Economic growth and development - Steel and oil Flashcards
What was steel vital for?
The railroad development and the machinery and equipment used in the oil industry.
What did American steel production amount to in 1875 and by 1900?
1875 - 360,000 tons
By 1900 - 60 million tons (biggest in the world)
What was a key reason for this expansion of steel?
Technological advances. Steelmakers shifted from ‘puddling’ in the 1870s to the Bessemer process in the 1880s which enabled the mass production of good quality steel.
What happened to steel production after 1890?
It soared even higher because of technical advances and the discovery of mountains of high-grade iron ore near Lake Superior.
What was the other reason for the spectacular rise of steel?
Business organisation and size - Western Pennsylvania became the hub of the American steel industry.
Describe Andrew Carnegie.
He brought steel into the age of big business. He bought out a chain of steel companies, and by 1892 he had consolidated his operations into the giant Carnegie Steel Company.
What did JD Rockefeller do?
He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1970, beginning its inexorable rise to monopoly power.
What happened in the ‘Cleveland Massacre’ of 1872?
Standard Oil bought up 22 of its 26 main competitors.
What happened in 1882?
Rockefeller established the Standard Oil Trust.
How were the developments of oil still in the future?
It was with the motor cars and with the shift from steam to oil in powering factories and ships.
Describe the dominance of Standard Oil in the 1880s
It is estimated that 85% of oil refining in the world was controlled by Standard Oil in the 1880s.
