Becoming an Industrial Nation

What are some inventions that have recently come out that have changed the way people live their lives?

New Ideas & New Inventions  The late 1800’s was a time when new inventions and technology spurred rapid industrial expansion in the U.S.  This time period is also known as the Second Industrial Revolution.  This era of industrial change dramatically altered manufacturing, transportation, and the way Americans lived their lives.

Steel SSSSteel was not an unknown metal during the 1800’s. IIIIt is created through the transformation of iron ore and was extremely expensive to make. TTTThis all changed when Henry Bessemer developed the Bessemer process, which burned off the impurities in molten iron with a blast of hot air. SSSSteel is much stronger than iron. hhhh tttt tttt pppp :::: //// //// ssss tttt rrrr eeee aaaa mmmm iiii nnnn gggg.... dddd iiii ssss cccc oooo vvvv eeee rrrr yyyy eeee dddd uuuu cccc aaaa tttt iiii oooo nnnn.... cccc oooo mmmm //// ssss eeee aaaa rrrr cccc hhhh //// aaaa ssss ssss eeee tttt DDDD eeee tttt aaaa iiii llll.... cccc ffff mmmm ???? gggg uuuu iiii dddd AAAA ssss ssss eeee tttt IIII DDDD ==== 3333 BBBB EEEE CCCC 8888 EEEE DDDD DDDD BBBB CCCC BBBB BBBB DDDD CCCC 6666 AAAA 1111 CCCC 3333

So Pittsburgh was the steel capital of the U.S……what now makes sense to all the sports fans?

Oil  The existence of crude oil was known for hundreds of years.  Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in the U.S. in 1859 near Titusville, Pennsylvania.  In the late 1800’s, crude oil began to be refined.  Oil could be used to make kerosene for lamps  The main industrial use of oil came with the creation of petroleum.  assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=3BEC8E51-6DD6- 480B-8CBB-57D477C6A1C3 assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=3BEC8E51-6DD6- 480B-8CBB-57D477C6A1C3 assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=3BEC8E51-6DD6- 480B-8CBB-57D477C6A1C3

Horseless Carriages & Engines  Advancements in oil refinement led to the development of motorized vehicles.  These innovations led Nikolaus A. Otto to invent the first internal combustion engine in  These engines were powered by gasoline and led to more advanced horseless carriages, which were previously powered by steam engines.

Airplanes  Internal combustion engines also led to advances in flight.  Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first to create a working airplane.  Their maiden flight on December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was only a mere 12 seconds long covering only 120 feet; however, their achievement ushered in the “Age of Flight.”

Telegraph  The telegraph, developed by Samuel Morse, offered a means of communicated over wires with electricity.  Morse filed for a patent in  A patent is a guarantee to protect an inventor’s right to make, use, or sell the invention.  Telegraphs soon grew to be an important means of communication in the 1800’s.

Telephone  Alexander Graham Bell patented the “talking telegraph” in March  By the end of the 1800’s, more than a million telephones had been installed in homes and business across the U.S.

Typewriter  The typewriter was designed by Christopher Sholes in  Businesses created whole departments whose sole job was to type.  Women made up the majority of these workers, making the typewriter an extremely important reason why women were able to joined the workforce.

Thomas Edison  Thomas Edison was a very important inventor during the Second Industrial Revolution.  In 1876, he set up a workshop in Menlo Park, New Jersey.  He was nicknamed the “Wizard of Menlo Park.”  By the time he died, Edison held over 1,000 patents.

Hypothetical Situation  A group of computer hackers have successfully hacked into all the electric companies across the United States and have halted the flow of electricity across the country. In a panic, millions of Americans flood the stores in search of batteries and portable generators. You and your family are not one of the lucky families to acquire a generator or extra batteries. You are informed that it is going to take approximately one month for the electric companies to reboot their computer systems and restore the flow of electricity to the country. Essentially you and your family are going to go through a month long blackout.

 Your assignment is to work in groups of 3 and discuss what life would be like for that month. Try to think of things you use in your everyday life that require any amount of electricity. Also, try to think of things “outside the box” that you use that require electricity. For example, cars would not be able to fill up with gasoline because the pumps are run electronically. Make a list of 10 things and be ready to discuss them.

Working Class TTTThe industrialization of America caused a huge demand for laborers. MMMMany jobs were filled by immigrants hoping to build a better life. OOOOther positions were filled by Southern African Americans, women, and children IIIIn the late 1800’s, 20% of American children between ages 10 – 15 worked for wages

Working Conditions  Working conditions in factories were extremely horrible.  Workers worked hour shifts, 6 days a week, for less than $10 a week.  Laborers were often fatigued due to such long hours, which caused the risk of injury or death to increase.  In 1881, approximately 30,000 railroad workers were killed or injured.

Company towns  Employers sometimes set up company towns in order to gain more control over workers.  In these towns the company controlled the housing and the retail businesses workers used.  Workers who lived in these towns were paid in currency that could only be used in the company town.

Laissez-faire  Even though the government had passed the Sherman Antitrust Act, little was being done to stop the mistreatment of workers.  As a result of the government’s neglect of the worker, the gap between the wealthy and poor was widening.  By 1890, 10% of the population controlled 75% of the nation’s wealth.

Workers Organize  Workers knew that the only way to stop their plight was by organizing.  Uriah Stephens led a group of nine Philadelphia garment workers to form the Knights of Labor, one of the earliest national unions.  In 1879, Terence Powderly became its leader and membership skyrocketed.  Under Powderly, the Knights saw membership by skilled & unskilled workers, African- Americans (although not at first), and women.

The Great Upheaval  In 1886, economic depression and other factors led to a time of intense strikes and violent labor confrontations that became known as the Great Upheaval.  During the year, there were roughly 1,500 strikes involving approximately 400,000 workers.  Some of these like the Haymarket Riot turned deadly.  Chicago workers were striking ensure a 8-hour work when a bomb went off among the police. When it was all over, 70 officers were wounded and 8 people were dead.

Employers fight back  Employers used different methods to combat unions  Blacklists: lists of union supporters, who would not be allowed to work.  Lockouts: if workers did strike, many employers locked the union members out and brought in nonunion workers, also known as scabs, to perform their jobs.  These measures alarmed skilled laborers an as a result they broke away and joined the American Federation of Labor, founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886.

Infamous Strikes  Homestead Strike  In 1892, workers of Carnegie’s Steel Company plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania struck to protest a wage cut. In the end 16 people were killed.  Pullman Strike  In 1894, workers of the Pullman sleeping-car factory in Pullman, Illinois struck because George Pullman cut wages but did not lower prices in the company town.  As head of the American Railway Union (ARU), Eugene Debs supported the strikers.  The government stepped in an ended the strike and essentially ended the ARU.