Transcript Pages D in Packet

Chapter 20: An Industrial Society
Section 1: The Growth of Industry
Section 2: Railroads Transform the Nation
Until the 1850’s, people lit their
homes with kerosene
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They knew about
petroleum, but didn’t
really know how to
get to it.
In 1859 Edwin Drake
found a way to drill
for oil – and that
started the oil
industry.
A lot of other things happened that
help America grow and expand
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America has a lot of
natural resources
(Helped industry and
manufacturing)
America had a growing
population
(Growing demand for
products)
Improved transportation
(shipping)
High immigration
(more workers)
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New Inventions
(helped work get done
more efficiently)
Investment Capital
(businesses needed
money to grow)
Government assistance
(helped businesses grow)
A new and better way to make steel
(cheaper and stronger) was developed
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One of its main uses was for
new buildings – some could
now be built 10 stories high.
Railroads were probably the
biggest users of steel.
The Home Insurance Building which was
built in 1885 in Chicago, Illinois is considered
to be the world's first skyscraper as it was
the first building entirely supported by a
steel frame.
The Home Insurance Building was originally
ten stories measuring 138 feet and another
two stories were added in 1890
People started using electricity
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Thomas Edison did
hundreds and
thousands of
experiments with
electricity.
He even came up
with the first
successful/usable
light bulb.
He even lit up
several blocks in
New York City, just
to show how
electricity could
work.
Alexander Graham Bell invented
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The telephone – the
first major
improvement in
communication since
the telegraph.
Other inventions –
and patents
for inventions:
Document giving you
ownership of an idea
or product
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Sewing machines
New motors and engines
Typewriters
Inventions for packaging
products
Shoemaking machines
Railroads had the biggest impact
on America at the end of the 1800’s
There was even talk of building a railroad across
the entire country – a transcontinental railroad
This was part of Lincoln’s
Pacific Railroad Act
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The Pacific Railroad Act, passed by Congress in 1862, authorized the
construction of the first transcontinental railway line connecting the
east and west coasts.
The need for a transcontinental railway to facilitate transportation of
persons and products across the United States became increasingly
clear in the 1850s due to the acquisition of California and the
resolution of the Oregon boundary dispute.
The Union Pacific Railway was to begin construction at Omaha,
Nebraska, with the objective of connecting with the Central Pacific
Railroad, which was to begin construction at the same time at
Sacramento, California.
The law provided that after each railroad laid forty miles of track, it
was to receive 6,400 acres of public lands and government loans
ranging from $16,000 to $48,000 per mile of track completed.
Two companies started
in opposite directions
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The Central Pacific (from
Nebraska) and the Union
Pacific (from California)
Some of the men that
worked on this railroad:
Chinese immigrants, ex
Civil War soldiers, freed
slaves, and many Irish
immigrants, and some
Mexicans
After 6 years of working,
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They connected at
Promontory Point, Utah.
They even drove in the
last spike – a golden
one – to signify the
event.
They had almost 2000
miles of track –
connecting all the way
to the west coast.
Just for the record, the
golden spike is not pure
gold, but rather a
mixture of alloys, as gold
is too soft to be hit with
a hammer. It is in fact
73% gold and weighs
14.03 troy ounces.
The railroads had another effect on
the country – they “changed time”
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They had to come up
with a way to keep
track of the trains
and their schedules –
railroad time.
They divided the
country up into 4
different time zones.
We still use those
today.
Ways the railroad changed America:
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Linked the East to the
West.
Helped people settle
in the West.
Weakened the rest of
the Native American’s
control of the West.
Gave people more
control of the west