Steel Production. Agriculture

Transcription

1 Steel Production In 1850, the Bessemer process developed in England by Henry Bessemer, allowed for a more efficient process in the production of steel. This development, along with the use of steam power, fueled the energy and transportation phases of the industrial revolution. As the Bessemer process made its way to the United States, steel production was used to manufacture equipment, tools, and railroads. The steel used in manufacturing equipment spurred even more industrialization following the Civil War. Eventually, structures like suspension bridges such as the 1883 Brooklyn Bridge were constructed, and skyscrapers followed soon after. The use of steel led to quicker and more efficient transportation systems, which had a significant impact on the economy. Cheaper transportation lowered the cost of goods, which increased demand for those items. To meet this demand, factories used an assembly line, a method in which individual workers worked on the same task over and over rather than building one item from start to finish. This was a much more efficient means of production, which also lowered the cost of goods. As a result, many Americans were able to afford items that had previously only been available to the wealthy. Agriculture The 1862 Homestead Act gave individual homesteaders who paid a nominal fee and resided on the land for five years the opportunity to claim 160 acres of non-occupied surveyed public land as their own. Technological advances in agriculture were important to homesteaders success. In 1837, John Deere created the first steel plow, which allowed farmers settling in the Great Plains region to cut through the dense prairie soil easily. By 1875, the first riding plow was invented, allowing farmers to plow larger areas of land than before. Additionally, the invention of Cyrus McCormick s mechanical reaper, which cut and bundled grain, required fewer workers. More efficient technology reduced the number of farm jobs available, which caused workers to move to the cities. Demand for food led to the growth of commercial agriculture as farmers worked to meet this demand. While farmers benefitted from the railroads they used to ship their crops to the cities, they were often at odds with railroad companies over the high rates they were charged to store and haul their crops.

2 Telephone In 1871, Alexander Graham Bell of Scotland immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, to teach people with hearing difficulties. After experimenting for several years with an electric current to transmit sounds, Bell patented the talking telegraph on March 7, He had just turned 29. In 1885, Bell and a group of partners set up the American Telephone and Telegraph Company to build long-distance telephone lines. The earliest local phone lines could connect only two places, such as home and business. Soon central switchboards with operators could link and entire city. The first commercial telephone exchange began service 21 customers on January 28, 1878, in New Haven, Connecticut. The next year President Rutherford B. Hayes had a telephone installed at the White House. By 1900, 1.5 million telephones were in use. Alternating Current & Transformers George Westinghouse developed a major advance for electrical lighting. In 1885, Westinghouse began to experiment with a form of electricity called alternating current. Edison had used direct current, which was expensive to produce and could only travel a mile or two. Alternating current could be generated more cheaply and travel longer distances. Westinghouse also used a device called a transformer to boost power levels at a station so that electricity could be sent over long distances. Another transformer at a distant substation could reduce power levels as need. These aspects of Westinghouse s system made home use of electricity practical. By the early 1890 s investors had used Edison s and Westinghouse s ideas and inventions to create two companies, General Electric and Westinghouse Electric.

3 Electric Power The development of electric power by Thomas Edison in 1879 changed the way people lived and worked. The light bulb led to longer workdays because laborers were no longer limited to working during daylight hours. By 1900, industries began to use electricity to run machines. This led to an increase in the number of factories and the growth of cities as people left their farms seeking factory work. Electricity lit streetlights, which made the streets safer. Electric streetcars made travel easier in cities. Electricity powered appliances such as washing machines, toasters, electric irons, and vacuum cleaners, which made life easier for women who did most of the domestic work. Railroads The federal government subsidized the growth of the railroad industry by providing land grants to railroad companies between 1850 and The private companies sold the land to settlers to finance construction of the railroads. In 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met in Utah, completing the first transcontinental railroad in the nation. This provided faster transportation between the east and west coasts. The ability to move goods, resources, and people had a significant effect on the economy. Demand for goods spurred the growth of factories and businesses, creating jobs and putting more people to work. By 1883, refrigerated railroad cars carried meat and farm products to eastern urban markets while manufactured goods headed west. Massproduced factory items were available in urban department stores or through mail-order catalogs such as Sears and Roebuck for those living in rural areas. Western settlement and business-friendly government policies like land grants to railroads, protective tariffs, lack of industry regulation, and low corporate taxes helped create a national economy.

4 Henry Ford In 1908, Henry Ford began manufacturing the Model T automobile. By 1913, he streamlined the process by introducing the first moving assembly line, which maximized production in the automotive industry. The assembly line allowed Ford to produce cars that were much more affordable. By 1927, the Ford Motor Company had produced 15 million Model T cars. In addition to revolutionizing the automobile industry with the use of the assembly line, Henry Ford introduced the concept of the eight-hour workday. Reducing the workday for his employees allowed Ford to run three shifts of workers on his assembly lines. He also increased his workers wages to $5 per day double the existing pay rate. Ford s increase in wages made it possible for his employees to purchase the cars they produced. The convenience of automobile transportation provided Americans with the ability to live and travel where they wanted. The automobile industry eventually fueled the growth of suburbs because residents had the means of traveling into the city. Airplanes The beginnings of aviation took place on December 17, 1903, when Orville and Wilber Wright completed the first successful airplane flight. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first person to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean in a plane. By 1928, forty-eight airlines were in operation. World War I was the first time airplanes were used in war. During World War I, aircraft primarily flew reconnaissance missions, though eventually some had machine guns attached. Advancements during and after the war made planes safer and more effective. Many WWI pilots served as leaders during World War II, bringing their knowledge of flight tactics to train another generation of pilots. During World War II, fighter pilots flew aircraft on short-range and long-range bombing missions. Helicopters were used alongside airplanes in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. While planes had long been used for spying, the Cold War era saw the development of the U2 spy plane and eventually the Stealth bomber. By the end of the twentieth century, unmanned planes called drones became another tool of warfare.

