The life of Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus Hall McCormick was born in Walnut Grove in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Walnut Woods are in the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His parents are Robert McCormick and Mary Ann Hall McCormick. Cyrus McCormick is the eldest of five children and has no formal education. Cyrus's rare bad temper comes from the environment in which he grew up. Cyrus' ancestors were descended from Scotland and Ireland. Robert, Cyrus' grandfather, thought Pennsylvania was too restrictive, so he moved to Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, where he had another son named Robert, Cyrus' father. Three days before Cyrus was born, a man named abraham lincoln was born in Illinois. Half a century later, these two men saved America.

Background of the invention of harvester

1830, when Ju Lushi was 2 1 year old, his father owned 1200 mu of land and nine slaves. Cereals, fruits, wood and stones have brought rich income to McCormick's family.

However, McCormick's family still lacks manpower. Robert and Cyrus encountered the basic problem that plagued the American economy in 18 and 19 centuries: despite the abundant natural resources, the American colonies and later the United States were seriously short of labor. Although, Americans are multiplying at an alarming rate to alleviate the population shortage. At the same time, overseas immigrants also flooded into the United States. But the social demand was so great that 1783, when the War of Independence ended, the territory of the United States doubled. 1803 because of the purchase of Louisiana. The territorial area has doubled again, so the shortage of labor force has become the main obstacle to economic growth.

In this case, any useful invention can produce great effect. In the1790s, eli whitney invented the cotton gin, which is a mechanized tool for separating cotton oil from cottonseed, which expanded the influence of the southern United States and formed cotton culture, thus giving birth to slavery.

The southern United States and slavery were born because of the cotton gin, and the harvester made great progress in agriculture in the north. At that time, the key to hinder the development of commercial agriculture south of the Ohio River was that a farmer could only harvest half an acre of wheat at most every day. The growth cycle of wheat is also very unfavorable to farmers. They may mature in two weeks, or they may fall to the ground immediately and lose their ears completely in two days. Farmers worry about harvesting every year. In Europe, because the labor force is abundant and the price is cheap, just hire more people. In the United States, labor is scarce and labor costs are too high, which limits large-scale planting. If someone can design a machine to improve harvesting efficiency, he will become a national hero. At the same time, it will definitely make a lot of money.

McCormick is not the only one who tried this invention. Many people in wheat-growing areas from new york to Illinois are trying to improve the sickle, which has been used by human beings since ancient Egypt. Many inventors have achieved great success, but before 1830, there were two difficult problems that no one could solve: first, how to deal with the troubles of rugged and rocky slopes; The second is how to solve the problem that the noise from those new things scares the horses and mules in front. For those customers who are skeptical about these inventions, they are not willing to take the farm as a bet to buy those expensive but not necessarily useful machinery anyway.

Invent harvester

McCormick grew up on a rolling farm. As early as childhood, his father has been working hard for many years, inventing a harvester on his farm and designing a sketch. 183 1 year, McCormick's father bought a machine from the blacksmith's shop, which can be modified to harvest a wheat field. But the experiment was a complete failure, and he gave up his exploration in this field. McCormick grew up in the blacksmith's shop on his father's farm, partly out of curiosity and partly to avoid farm work. Later, McCormick pieced together a harvester. Mr McCormick didn't give in like his father did. He still insisted on his research and adopted a reciprocating cutter, just like a barber clipper, which kept cutting wheat. This principle made him successful, and soon he developed a semi-mechanized harvester.

183 1 In the summer of, McCormick tried this machine on his neighbor's farm. At the age of 22, he used his horse to pull the harvester for the first time to harvest wheat at john still Farm in Shiqiao County, Virginia. The onlookers were very excited because they witnessed that agricultural mechanization was starting from the farmland around him.

This harvester is driven by two horses, equipped with a cutter driven by a ground wheel, a grain reel and an ear-gathering table. It can not only cut wheat, but also automatically arrange the cut wheat neatly on the back workbench, and the harvesting speed is three times faster than that of manual work.

The harvester invented by Mr McCormick greatly improved the labor productivity of farmers and liberated them from heavy physical labor, thus enabling them to have more energy to engage in other jobs.

183 1 year, McCormick tried this machine on his neighbor's farm. Everyone present said that the machine was "novel". Because not many people were interested in this novel, McCormick had to put the machine in the warehouse and then go to Kentucky to sell a machine that looked better. From 1825 to 1850, henry clay, Kentucky is carrying out the "American system" national economic movement. Clay believes that the state should invest in strengthening infrastructure construction and raising import tariffs, which will bring more employment opportunities and make the United States get rid of its dependence on imports, thus realizing the prosperity of the United States. At that time, hemp fiber was a strategic material, which was used to make ropes for ships, as well as domestic and commercial burlap and hemp thread. The United States is very suitable for growing marijuana, and Clay hopes to increase marijuana production. But it is not easy to separate fiber from hemp. If a cheap method can be invented, the United States can compete with manufacturers in other countries. Robert McCormick once designed a machine for this purpose. Cyrus concluded that the improved cotton gin can solve this problem. However, McCormick's machine did not achieve the expected results.

