Standard 11 SSUSH11 The student will describe the economic, social, and geographic impact of the growth of big business and technological innovations after Reconstruction.

Railroads Began to grow quickly after the Civil War

Steel Made by combining iron and carbon

Big Business Rapid industrial growth after the CW

Development of the West Trains make it easier to move west

Transcontinental RR By this time there are 3 TCRR

Chinese Labor Needed jobs since they were not allowed to mine for gold

John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil Company – kerosene

Standard Oil Company Created a new cheap way to refine oil to make kerosene

Monopolies Complete control of a product

Trusts Many companies come together

Thomas Edison More than 1,000 patents

Electric Light bulb Would change America forever

Railroads Began to grow quickly after the Civil War Began to criss-cross the country, taking supplies to every corner of America

Steel Made by combining iron and carbon Allowed taller and stronger structures to be built

Big Business Rapid industrial growth after the CW led to more investments Business is no longer small family businesses

Development of the West Trains make it easier to move west More raw materials are within reach now

Transcontinental RR By this time there are 3 TCRR The USA had more RR track than the rest of the world, combined

Chinese Labor Needed jobs since they were not allowed to mine for gold Given the dangerous jobs

John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil Company – kersosene Created a monopoly, made deals with RRs to transport his oil

Standard Oil Company Created a new cheap way to refine oil to make kerosene Became the largest producer of kerosene

Monopolies Complete control of a product Allows a company to set whatever price they want to charge

Trusts Many companies come together A way around the anti-monopoly laws

Thomas Edison More than 1,000 patents Not much formal education

Electric Light bulb Would change America forever Challenges Standard Oil as the light source for America

Railroads Began to grow quickly after the Civil War Began to criss-cross the country, taking supplies to every corner of America Caused more demand for goods all over the US Needed a way to keep trains from crashing into each other – time zones Cornelius Vanderbilt owns more RR than anyone

Steel Made by combining iron and carbon Allowed taller and stronger structures to be built Bessemer Process created stronger steel Andrew Carnegie becomes the major Steel produce, from Pittsburgh, Penn.

Big Business Rapid industrial growth after the CW led to more investments Business is no longer small family businesses Business leaders began to combine resources Investments and huge resources turned the US into an economic powerhouse, globally

Development of the West Trains make it easier to move west More raw materials are within reach now the network of trains created small towns throughout the west These towns will become cities as the RRs bring more people and resources

Transcontinental RR By this time there are 3 TCRR The USA had more RR track than the rest of the world, combined Allowed people to get products from anywhere in the US cheaply The ability to reach any corner of the US caused factories to invent mass production to meet the demands of the consumer

Chinese Labor Needed jobs since they were not allowed to mine for gold Given the dangerous jobs Not accepted by most people They were very different

John D. Rockefeller Became the richest man in the Country Standard Oil Company – kersosene Created a monopoly, made deals with RRs to transport his oil Would eventually give millions to help people, and is credited with shaping America

Standard Oil Company Created a new cheap way to refine oil to make kerosene Became the largest seller/producer of kerosene in the Country Caused prices to fall from 30 cents a Gal. to 8 cents a Gal. A by product of making kerosene is gasoline

Trusts Many companies come together A way around the anti-monopoly laws Will eventually become illegal- laws are put in place to keep this from happening Sherman Anti-Trust Act Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Monopolies Complete control of a product Allows a company to set whatever price they want to charge Become illegal – laws are put into place to keep this from occurring

Thomas Edison Not much formal education More than 1,000 patents Created the electric light bulb, at Menlo Park Used Direct Current (DC) power

Electric Light bulb Would change America forever Challenges Standard Oil as the light source for America This caused a problem for JDR and his kerosene company

Motion Pictures T. Edison creates one of the first devices to allow people to view moving images. This revolutionizes media People are fascinated by this technology

Phonograph Edison was asked to create a device similar to the Bell telephone He ended up creating a device that recorded sounds This changes media forever

Impact on American Life It is difficult to measure the impact of such inventions on American life But it changes America forever People are now able to enjoy life differently It gives people a way to “escape” from life for a while