THE EXPANSION OF INDUSTRY AND RAILROADS

A New Industrial Age

Industrialization

Industrialization was 1st seen in England in the late 1700s It eventually spread to America in the

mid 1800s

What Did Industrialization in America Involve?

A boom in the oil industry 1859-Edwin L Drake drilled for oil in Pennsylvania

Started the 1st commercial oil well oil boom Boom spreads

Boom leads to: Petroleum-refining industries

Used to transform oil into Kerosene Gasoline (byproduct of refining process) becomes

important with the rise of the automobile

What Did Industrialization in America Involve?

Rises in the production of steel Advances in technology allowed steel to be produced faster

and cheaper Bessemer process

• Developed by Henry Bessemer and William Kelly• Technique that removed impurities from iron to make steel

Steel made the US into a modern industrial economy It was used to make:

• Railroads and trains, bigger bridges, taller buildings, more manufactured goods etc.

What Did Industrialization in America Involve?

Change through inventions 1867-Christopher Sholes

Invented the typewriter 1876-Alexander Graham Bell / Thomas Watson

Invented the telephone 1880 – Thomas Edison

Invented the light bulb Later invented entire system for producing /

distributing electrical power

What Did Industrialization in America Involve?

The Factory System What is a factory?

It is where land, labor and capital are brought together It is where natural resources are continually being

produced into finished products

What Did Industrialization in America Involve?

The Age of the Railroads Between 1865 and 1890, the # of miles of railroad track

jumped close to six-fold! Significance of the Railroad:

Created a national network (via the transcontinental railroad)• National network national market • national economy

Fueled development of standardized time zones• Proposed by Professor C. F Dowd

• It presented us with consumer goods in a materialistic society

• It created an abundance of things

• It launched America on the world stage

• It has made us (America) into who we are

Significance of Industrialization