1. A New Industrial Age 1870-1900

2. Causes - Built on Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and scientific method Abundance of –Raw materials –Energy resources (coal & oil) –Cheap labor (immigrants) Technological Inventions New ideas about economics and entrepreneurship Government Help –Land grants –Protective tariffs –Tax breaks and subsidies to corporations

3. Vital components The number of inventions rose rapidly: –Between 1860-90 440,000 patents were granted by the US patent office –Before 1860, only 36,000 patents had been issued

4. Steel –Bessemer Process made steel more pure, stronger, cheaper, and faster to make –Coal mines provided the fuel for steel mills –Used for railroads, taller buildings, bridges, etc.

5. Oil Oil refining improved –Kerosene & Oil Used as a lubricant on the machinery of factories Helped drive the automobile industry

6. Transportation Railroads – transcontinental rail lines expanded –By 1900, about 6 major trunk lines (major railways) crossed the Great Plains and many feeder lines connected outlying areas as well –Standard widths were set for rail lines –Allowed industries to integrate across the nation Internal combustion engine –Allows improvements in automobiles –Only rich could afford, not many roads, no traffic signals, etc. Airplanes –Orville Wright takes the first flight, lasting 12 seconds

7. communications Telegraph –Developed by Samuel F. B. Morse –Communicated with electricity over wires Telephone –Patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 –More than 1,000,000 installed in businesses and homes by 1900 –Many women found opportunities for work as operators Typewriter –Easy document reproduction –The keyboard design is still used today

8. electricity Invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison led to many changes in American life –Electric lights –Electric streetcars –Appliances (refrigerators, vacuums, irons, radios, etc.)

9. Summing Up...