14.1 industry and railroads “the east and west have come together. never since history commenced...
TRANSCRIPT
The 2nd Industrial Revolution14.1 Industry and Railroads
“The east and west have come together. Never since history commenced her record of human events has she
been called upon to note the completion of a work so magnificent.”
- Dr. H.W. Harkness
Focus Your Thoughts . . .
What new industries would you expect to see rise up as the population increased, western
expansion continued, and more railroads emerged? In what ways might the industrial
revolution have changed or impacted the lives of Americans?
New Industries Emerge In the early 1800’s, the U.S. underwent its first industrial
revolution
Water and steam power replaced animal and human sources of power Workers made goods in factories instead of in workshops or private
homes
In the late 1800’s, new technologies helped industry grow to new heights
Electrical power replaced water and steam power Larger, more efficient factories produced more and more goods Quicker, more reliable transportation helped move goods
quickly/cheaply
Steel William Kelly (U.S.)
Wanted to find a new way to make steel Used a blast of hot air to purify molten
iron and convert it
Henry Bessemer (England)
Working independently, he developed a similar method which he quickly patented
Using the so-called Bessemer process, American steel mills began working faster and more cheaply In 1873 the U.S. turned out about 115,000
tons By 1910, output soared to 24 million tons
America became the world’s top producer
Who Cares?Steel helped transform the United States into
a modern industrial economy
Construction companies could build bigger bridges and taller buildings
Steel was stronger, less brittle, and more easily shaped than ironRailroads found it to be a superior material for
locomotives and rails
The Oil Industry Oil became another key commodity
in the late 1800’s
It was valued both as a fuel source and as a lubricant for factory machinery
In the mid-1800’s, people began using it to light kerosene lamps
As the demand for kerosene increased, companies began looking for ways to profit off of it
The law of supply and demand When supplies of goods and
services become plentiful, prices tend to drop; when supplies become scarcer, prices tend to rise.
Kerosene lamps
The Oil Industry Edwin L. Drake was hired to
extract oil from the ground in Pennsylvania
At first people mocked his efforts, but in August of 1859 his crew hit a crevice deep in the rock, as oil seeped up, the men scrambled to collect it in a bathtub
Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well
The output from Drake’s oil well was modest, but it drew plenty of wildcatters (oil prospectors)
Spindletop HillJanuary 1901
Anthony F. Lucas struck a rich oil pocket at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas
Oil gushed nearly one hundred feet into the air for nine days before it could be capped
The discovery at Spindletop kicked off an oil boom in Texas producing more than seventeen million barrels of oil in 1902
The Texas Oil BoomThe Texas oil boom lasted
less than twenty years, but it had long-term consequences
Many of the world’s leading oil companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Gulf Oil, and Texaco got their start at Spindletop
They refined crude oil not only into kerosene, but gasoline and other fuels as well These new petroleum
products became a major source of energy, fueling a revolution in transportation and industry
G-Dub and Di ck
Railroads Expand (Again!)In the 1850’s train tracks already
crisscrossed the Northeast and reached into the Southeast and the Great Lakes area
In the following decades, rail service spread even farther
Between 1865 and 1890, the number of miles of track jumped fivefold (5x)
The Transcontinental Railroad In 1862, Congress authorized two companies to build rail lines to
the West Coast
For the next six and a half years, workers raced to complete the first railroad which would cross the entire country . . . It was followed quickly by others
The Union Pacific Laid tracks westward from Omaha, Nebraska Workers
Irish, German, English, African-American, and Native American
The Central Pacific Laid track toward the east starting in Sacramento, California Workers
Chinese
Why Was this Significant? Regional railroads expanded as well uniting the country both physically and
economically
Promoting Business Railroads promoted trade and provided jobs The demand for rails and railcars boosted steel and train manfacturing
Promoting Growth The railroads also sped up settlement of the West
A journey to the West Coast once took months; now travelers could go from the Atlantic to the Pacific in just a few days
As a result, parts of the country which were sparsely populated began to fill with residents
Led to the adoption of standard time Earlier, people kept time according to the position of the sun C.F. Dowd, a New York principal, proposed dividing the nation into time zones; in 1918,
Congress adopted standard time for the nation as a whole Wherever the railroads ran, new towns popped up and existing towns continued to grow
and became cities
Transforming Chi-TownBy the 1900’s Chicago had been transformed into the hub of the nation’s transportation
system
Chicago Meatpacking Industry
The Union Stock Yards covered more than a square mile; railroads brought in cattle and hogs from as far away as Texas
Shipping Industry Boats carried good east from Chicago through the Great Lakes and Erie Canal and
south through a canal leading to the Mississippi River
Steel Skyscrapers Chicago’s steel industry and railroads depended on each other; after the Great Fire of
1871, the mills produced steel for the world’s first skyscrapers as rapid expansion forced the city outwards and upwards
Suburbs As Chicago grew, so did its middle class and they migrated to the new suburbs
Catalog Companies Companies such as Montgomery Ward, Sears, and Roebuck & Co. all relocated to
Chicago because of its superior railroad access During the first half of the 1900’s, Sears customers could purchase mail-order homes! In
addition, they could submit blueprints to Sears and Sears would send them the supplies to build their dream homes!
The Great Fire Burned from 9 p.m. on Sunday
October 8th until early Tuesday October 10th
Killed hundreds and destroyed four square miles of the city
No one really knows how the fire started, but it spread rapidly due to the abundance of wood, the strong winds, and the recent dry spell
One of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th century
Rebuilding commenced immediately and spurred Chicago’s development into one of the most populous and economically important cities in the United States “The Second City”
The Great Fire
The Great Fire
Did You Know . . . ?
Chicago is considered the birthplace of modern architectureFrank Lloyd Wright
An architect who once worked as a civil engineer in Chicago before taking a job at an architectural firm and then leaving to open his own
Most famous architect of the 20th century; many of his building still stand in Chicago and in other cities all over the world
Falling Water
In-Class Essay
Which of the industries we’ve discussed today – steel, oil, or the railroad – has had the
greatest impact on our lives? Do you think this industry will continue to be important in
the future? Why or why not.