Industrial Revolution Recap

The Big IdeaThe Second Industrial Revolution led to new sources of power

and advances in transportation and communication. Also, this led to a major concentration of workers in urban

areas.

Main Ideas1. Breakthroughs in steel processing led to a boom in

railroad construction. 2. Advances in the use of oil and electricity improved

communications and transportation.3. A rush of inventions changed Americans’ lives.4. The rise of corporations and powerful business leaders led

to the dominance of big business in the United States

Main Idea 1: Breakthroughs in steel processing led to a

boom in railroad construction.

• Technological advances were important to Industrial Revolution, period of rapid growth in U.S. manufacturing in late 1800s

• Bessemer process, invented mid-1850s, allowed steel to be produced quickly and cheaply.– Helped increase steel production from 77,000 tons in 1870 to more

than 1 million tons in 1879• As steel dropped in price, so did the cost of building railroads,

generating a boom in railroad construction.– Growth of railroads helped the country expand and prosper.

Invention• Inventor Thomas Edison,

who held more than 1,000 patents, worked to invent an electric light.

• Edison and his team introduced the first practical electric lightbulb in 1879.

Main Idea 2:Development of Electricity

Spread • Edison created a power

company to distribute electricity, but could not send it over long distances.

• George Westinghouse built a power system that could send electricity many miles across the country.

Main Idea 3:A rush of inventions changed

Americans’ lives.

• New telegraph technology connected the United States with Britain by cable in 1866.

• Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876. • Telephones were rapidly adopted, the number rising from

55,000 in 1880 to almost 1.5 million in 1900.

Automobiles and Planes

• The automobile industry grew in steps.– 1876 – German engineer invented the gasoline-

powered engine.– 1893 – The United States built its first practical

motorcar.– 1908 – Henry Ford introduced the Model T.

• Ford was first to implement the moving assembly line in manufacturing, making cars more affordable.

• Wilbur and Orville Wright invented an airplane powered by a gas engine in 1903.

Main Idea 4: The rise of corporations and powerful

business leaders led to the dominance of big business in the United States.

• Many entrepreneurs formed their businesses in the late 1800s as corporations, or businesses that sell portions of ownership called stock shares.

• Corporate leaders were some of the most widely respected members of American society.

• Successful corporations rewarded not only the people who founded them, but also investors who held stock.

Andrew Carnegie• One of most

admired businesspeople of the time

• Focused on steelmaking

• Used vertical integration, owning businesses involved in each step of manufacturing, to lower costs

John D. Rockefeller• Standard Oil

Company was country’s largest refinery

• Developed horizontal integration, owning all businesses in a field

• Formed a trust, grouping many companies under a single board

Business Leaders

Leland Stanford • Made fortune

selling equipment to miners

• Governor of California, one of founders of Central Pacific Railroad, and founder of Stanford University

What followed with Industrial Workers?

The Big IdeaChanges in the workplace led to a rise in labor unions and

workers’ strikes.

Main Ideas• The desire to maximize profits and become more efficient

led to poor working conditions. • Workers began to organize and demand improvements in

working conditions and pay.• Labor strikes often turned violent and failed to accomplish

their goals.

Poor Working Conditions

• Small, crowded rooms• Specialization made workers tired, bored, and more likely

to be injured.• Managers paid less attention to working conditions.• Stuffy air• Unsafe workplaces• Long hours• Low wages• No job security