How does industry “boom” in the US? The Expansion of Industry How does industry “boom” in the US?
1) water 2) coal 3) oil 4) iron ore Wealth of Natural Resources - US possessed many natural resources to fuel industrialization 1) water 2) coal 3) oil 4) iron ore
Black Gold Edwin L. Drake developed a steam powered drill, could now reach oil underground, oil booms in Pittsburgh & Cleveland Patillo Higgins & investors get largest oil strike in US in Beaumont, Texas – oil industry becomes centered in Texas
East coast & midwest have large deposits of iron & coal The Steel Boom iron ore coal East coast & midwest have large deposits of iron & coal Pittsburgh 1850: Henry Bessemer develops an easy & cheap method to purify iron to create steel Bessemer causes major “steel boom” in Pittsburgh
Inventions Expand Industry 1876 : Thomas Edison sets up research laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ - 420 patented inventions 1890: Edison & George Westinghouse design a system to produce and distribute electricity called a powerhouse Sig: Power can be delivered anywhere in country
Transcontinental Railroad Using immigrants, Union Pacific & Central Pacific race to finish a coast to coast railway – finished & connected in 1889 Positives: allowed faster westward expansion & standard time Negatives: Credit Moblier Scandal in which RR companies added extra miles of track to make more $, kickbacks to gov officials
Building the Transcontinental Railroad Which groups built the railroad? What geographic challenge was there in building the railroad? Who was brought in for the “deadly jobs”? Discuss: What were positives & negatives of the railroad boom?