When he realized that he couldn't be Whitney in the marijuana industry, McCormick turned to wheat and tried to make a career in the wheat industry. McCormick further improved his harvester and applied for a patent at 1834. This new harvester is better than the first one. After a successful exhibition, a congressman from South Carolina and the incoming governor of Virginia delivered a joint speech: "Harvesting with a harvester is fast and clean, leaving almost no straw, if any, just a little bit scattered from the machine when it works." An audience predicted that McCormick harvester will play an important role in the daily work of wheat field and have a great impact on American agriculture.

However, McCormick's dream was once again shrouded in dark clouds. The reason is that the harvest in Shan 'an Road Canyon is not good. In the next few years, farmers were too busy paying off their debts to make more investments. Another reason is that McCormick is eager for success, blindly imitating others and the way of making money in novels. A plow designed by McCormick, which is especially suitable for mountain operation, has been highly appraised and has a very good market prospect. However, this young man who worked in his father's blacksmith's shop since childhood suddenly felt that he should be engaged in the mining and smelting of iron ore. McCormick's plow never left his neighbor's farm. Because of the economic recession of 1837, McCormick's iron mine became a bottomless pit, and all his investments went up in smoke.

It was not until 1839 that McCormick finally returned to his harvester. At this point, a competitor has reached the front of McCormick. Obed Houthi, a stern Maine man with a blindfold on his left eye, improved the harvester. This harvester is more competitive. When McCormick wasted time and money on ore, Houthi armed forces won a large number of customers in the grain industry. When McCormick learned of Houthi's victory, he scrubbed his harvester and put an advertisement in a newspaper called Richmond Inquirer. McCormick announced that he would return to the production and sales of harvesters, and he could complete all orders before the autumn harvest of 1840. The market reaction was disappointing. 1840, McCormick sold two harvesters. 1842, McCormick had a better product when he re-entered the market. He sold 6 sets that year and 29 sets the following year.

From 65438 to 0844, McCormick went abroad for inspection, which changed his life and American history. Previously, McCormick's vision was blocked by the Blue Ridge Mountains, and he just wanted to promote agriculture in Appalachia. At the age of thirty-six, McCormick crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains, entered the Missouri River valley, and crossed the Missouri River to the rocky mountain meadow. Seeing the vast grassland, McCormick understood that the harvester is only a convenient tool in the dense land of his hometown; In the west, in this vast land like the ocean, harvester is a necessity.

Now, McCormick has a good chance. The Midwest of the United States is a vast plain. 1825 After the opening of the Erie Canal, market-conscious farmers in the east began to enter this area. From 1830 to 1840, a railway runs through the central and western regions, greatly increasing farmers' ability to export grain to the market and prompting more people to migrate to the central and western regions. Before the canal and railway were opened, it was difficult to transport grain, so farmers had to make grain into wine and sell it. McCormick's father never drinks, but he is a shrewd businessman. In order to stick to his beliefs, he sold his wine at a price of 25 cents per gallon and insisted on not giving the workers wine to drink. With mechanized transportation, farmers have transported unprocessed grain to densely populated cities in the east.

Due to the poor potato harvest in Ireland, Europe increased its food imports from the United States. At the same time, it also made Britain abolish the corn laws, which has always prevented the import of American grain into Britain. 1846. 1848, after the discovery of gold deposits in California, it provided a large amount of gold to the western region and increased its capital. A large number of eastern labor forces have flooded into the western region, further making mechanization an urgent need.

