape and
channel a mass movement,” (Kennedy, Rita. “What Impact Did the Invention of the Printing
Press Have on the Spread of Religion?” Synonym, 21 Nov. 2017,
classroom.synonym.com/impact-did-invention-printing-press-spread-religion-6617.html.) The
press allowed a great control over the citizens, bringing an awakening to all, and bringing
education with a strong foundation of Judeo-Christian values.
The industrial printing press was also utilized in making an influential push for abolition, or an
end to slavery in the United States. A famous book in the North that was mass produced called
Uncle Tom’s Cabin “said to have caused people in the North to become much more opposed to
slavery. It is said to have helped make slavery less popular by putting faces on the slaves and on
their owners.” “ (What Effect Did Uncle Tom's Cabin Have in the North? How Did It Make
People Feel about Slavery?” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-
effect-did-uncle-toms-cabin-have-north-how-479903.) The press allowed many people to see
what slavery really was, and how much it pushed for evil causes.
Of all time and all throughout history, the world truly began to progress towards a modern era
through the knowledge given by the Industrial Printing Press. The world was allowed to
rationalize and think for itself and give educated guesses towards what was right and wrong.
Education was finally available to the poor and needy, as well as the rich and privileged. All men
were given the opportunity to achieve their destiny through a proper and fair system of
capitalism. The press allowed for a suitable work environment. It gave an ultra-high speed of
providing information for all. It allowed great revenue to continue to expand. It pushed religious
thought that eventually lead to the consideration of the term “all men are created equal.” This
brought an end to slavery and a beginning to acceptance. The Industrial Printing Press allows us
to be where we are today, and there is not a single creation quite like it that compares. This
invention shaped us into who we are today.

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