I deduced that one major technological innovation which influenced life upon the Great Plains, was the steel plow. I came to this conclusion based upon the great impact the invention had not only upon life in plains, but throughout the U.S. Before the invention of the steel plow; the steel spade was used, and were introduced by the Europeans, and although the spade worked well in the east, it was rather difficult in the plains; thus the soil was rough. As a result of John Deere; a blacksmith who desired to create an easier tool to break up tough, dry soil; he constructed the steel plow. Before the invention of the steel plow, it could take up to 96 hours to hoe just an acre of land using a traditional steel spade. The steel plow allowed for