Chapter 19: The Industrial Age

Section 1, 2 & 3

Second Industrial Revolution

Period of rapid growth in the U.S. manufacturing in the late 1800s US had become the worlds industrial leader

Steel Industry

Steel = Iron that has been made stronger by heat and the addition of other metals

Bessemer Process

Invented by Henry Bessemer A way to manufacture steel quickly and cheaply by blasting hot air through melted iron to quickly remove impurities Use to take a day or more. Now takes 10-20 mins

Riding the Rails

As steel decreased in price, so did cost of building railroads Increased western growth

Oil

Important technological breakthrough

Using petroleum (oil) as a power source Convert crude (unprocessed) oil into kerosene

Could be used for cooking, heating and lighting

Electricity

Became a critical source of light and power Thomas Edison

Became interested in inventing uses of electricity Held more than 1,000 patents

Exclusive rights to make or sell inventions

1879 Light bulb

Few houses could get electricity

Built power plant to supply

Communication

1861 Telegraph wires connected east/west 1876 Alexander Graham Bell

Patented the telephone

Automobiles

1893 Gasoline engine to build first practical motorcar in US 1900s Thousands of cars being built in US 1908 - Henry Ford

Model T First to implement the moving assembly line in manufacturing

Greatly reduced the cost of building a product, making cars more affordable

Planes

Wilbur & Orville Wright

Built lightweight airplane that used small, gas-powered engine December 17, 1903

Kitty Hawk, NC Orville Wright made the first piloted flight in a gas-powered plane

Big Business

Corporations formed

Businesses that sell portions of ownership called stock shares Stockholders arent responsible for company debt, only for the stock they have invested in the company

Business Leaders

Andrew Carnegie

One of the most admired businesspeople Great success in steel industry

John D. Rockefeller

Successful in combining businesses Owned the countrys largest oil refinery

Leland Stanford

Sold equipment to miners Founder of Stanford University & Central Pacific railroad

Social Darwinism

View of society based on scientist Charles Darwins theory of natural selection

Thought that survival of the fittest theory decided which human beings would succeed in business and in life in general
Many business leaders believed that the rich had a duty to aid poor

Became philanthropists

Gave money to charities

Antitrust Movement

Sherman Antitrust Act

Law that made it illegal to create monopolies or trusts that restrained trade

Total ownership of a product or service

Industrial Workers

Working conditions declined

Low paid workers could be replaced easily

Lower skilled workers can man machines

Injuries increased Workers looked for change

Organizations

Formed labor unions to get better wages and working conditions 1870s - Knights of Labor

First national labor union Pushed for:

8 hour work day

Equal pay for equal work

End to child labor

Organizations

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Led by Samuel Gompers Limited membership to skilled workers Tried to get:

Better wages, hours and working conditions

Collective Bargaining

All workers acting together, they had a better chance to negotiate

Labor Strikes

May 1886 - Haymarket Riot

Protestors and Police in Chicago Resulted in the decline of Knights of Labor

1892 Homestead Strike

Pennsylvania

Left workers and Pinkerton guards dead

Labor Strikes

1893 Colorado Miners Strike

Went on strike for higher wages and shorter workday

1894 Pullman Strike

Stopped traffic on railroads

1894 California Railroad Strike

Halted passenger, freight, and mail trains for months