In a time when safety was prized but not common in the workplace, when efficient things weren't affordable and when farms were around every turn, a baby named Andrew Jackson Beard was born. Born in Eastlake, Alabama, nobody could have predicted what a great impact his creations would have on the way many flourishing industries functioned. However, before he could amaze any patent company, he had to be freed and, well, have the ideas.

At the age of fifteen, he was released from slavery. He began working on a local farm, toiling for money needed to support himself as well as his new wife, whom he married at sixteen. His job, though, gave him the experience that would prove priceless in events to come. I am referring to his first invention, the farming plow. He was sure to make it as safe as possible, as well as economical...