McCormick didn't realize the factors conducive to his career development, but he felt that the time was ripe from the agricultural news. The Chicago Farmers and Western Ranchers Union shouted, "Inventors, the Midwest is looking forward to you. You can bring anything you want to promote here, as long as it really works. You will succeed here. Bring your machine! " The newspaper added a sentence at the back: "Please give us a chance to advertise for them." A Chicago editor specifically mentioned the harvester: "If we harvest in an ordinary way, the planting area of grain has exceeded our harvesting capacity, and the harvester is just what we need. Because of the low price, every farmer here can accept it. It is an inevitable trend for harvesters to replace sickles, and sickles and scorpions equipped with sickles will withdraw from the historical stage of harvesting. " McCormick came to Chicago on 1848 in order to occupy the fast-growing Midwest market. He built a factory in a place on the north shore of Chicago, where railway transportation and water use are convenient. The factory is three stories high and covers an area of 10000 square feet. McCormick adopted the standardized production principle advocated by eli whitney in the factory and installed a steam engine to drive his lathe, saw and grinder. McCormick's factory was one of the earliest factories to adopt mass production, and it also had the greatest influence. A tourist wrote: "There are crazy voices, sparse noises, long whistles, harsh buzzes and breathless sounds everywhere. As soon as I entered the door, I saw everyone surrounded by steel wheels on horizontal, vertical and inclined bearings. These people are expressionless. The conveyor belt sends them raw logs from time to time, as if there were some magical power to attract them. They touched them, accompanied by a cheerful music, they were slotted, processed into sectors or circles, and then sent away. With the help of another worker, they were transferred to another conveyor belt, which looked like a hay chopper. After that, the wood was slotted, punched and sent away ... saws and cylinders were like magic servants summoned by magic in this facility. They did all the hard work and created these wonderful things. Things more wonderful than them are under the saw and the cylinder. That 40-horsepower engine shines like a knight in armor. When running, the noise is as small as a spinning wheel in the hands of a housewife, but it drives bearings, cylinders and bellows to roll iron into crescent-shaped screws, so that the saw runs at a speed of 40 revolutions per second. Even more remarkable than the engine is a man covered in soot and wearing a leather apron by the fire. He controlled the engine and created everything here. "

The situation forced McCormick to adopt mass production. His patent is only valid for 15 years. Although he has applied for an extension, the possibility of approval is slim. Rivals led by Houthi tried their best to prevent McCormick's patent extension. Opponents in the press think McCormick has earned enough from his patent rights. A reporter said, "approving the extension of his patent is equivalent to levying a tax of $500,000 on hungry people all over the world every year." Despite many obstacles, McCormick persisted in the struggle for several years, which hindered the development of a new industry. Finally, McCormick got a verdict against him: "As long as the harvester is still used in harvesting, people should remember his contribution. But the harvester is too important for farmers, so it can't be controlled by any individual, so the patent office won't extend his patent. "

McCormick is a very strong-willed man. After being hit by this, he redoubled his efforts and moved on. Surprisingly, the temporary setback laid the foundation for his later success and also showed the rationality of the patent system. In the fourteenth year of the patent period, McCormick successfully improved his design, and now he must further win the competitive advantage with excellent production, sales and service.

McCormick promoted the industrialization of agricultural production. He was the first to introduce the factory system into agricultural production, enabling millions of farmers to use harvesters and other agricultural machinery. Because the manpower in agricultural production has been replaced by machinery, the output of agricultural products has increased greatly and the price has dropped, which will ultimately benefit all mankind.

marketing management

McCormick is the first westerner who understands that marketing is the core of industry and commerce and regards customers as the main goal of operators. Most people only know his harvester, but in fact McCormick also invented some basic things of modern marketing: market research and analysis, the concept of market position, price policy, service salesman, providing parts and services to customers, installment payment and so on. McCormick practiced these methods 1850 years ago. Even in the United States, these marketing methods will not be widely used until fifty years later.

In the1840s, McCormick bought advertising pages in newspapers in wheat and related agricultural products growing areas from new york to Illinois. 1849: In the advertisement, a boy waved a whip to drive away two horses pulling a harvester, and a man in a high hat and vest raked the cut straw with a rake without shedding a drop of sweat. On the side, it says, "Last harvest season, the sales of this harvester reached 800 sets, and users were very satisfied with it." In order to confirm the authenticity of the advertisement, a letter of recommendation from the customer is attached. McCormick also started his own newspaper. Before McCormick's death, his Farmers Herald had a circulation of 3.5 million copies and readers all over the country. Advertising can't replace face-to-face communication with customers. McCormick also has many independent agents who make them part of the supply chain by authorizing them to sell harvesters. After the business expansion, the elite of the agents became the official employees of the company.

McCormick was the first person to use the "money-back guarantee" sales method. Customers can get the right to use the harvester for six months for only thirty dollars. After the probation period, if you are satisfied, pay the remaining 90 yuan. If you are not satisfied, you will return to the plane and get his 30 yuan back. This is very convenient for farmers. With the right to use for six months, they can harvest the grain first and pay after the grain is sold.

McCormick's company is a model of modern company. McCormick not only perfected the harvester, but also established the first complete agricultural machinery production line in the world, including farm tools, tractors, harvesters and forage machinery. He was the first to introduce a tractor with a power output shaft device, the first to successfully develop a spindle cotton picker, and the first to produce a tractor with a horsepower of more than 100. McCormick also trained farmers to use agricultural machinery to provide them with better production methods and improve agricultural production efficiency.

