American Iron, 1607-1900 Robert B. Gordon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gordon, Robert B. (Robert Boyd), 1929-

Series:

Johns Hopkins studies in the history of technology ; new ser., no. 19.

Johns Hopkins studies in the history of technology ; [new ser., no. 19]

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iron-works.

Iron--Metallurgy.

Iron.

Iron--Metallurgy--History--19th century.

Iron--Metallurgy--History--18th century.

Iron-works--North America--History--19th century.

Iron-works--North America--History--18th century.

North America.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource (xi, 341 pages) :) illustrations, maps.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Johns Hopkins University Press

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In American Iron, 1670-1900, Robert B. Gordon draws on recent archaeological findings as well as archival research to present an ambitious, comprehensive survey of iron technology in America from the colonial period to the industry's demise at about the turn of the twentieth century. Closely examining the techniques - the "hows"--Of ironmaking in its various forms, Gordon offers new interpretations of labor, innovation, and product quality in ironmaking, along with the industry's environmental consequences. He shows the high level of skills required to ensure efficient and safe operation of furnaces and to improve the quality of iron product. By mastering founding, fining, puddling, or bloom smelting, ironworkers gained a degree of control over their lives not easily attained by others.

By applying their abundant natural resources to ironmaking early in the eighteenth century, Americans soon made themselves felt in world markets. After the Revolution, ironmakers supplied the materials necessary to the building of American industry, pushing the fuel efficiency and productivity of their furnaces far ahead of their European rivals.

Contents:

1. Iron

2. Ore, Fuel, and Other Natural Resources

3. The Rise of American Iron, 1720-1860

4. Smelting with Charcoal

5. Converting Pig Iron to Wrought Iron

6. Coal-Fired Blast Furnaces

7. Steel

8. Shaping Iron and Steel

9. Iron Quality

10. Ironmaking Eclipsed, 1860-1900

11. The Industrial Archaeology of Iron

Appendix A Metallography

Appendix B Iron Production Data.

Notes:

Open access edition supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities / Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program.

The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No derivatives 4.0 International License

Includes bibliographical references (pages 318-330) and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-8018-6816-5

OCLC:

1131891888