5 Atomic Weapons As World War II began in 1939, President Roosevelt learned from Albert Einstein that German scientists had successfully split an atom and might be on their way to developing a nuclear weapon. This led President Roosevelt to accelerate the Manhattan Project, which developed and detonated the first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. World War II ended when Japan surrendered after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Harry S. Truman s decision to drop the atomic bomb initiated an arms race with the Soviet Union. The use of nuclear fission was not limited to weapons. Following World War II, the focus shifted to using this technology as a power source because it is much cleaner than burning fossil fuels. Radio and Television Technological innovations in communications improved people s access to information. By the 1920s, the radio provided a way for individuals to gain information, but it also served as a form of entertainment as sports, music, and drama programs became available. President Franklin D. Roosevelt turned to the radio during the Great Depression and World War II to inform and reassure Americans about events in the nation and the world. He delivered a series of evening radio addresses called fireside chats. By the 1950s, television became more affordable and began to replace the radio as a form of entertainment as well as a new source of news and information. Television played a role in increasing public disillusionment over the Vietnam War as the press aired war footage and reported military setbacks. Today people receive information twenty-four hours a day via radio, television, and the Internet.

6 Computer Management Although Henry Ford began the concept of controlling inventory in the 1920s, this process gained momentum in the 1970s when the Japanese Toyota Company embraced the concept of just in time inventory. This involves producing inventory only as there is demand for it. Companies no longer needed to have large inventories on hand, which reduced waste and allowed companies to pass on savings to consumers. Companies increased productivity by developing more efficient models of manufacturing and production. For example, time-study analysis involves examining a specific job to find out the most efficient way to accomplish it. The increased use of computers in the workplace made it easier to track and respond to fluctuations in inventory. Computers also made it possible to use robotics in manufacturing. The use of robotics not only improved efficiency, but in some cases made the workplace safer because robots could complete dangerous tasks. Changes such as these have forced American workers to develop a different skill sets than previously required. Satellites In 1957, the Soviets sparked the space race when they launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. Although this event increased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the research that resulted from the drive to be the first to send a human into space benefited Americans. One of the benefits included increased federal government funding of educational initiatives in math and science. Scientists created many products we use today, including Ziploc bags, Velcro, freeze dried foods, and insulation, as they prepared for astronauts to go into space. Alan Shepard became the first American in space when the U.S. launched a successful manned exploration in In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Today, satellite technology transmits all types of data including those used in global positioning products such as GPS, making it possible to locate places anywhere on the globe.

7 Cellphones In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, providing the first opportunity for individuals to hear and speak to one other over long distances. This invention brought people closer together. As individuals sought new ways to communicate, the free enterprise system allowed the telecommunications industry to develop innovations to meet consumers needs. The first cordless phones were introduced in the 1970s. By 1983, the first cellphone small enough to carry entered the market. Developments like the 2007 iphone revolutionized access to information by providing the power of a computer in a hand-held device. Satellite technology enables GPS to operate in our phones as well. Internet and Personal Computers As the computer industry evolved, new technology contributed to increased economic development and improved communication. In 1959, the first integrated computer circuit was developed. This resulted in large mainframe computers becoming available to businesses in the 1960s. The military played a role in increased communication when the Department of Defense developed the first computer network in This network, a result of government research and initiatives and private industry, became what we know today as the Internet. The personal computer industry began with Steve Job s release of the first Apple computer in By 1985, Bill Gates founded Microsoft, a company that provided the operating software for most personal computers. On August 6, 1991, the public was first able to access the world wide web. The use of the Internet improved our quality of life by making it easier to obtain information.

8 Polio Vaccine Advances in science and medicine have often been driven by researchers determination to meet society s current needs. In 1901, following the death of his grandson from scarlet fever, John D. Rockefeller founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research to research the underlying causes of the disease. The flu pandemic of 1918 that killed between 3-5% of the world s population prompted researchers to examine how to prevent its spread. In addition to an understanding of the use of quarantining the ill, the research also produced the concept of sterilization. In 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted polio. As a result, he founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938, now known as the March of Dimes. This organization focused on researching the causes of polio and helping those with the disease. By 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine to stop the spread of this infectious disease. Continued research and advances in medicine provide hope that cures may one day be found for many more diseases. Petroleum Based Products The oil industry began in the United States in 1859 when a petroleum entrepreneur drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania. By 1870, John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company. He was able to do this successfully because Edwin L. Drake had created a new more efficient method of obtaining oil in the previous year In addition to providing kerosene for lamps and fuel for automobiles, the petroleum industry became an integral part of the products we use on a daily basis, including items such as Vaseline, mascara, dyes, and many synthetic fibers. By 1939, the DuPont Company started commercial production of nylon, which was used to make stockings for women. This product had to be rationed during World War II, as the demand for petroleum resources increased. By the 1950s, new products developed, including both acrylic and polyester, which are used to create items from dresses to countertops. The widespread use of petroleum products in industrialized countries has caused widespread concerns about negative environmental impact.

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