A New Industrial Age Chapter 6 The Expansion of Industry Section 1 Notes
Natural Resources Fuel Industrialization Civil War era – agricultural nation 1920s – leading industrial power Wealth of natural resources Gov’t support of business Growing urban population Cheap labor and markets for new products
Black Gold Little use for oil in early years 1840s – kerosene for lamps Edwin L. Drake Steam engine to drill for oil in PA Drilling oil more practical now Petroleum-refining industries arose Cleveland and Pittsburgh Gasoline for automobiles will become important
Bessemer Steel Process 1850 Abundant coal and iron deposits Mesabi Range, MN – 100 miles of iron deposits 250 million tons of coal produced in 1900 Iron – dense metal, often breaks or rusts Remove carbon to make it stronger Bessemer Process – Henry Bessemer Inject air into molten iron to remove carbon
Steel Usage Railroads biggest customers – track Barbed wire Farm machines – John Deere Transformed Plains into food producer Construction Brooklyn Bridge, 1883 Home Insurance Building, Chicago – 1st skyscraper w/ steel farms
Inventions Lead to Change Electricity – Thomas Alva Edison Perfected the light bulb, 1880 System of distributing electrical power Ran numerous machines Fans, printing press for newspapers, meat packing Eventually available in households Appliances Manufacturers could locate businesses wherever No longer essential to be near a power source (river)
Lifestyle Changes Light bulb Typewriter – Christopher Sholes, 1867 Stay up later, longer work hours, etc. Typewriter – Christopher Sholes, 1867 Office work affected Created new jobs for women 40% of clerical work force, 1910 Telephone – Alexander Graham Bell, 1876 Improved communications