Cohn, R. L. (1984). Mortality on immigrant voyages to New York, 1836–1853. The Journal of Economic History, 44(2), 289–300. (Original work published in 1984)
Love, C. M. (1916). History of the cattle industry in the Southwest. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 19(4), 370–399.
STEM Connection: Economic History – Industry, Labor, and Agriculture
The 19th-century economic engine of the United States was powered by massive shifts in industrial production, labor systems, agricultural innovation, and transcontinental migration. The sources in this section allow students to explore STEM concepts within economic history—revealing how science, technology, engineering, and data analysis shaped human experiences from factory floors to cattle drives and immigrant voyages. By framing these events through a STEM lens, students engage with real-world applications of engineering, public health, statistics, and agronomy as they relate to historical change.
Industrial Engineering & Exhibition Technology
The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations provides a springboard into mechanical and industrial engineering topics. Students can analyze the design and operation of steam engines, textile looms, and early refrigeration systems presented at this 1853 New York event. These exhibits reveal the intersection of showmanship and STEM advancement.
STEM Activity Idea: Research and model a key invention from the exhibition using modern 3D modeling software. Students can assess its mechanical efficiency and societal impact.
Agricultural Science & Cattle Industry Logistics
History of the Cattle Industry in the Southwest and the Cattle Drives in the United States introduce environmental science, animal husbandry, and logistical planning. These sources help students understand the biological constraints of cattle management and the environmental impact of long-range drives across arid ecosystems.
STEM Activity Idea: Have students calculate daily water and grazing needs for a cattle drive of 1,000 head, factoring in terrain and seasonal variables. Include mapping the route and evaluating sustainable alternatives.
Data Science, Mortality Rates & Immigration
Cohn’s study of Mortality on Immigrant Voyages to New York opens up statistical modeling and epidemiology. Students can analyze historical mortality data using regression tools, then explore the causes (sanitation, overcrowding, disease vectors) and suggest hypothetical interventions using modern public health knowledge.
STEM Activity Idea: Create a historical data dashboard showing voyage length, ship capacity, and mortality rates. Students can simulate “what if” scenarios using improved conditions.
Mechanization of Labor & Societal Change
The Industrial Exhibitions reflect labor mechanization and its economic consequences. Students can examine how machines displaced or augmented human labor, prompting demographic shifts and new skill demands. Lessons might trace how specific trades (weaving, blacksmithing, printing) transitioned during this period.
STEM Activity Idea: Conduct a comparative labor analysis of handcraft vs. machine-made goods. Students can test time efficiency, material usage, and durability to evaluate industrial outcomes.
Youth Labor & Economic Displacement
The Orphan Trains story intersects with social engineering and economic modeling. Students can analyze how children were distributed across regions as a workforce solution to urban poverty, and the role agricultural labor played in absorbing excess labor populations.
STEM Activity Idea: Use demographic mapping and predictive modeling to evaluate how redistributing orphan labor may have affected population density, crop yields, or rural school attendance.
Sustainability, Innovation & STEM Ethics
All these events raise questions about the ethics of innovation: Who benefits from technological progress? Who is displaced? This section challenges students to think critically about STEM’s societal role, especially when labor systems are transformed by invention and capital shifts.
STEM Activity Idea: Facilitate a debate or inquiry-based project on whether the economic gains of industrialization outweighed the human costs, supported by quantitative data and engineering analysis.
Summary: Industry, labor, and agriculture in the 19th century were tightly interwoven with STEM advancement. Innovations in machinery, transportation, and agricultural science didn’t just alter economies—they reshaped societies. These sources equip students to analyze the data, technologies, and systems that underpinned this transformation, while interrogating the human and environmental impacts that followed. By working across disciplines, students can understand not only what changed—but how and why.