Industrial America At Work (Quiz May 30) Flashcards
Samuel Morse
sent first telegraph message (1844)
Second Industrial Revolution
US became industrial powerhouse after Civil War; inventors & scientists were financially backed by business leaders and the government. Technological advancements changed daily life.
Daily Life in 1865
- increase in indoor lighting (more accessible)
- work day determined by setting/rising of the sun
- candles & oil for light when affordable
- ice available, but expensive
- mail from East Coast took 10 days to reach Midwest
- US had highest standard of living in world by 1900 (growing industrial productivity = amt. goods/services created in given time period)
Patent
license giving inventor exclusive rights to make, use, or sell invention for set time period; 500,000 issued by Patent and Trademark Office of government by 1860
Edwin L. Drake
1858; sent by PA Rock and Oil Company to drill using steam-powered engine; struck oil 1859
Refineries
separated crude oil into parts: kerosene, gasoline (byproduct later used in automobile)
Thomas Edison
wanted to create affordable in-home lighting; developed filament in lightbulb, not actual lightbulb; developed idea of central power station (power plants)
George Westinghouse
improved lighting for long distances (home usage now more practical)
General Electric & Westinghouse Electric
formed to help spread use of electricity; factories used electricity to make processes more efficient (electric sewing machine) and home electricity improved daily life (refrigerator)
Communication
immigrants in the 1900s communicated w/ families in homeland more easily than in past; Morse Code in telegraph = communication revolution. Western Union Telegraph Company = several telegraph companies
Alexander Graham Bell
came to Boston from Scotland; invented talking telegraph (1876), set up American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) which built long-distance telephone lines
Railroads
post-CW America valued railroads over steam-powered ships, but train travel was expensive, dangerous, had no turn signals, and had unreliable brakes. Often funded by federal government (huge loans + land grants for Central Pacific & Union Pacific), but those were less efficient than railroads built in private sectors. 1870, carried goods & passengers coast to coast, but still problematic
Transcontinental Railroad
railway from coast to coast; formerly stopped at Mississippi River, but was later extended to reach all the way to California.
James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railroad (1880s & 1890s)
lower rates & higher profits
Railroad Workers
built from each end, then met in the middle– usually Irish in East and Chinese in West
Importance of Railroads
noisy, dirty, uncomfortable
- iron rails later replaced by steel; tracks became standardized
scheduling issues were rampant bc time differences
- 1883, adopted national system of time zones
revolutionized business & industry in US
- faster transport for goods, lower production costs, creation of national markets, model for big businesses, stimulation of other industries (iron=>steel)
Henry Bessemer
Englishman who, working separately from William Kelly of Kentucky, developed a new processes for steelmaking, in which carbon was added to molten iron, and from which impurities were removed to create a lighter, stronger, more flexible substance: steel. The Bessemer process (1865) made the removal of impurities cheaper and easier, and allowed for mass production. Steel led the way to a new age of building, and the Brooklyn Bridge (John A. Roebling, German), which was built with steel, became a symbol of this age. On May 24, 1883, electric light bulbs were strung along the bridge.
Robber Barons
name suggests that business leaders built fortunes by stealing from public
- drain country of natural resources
- persuaded public officials to bend laws their way
- drove competitors to ruin
Captains of Industry
served nation in positive way
- increased supply of goods
- expanded markets
- raised productivity & standard of living
- built museums, libraries, & universities
John D. Rockefeller
formed Standard Oil Company (1870) after building an oil refinery in Cleveland, OH (1863); gave $500+ million to establish charities/institutions that would benefit humanity, founded University of Chicago, and founded Rockefeller Foundation (gave aid to institutions working in public health, arts, & social research). He grew rich from grain/meat partnership w/ Union Army during Civil War (sold them spoiled meat).
Negotiated refunds on transport costs for his oil– no need for storage/insurance, so his oil was cheapest. He wanted to create a giant oil company and own all of his competitors’ refineries, so he practiced horizontal consolidation. He would then place himself on the Board of Advisors for each company.
horizontal consolidation
bringing together many firms in the same business (buying out one’s competitors)
Andrew Carnegie
convinced by Bessemer that steel would eventually replace iron; Carnegie Steel Plant of Pittsburgh grew into Carnegie Steel Company (1889). He bought all of the companies that completed the phases of production (shipping and rail lines, marketing, insurance, etc.). As his company expanded, the cost of each manufactured item decreased. Believed in Gospel of Wealth (80% of fortune went to some form of education; gave away $350 million) but also in social Darwinism. Argued that success of men like himself made nation better over all.
vertical consolidation
controlling the individual businesses that make up the phases of a product’s development in order to make more profits.
Gospel of Wealth
message that people should be free to make as much money as they are able, but should also give back to the community upon becoming wealthy
