McCormick's reaper could cut more wheat in a day than a half-dozen farmhands. The machine's speed increased crop yields, decreased the number of farmhands needed, and helped turn the Midwest into the nation's breadbasket region. Because farmers were able to harvest wheat so quickly, they began to plant more of it.
"Colonial America offers religious freedom." was the primary reason colonists came to Massachusetts, since Britain did not allow them to live the lives they wished.