The Industrial Revolution Post Civil War Era

Major Events in the Industrial Revolution Early 1700s – Industrial Revolution begins in Britain 1764 – James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny 1764 – James Watt invents the steam engine 1793 – Samuel Slater opens first U.S. cotton mill 1793 – Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin 1814 – George Stephenson invents the first practical locomotive 1830s – First great railway “boom” begins in Europe & the U.S.

Major Events in the Industrial Revolution (cont.) 1856 – Henry Bessemer introduces the Bessemer process for steel production 1869 – Transcontinental Railroad completed 1870 – John D. Rockefeller starts the Standard Oil Company ($$$$$) 1876 – Alexander G. Bell invents the telephone 1882 – Thomas Edison constructs first central power station to electrify New York City 1892 – Andrew Carnegie forms the Carnegie Steel Corporation

RAILROADS Words to copy are in RED

Transcontinental RR  Lincoln & Republicans promised Transcontinental RR in 1860  1862 – Congress passed Pacific RR act (provided 2 companies to build a transcontinental line)  Central Pacific built East from CA  Union Pacific built West from Nebraska

 Many workers were required to build the RR, including African Americans, American Indians, & immigrants  Central Pacific = Chinese immigrants  Union Pacific = Irish immigrants Neither group received much credit for their work.

 Biggest Challenge – crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains  Engineers (growing field) figured out how to make tunnels work. May 10, 1869 – Transcontinental Railroad connected by a golden spike  Two ends connected at Promontory, Utah

Growth of Railroads  Railroads became more efficient after the Civil War  Began to make the rails the same size & network = connect railroad lines to another  Began to consolidate = combining smaller companies with larger ones Examples: US Airways bought out America West Time Warner bought AOL Pixar & Disney

 Huge railway companies were built  Important RR businessmen: Cornelius Vanderbuilt (New York & Harlem Railroad) J.P. Morgan (consolidated RRs) James J. Hill (Great Northern Railway) Edward Harriman (Illinois Central & Union Pacific RRs)

Railroads Change America  Helped end Indian control of the West  Tied together the economies of the West & East  Caused the U.S. to grow into an industrial giant (examples: lumber, steel, coal, aluminum industries)  Helped people settle and farm the plains & valleys of the West.

 Changed the way people thought about the country & environment – Pre-railroads = travel was hazardous, weather was difficult, needed water transport – With railroads = in cold & heat the trains kept moving, railroads made straight paths to cities without water transport (ex. Denver, Cheyenne)  Railroad agreed to a system of standard time – creating 4 U.S. time zones  1884 – worldwide time zones created

Time Zones