The Transcontinental Railroad and Inventions Change America Lesson 2 The Transcontinental Railroad and Inventions Change America

Vocabulary

Transcontinental Railroad a railroad that crosses an entire continent

Pacific Railroad Act a law passed by Congress in 1862 that offered two companies loans and free land on which to build a railroad

time zones an area of the globe that observes one standard time of day; changes about every 15 degrees of longitude

assembly line a method of manufacturing where products are carried on a moving belt to workers who remain in one place

People

Alexander Graham Bell American scientist, engineer, and inventor credited with inventing the first working telephone both parents were deaf, inspiring the focus of his work

Thomas Edison American inventor, scientist, and businessman invented the electric light bulb credited with thousands of other inventions, including the phonograph and the motion picture camera

Lewis Latimer American inventor, draftsman, and author child of escaped slaves worked with many other inventors, including Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison

Andrew Carnegie American businessman and philanthropist immigrant from Scotland used a new process to make Steel affordable, leading to the US being a leader in steel production gave away his fortune to help others

Samuel Gompers American labor-union leader realized how weak individual unions were and that they would have more power by joining together formed the American Federation of Labor by bringing many unions together

Mary Harris Jones American schoolteacher and seamstress Irish immigrant helped organize major strikes co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World credited with helping coal miners to improve their working conditions

Events

1862: Congress Passes the Pacific Railroad Act California gold rush increased demand for transcontinental railroad offered two companies free land and government loans to build the railroad

1869: Transcontinental Railroad is Completed two railroad companies, Union Pacific and Central Pacific, started working from either side – Union Pacific in Omaha, NE, and Central Pacific in Sacramento, CA when the two railroads met in the middle, a ceremonial golden spike was driven in where the two met reduced coast-to-coast travel time from six months to one week

1876: Alexander Graham Bell Invents the Telephone credited because he was granted the first patent, but there is some controversy around who invented the telephone invented a device that carried the human voice through an electric current (wire)

1879: Thomas Edison Invents the Electric Light Bulb wanted to replace the gaslight kept improving it until it was affordable and long-lasting paved the way for the daily household use of electric light

1884: Time Zones Make Travel Easier before time zones, each city had its own standard time, so each rain station set its own clock, making it impossible to travel on a schedule four standard time zones for the continental US were introduced Sir Sandford Fleming is credited with the idea to standardize time zones around the globe at every 15 degrees latitude

1885: Karl Benz Invents the Automobile German inventor named his new invention the Benz Patent Motorwagen it resembled a tricycle with the engine mounted on the back, very far from what we think of as an automobile today

Big Ideas

Life-Changing Inventions

1873 Typewriter made communication easier increased legibility of writing versus handwriting now any document could look nice and polished many women became trained and joined the workforce

1876 Telephone made communication easier made it possible for people to communicate very quickly from far away businesses could reach more customers people could communicate with family members living far away

1879 Electric Light Bulb allowed cities to stay active later into the evening some businesses could operate all night long cheaper and better than oil electric wiring for lights led to homes being set up for other electric appliances that would make life even easier

1885 Automobile people could live further from the city and drive to work roads were improved, and more were built created new business opportunities and jobs, like gas stations, mechanic shops, and fast food restaurants

1895 Radio started a cultural entertainment revolution people could stay home and be entertained people could be informed, listening to presidential addresses and other important news

1903 Airplane major increase in the speed of travel made international business possible led to the world being more connected and globalized allowed people to travel to a whole new world of possible places, no matter where they started

The Transcontinental Railroad

Time Zones