Editing McCormick reaper (section)

==Making and selling reapers==
The McCormick's had a small blacksmith shop in Virginia that produced only a few machines. Cyrus McCormick contracted with other small shops to build and sell machines.  Finally he moved his operation to Chicago in 1847, and did all his own manufacturing.  Chicago was much closer to the wheat market, especially after the national railway system became centered there.<ref>[[William Cronon]], ''Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West'' (1991) pp. 313–318.</ref> 

Cyrus travelled widely across the U.S., Canada and Europe to publicize the reaper with advertising and demonstrations, and set up local offices to handle sales and repair work. He launched or defended multiple lawsuits in federal courts regarding patent law.  He did very well in the Midwest and Far West; competition was stiff in the East.  There were few sales in the South, which after the Civil War was impoverished, and had too much surplus labor. Europe was highly impressed and gave the reaper many technology awards, but farms were small and had little need for a reaper.  His younger brothers took charge in Chicago:  [[Leander J. McCormick]] (1819–1900), a blacksmith, supervised manufacturing, and [[William Sanderson McCormick]] (1815–1865) handled bookkeeping and payroll.<ref> Hutchinson, ''Cyrus Hall McCormick,'' 2:64–99.</ref>

Regarding the labor needed to produce one bushel of wheat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found a 95% decline in the time needed, thanks to mechanization:<blockquote>1894 being compared with 1830, the required human labor declined from three hours and three minutes to ten minutes. The heavy, clumsy plow of 1830 had given way to the disk plow that both plowed and pulverized the soil in the same operation; hand sowing had been displaced by the mechanical seeder drawn by horses; the cradling and thrashing with flails and hand winnowing had given way to reaping, thrashing, and sacking with the combined reaper and thrasher drawn by horses.<ref>George K. Holmes, "Supply and Wages of Farm Labor" ''Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture: 1910'' (1911) p.191 [https://archive.org/details/yoa1910/page/196/mode/1up?view=theater online]</ref></blockquote>


In 1868 demand for harvesting equipment was enormous, and McCormick sold 8,000 reapers. A new model, the "Advance" replaced the original "Reliable."   The Chicago factory employed 800 men, with little union activity except for the moulders.   Disaster hit in October 1871 as the [[Great Chicago Fire]] destroyed the factory, as well as 2,000 completed machines. The company lost $1.4 million, with insurance covering a fourth of the loss.  The records were all saved, and some of the machinery.  After the losses Cyrus McCormick was still worth $5 or $6 million and he determined to rebuild bigger and better than before. A new larger factory was opened on the south side of Chicago in January 1873 at a cost of $2 million. Its 700 workers built 15,000 reapers a year that sold for $150, with a profit margin of about $50. <ref>Rosenberg, pp.32-34.</ref><ref> Hutchinson, ''Cyrus Hall McCormick,'' 2:502-516.</ref><ref>Hounshell, ''From the American System to Mass Production''  p. 173.</ref>
[[File:Boys can use farm machines-1900.jpg|thumb|1900 ad for McCormick farm machines—"Your boy can operate them"]]

The three McCormick brothers feuded endlessly. William died young and in 1880 Cyrus finally bought Leander out. He put his son [[Cyrus McCormick Jr.]] (1859–1936) in charge as they made the key decision to automate the factories with new machinery. Instead of highly-paid blacksmiths building one reaper at a time, the factory now used semi-skilled laborers to help the new machines turn out identical parts and make low-cost mass production possible. Indeed about nine of ten factory workers were common laborers paid $1.50 per day. In 1882 the factory produced 46,000 reapers.<ref>Hounshell, ''From the American System to Mass Production''  pp. 156–183.</ref><ref>Timothy Messer-Kruse, "Strike or anarchist plot? The McCormick riot of 1886 reconsidered" ''Labor History,'' (2011) 52(4), 483–510 at p.489.</ref>