EARLY 20 TH CENTURY AMERICA VUS.8B Inventions and Innovations

Rise of “Corporations” A type of business organization where shareholders invest money into the business. Characterized by ‘limited liability’ where shareholders cannot lose more money than what they invested.

Bessemer Steel Process Invented by Henry Bessemer Produced steel at a faster, less expensive rate, while needing less workers. Also used to purify the iron, used to make steel, by oxidation. (Air being blown through the molten iron).

Light bulb Invented in 1879 by Thomas Edison. Prior to the light bulb, lighting in homes came by way of gas lighting. Electricity heats a thin strip called a filament until it is hot enough to glow.

Telephone Invented by Alexander Graham Bell March, 1876 Bell beat Elisha Gray in attaining credit for the patent by only 2 hours! First installed telephone was in Connecticut in First conversation was between Bell and his assistant in the next room.

Airplane Introduced by the Wright Brothers on Dec. 17 th, The world’s first power driven airplane in Kitty Hawk, NC. The plane was run off of a 12 horse power engine.

Assembly line manufacturing Introduced by Henry Ford in This allowed the manufacturing of vehicles less expensive which allowed more average Americans to purchase them. In 1908, the first car (Model T) could be purchased for $825.00

Industrial Leaders Andrew Carnegie  Steel Manufacturing  Used the Bessemer steel process

Industrial Leaders Finance and Banking  J.P. Morgan

Industrial Leaders Railroads  Cornelius Vanderbilt

Industrial Leaders Oil  John D. Rockefeller