American Iron, 1607-1900

Front Cover
JHU Press, Mar 24, 2020 - History - 362 pages

Winner of the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award for General Engineering from the Association of American Publishers

Originally published in 1996. 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.

In American Iron, 1607-1900, 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 references to the industry's environmental consequences. He establishes 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.

 

Contents

Ore Fuel and Other Natural Resources
27
The Rise of American Iron 17201860
55
Smelting with Charcoal
90
Converting Pig Iron to Wrought Iron
125
CoalFired Blast Furnaces
155
Steel
171
Shaping Iron and Steel
185
Iron Quality
199
Iron 7
7
Ore Fuel and Other Natural Resources 27
27
The Rise of American Iron 17201860 55
55
Smelting with Charcoal 90
90
Converting Pig Iron to Wrought Iron 125
125
CoalFired Blast Furnaces 155
155
Steel 171
171
Shaping Iron and Steel 185
185

Ironmaking Eclipsed 18601900
220
Appendix A Metallography
251
Glossary
307
Index
331
Iron Quality 199
199
Ironmaking Eclipsed 18601900 220
220
Copyright

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About the author (2020)

Robert B. Gordon is a professor of geophysics and applied mechanics at Yale University. His books include The Texture of Industry, Toward a New Iron Age?, and A Landscape Transformed.

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