New Advances at the Turn of the Century Times They ‘R a Changin’
Problems with the Railroads Iron tracks rust Tracks are not all one size No stop signals/brakes are faulty No time zones Runs on coal which is inefficient and messy
Solutions Steel tracks Standard size tracks Stop signals/brakes Time Zones Transcontinental railroad is built
Cornelius Vanderbilt Started by investing in the steamship industry Later dominated the railroad industry on the East coast One of the richest families in US
Effect on Daily Life What happens now that we have better railroads? Travel! New businesses open Can ship products coast to coast Mail is faster People begin to move or relocate and settle west
Changes in Communication 1829 Typewriter 1835 Samuel Morse-Morse Code 1837 Telegraph 1876 Telephone Alexander Graham Bell 1877 Phonograph Edison
Steel Bessemer Process- take iron and heat & cool it repeatedly to make stronger Effect on Daily Life: Railroad tracks Taller/bigger buildings like skyscrapers Better machines can produce more
Andrew Carnegie Scottish immigrant who eventually will dominate the steel industry Believed in giving money to charity-not to heirs-libraries!
Coal & Steam Coal is messy Needs to be mined Steam is faster but…
Oil! JD Rockefeller’s company Standard Oil dominated the oil industry Changes: Lighting, Transportation, etc.
Big Business Monopoly: one seller of a good or service Horizontal Merger: company begins to monopolize by putting businesses like them out of business Vertical Merger: company buys their suppliers Trust: Businesses agree not to compete through quality or price
Electricity! 1879 get the first light bulb Fixes it and opens Edison Illuminating Comp. 1882 get city electricity
Effects of Daily Life Longer work days Factories can produce more Will get electric run trains later Social life changes Safer than candles
AC/DC Wars Edison promoted DC (direct current) Westinghouse purchased the rights to Tesla’s idea of AC (alternating current) A distribute to promote each began because of profits