Open up foreign markets

Although the domestic market is in short supply, McCormick is still exploring foreign markets. 185 1 year, McCormick took this harvester across the ocean and came to London to participate in the 185 1 year London World Expo. In the lobby of the Crystal Palace in London, many visitors were dumbfounded by all kinds of novel inventions, and the achievements of industrial production made employees in all fields feel the arrival of the industrial revolution. The emerging America has also brought thousands of new inventions. Here, this unique agricultural semi-mechanical equipment has attracted great attention from many countries. Many people laugh at McCormick's invention because of his ugly appearance. The London Times called McCormick's harvester "a mixture of Ashley chariots, trolleys and airplanes." However, the audience was shocked immediately after the demonstration began. Holas Greeley, editor-in-chief of the new york Tribune, was also there. He wrote: "When McCormick's harvester entered the wheat field, he faced a court ready to convict it. In front of it stood John Niu, who was tall and stubborn, and would never be easily deceived. They are waiting for the verdict he has made. The suspense lasted for a while, just for a while, and then people couldn't hold on to their existing prejudices any longer. The cheers announced that McCormick's harvester had won. After 70 seconds, McCormick became famous and he became the hero of the World Expo. " Subsequently, this new invention of agricultural machinery began to affect the world. At this time, McCormick established his own harvester company. With the high efficiency of its own harvester, by 1860, 70% of wheat harvesters in the United States have been used. Before the harvester came out, it took two people nearly 20 hours to harvest 1 mu of wheat. After using McCormick's harvester, two people can harvest 1 mu of wheat in a few hours. The production efficiency has been greatly improved.

Four years later, McCormick won the prize at the Paris World Expo. At 1867 Paris World Expo and 1873 Vienna World Expo, the improved McCormick harvester was driven by diesel engine, which greatly improved the harvesting efficiency, and could harvest, thresh, separate and clean the grain at one time to get clean grain. Ten years later, French Emperor Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte was awarded the McCormick Cross Medal of Honor of the Roman Legion after watching the trial of the harvester at the Royal Manor in Sharon. Later, McCormick's descendants merged with other companies on his basis and became the largest company in the global agricultural machinery manufacturing industry. "I have contributed more to agriculture than anyone else." The largest combine harvester is now equipped with more than 500 horsepower and can harvest 50 tons of wheat per hour. It should be said that it is a very efficient large-scale agricultural equipment.

McCormick became more and more famous and soon became a major figure in Chicago. He is often considered as a candidate for mayor. 1860, McCormick agreed to run, but he failed.

McCormick in the Civil War

1In the 1960s, the biggest political event in America was the Civil War. As a southerner who moved to the north and still owned slaves in the south, McCormick found his faith torn. At first, he opposed maintaining the union by force, which made the Chicago Tribune call him a "rebel". Later, because of interests, he was forced to publicly declare his loyalty to the Federation. However, in the civil war, people thought he was a mercenary. There is evidence that 1862 was in France, and he tried to persuade Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte to support the South through diplomatic means.

The civil war brought trouble to McCormick's career, but it created a miracle for his career. By 1868, McCormick's annual output of harvesters has reached 8000, and it is still increasing. McCormick's contribution to the Civil War was far greater than his income. To some extent, McCormick hates the opposition between birthplace and residence. He sympathized with the South, but he laid the foundation for the North to defeat the South. Edwin Stanton, Lincoln's war secretary, explained, "The south depends on slavery, while the north depends on harvesters. Harvesters have replaced young people on farms in the west, providing a lot of fighting power for the north and enough food for the country and the army. Therefore, without McCormick's invention, the North might not win the war, and the Federation would probably split. " McCormick's contribution to the Union did not stop there. At the beginning of the civil war. Southern leaders predicted that Britain and France, cotton importers, would support the Confederacy. Facts have proved that cotton in the south is not as important as grain in the north, which makes Europe tend to support the north. McCormick, who was born in Virginia, laid the foundation for the victory of the North, while the cotton spinning machine, which is of great significance to the South, was born in eli whitney, Massachusetts. The Civil War was a competition between McCormick and Whitney. The civil war made the labor shortage worse than before the war. At the same time, the war pushed up the price, and farmers earned more money, which also enabled them to buy more harvesters. The pressure of the civil war made Washington devalue the dollar and McCormick's money.

Old age life

The depreciation of the dollar has been bothering McCormick since the end of 1860, but his biggest challenge is that his factory was destroyed by the Chicago fire in 187 1 year. McCormick suffered the most in the city. McCormick was 62 years old that year and had millions of assets. McCormick once thought about retiring, and he left the problem to his wife. The wife's opinion is to rebuild. She is a smart, honest, diligent and capable woman. At that time, little McCormick was twelve years old. She hopes her son will become a useful and upright person in the reconstruction of the factory. The rebuilt factory is bigger and has higher output than before. Make McCormick richer. The company's profit increased from $650,000 in 1849 to1200,000 in 1880. 1may, 884 13, McCormick was already the richest man in America when he died in Chicago.

The great man passed away.

1884, McCormick died at the age of 75.