1. The Transcontinental Railroad and Inventions Change America
Lesson 2
The Transcontinental Railroad and Inventions Change America

2. Vocabulary

3. Transcontinental Railroad
a railroad that crosses an
entire continent

4. Pacific Railroad Act
a law passed by Congress in 1862 that offered two companies loans and free land on which to build a railroad

5. time zones
an area of the globe that observes one standard time of day; changes about every 15 degrees of longitude

6. assembly line
a method of manufacturing where products are carried on a moving belt to workers who remain in one place

7. People

8. Alexander Graham Bell American scientist, engineer, and inventor
credited with inventing the first working telephone
both parents were deaf, inspiring the focus of his work

9. Thomas Edison American inventor, scientist, and businessman
invented the electric light bulb
credited with thousands of other inventions, including the phonograph and the motion picture camera

10. Lewis Latimer American inventor, draftsman, and author
child of escaped slaves
worked with many other inventors, including Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison

11. Andrew Carnegie American businessman and philanthropist
immigrant from Scotland
used a new process to make Steel affordable, leading to the US being a leader in steel production
gave away his fortune to help others

12. Samuel Gompers American labor-union leader
realized how weak individual unions were and that they would have more power by joining together
formed the American Federation of Labor by bringing many unions together

13. Mary Harris Jones American schoolteacher and seamstress
Irish immigrant
helped organize major strikes
co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World
credited with helping coal miners to improve their working conditions

14. Events

15. 1862: Congress Passes the Pacific Railroad Act
California gold rush increased demand for transcontinental railroad
offered two companies free land and government loans to build the railroad

16. 1869: Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
two railroad companies, Union Pacific and Central Pacific, started working from either side – Union Pacific in Omaha, NE, and Central Pacific in Sacramento, CA
when the two railroads met in the middle, a ceremonial golden spike was driven in where the two met
reduced coast-to-coast travel time from six months to one week

17. 1876: Alexander Graham Bell Invents the Telephone
credited because he was granted the first patent, but there is some controversy around who invented the telephone
invented a device that carried the human voice through an electric current (wire)

18. 1879: Thomas Edison Invents the Electric Light Bulb
wanted to replace the gaslight
kept improving it until it was affordable and long-lasting
paved the way for the daily household use of electric light

19. 1884: Time Zones Make Travel Easier
before time zones, each city had its own standard time, so each rain station set its own clock, making it impossible to travel on a schedule
four standard time zones for the continental US were introduced
Sir Sandford Fleming is credited with the idea to standardize time zones around the globe at every 15 degrees latitude

20. 1885: Karl Benz Invents the Automobile
German inventor
named his new invention the Benz Patent Motorwagen
it resembled a tricycle with the engine mounted on the back, very far from what we think of as an automobile today

21. Big Ideas

22. Life-Changing Inventions

23. 1873 Typewriter made communication easier
increased legibility of writing versus handwriting
now any document could look nice and polished
many women became trained and joined the workforce

24. 1876 Telephone made communication easier
made it possible for people to communicate very quickly from far away
businesses could reach more customers
people could communicate with family members living far away

25. 1879 Electric Light Bulb
allowed cities to stay active later into the evening
some businesses could operate all night long
cheaper and better than oil
electric wiring for lights led to homes being set up for other electric appliances that would make life even easier

26. 1885 Automobile
people could live further from the city and drive to work
roads were improved, and more were built
created new business opportunities and jobs, like gas stations, mechanic shops, and fast food restaurants

27. 1895 Radio started a cultural entertainment revolution
people could stay home and be entertained
people could be informed, listening to presidential addresses and other important news

28. 1903 Airplane major increase in the speed of travel
made international business possible
led to the world being more connected and globalized
allowed people to travel to a whole new world of possible places, no matter where they started

29. The Transcontinental Railroad

30. Time Zones