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Chapter 17. The New Industrial Age. Industries Expand. New Technology The Electric Telegraph Samuel Morse By 1900 the telegraph network was about 1,000,000 miles long 63 million messages were sent a year. Edison. Thomas Alva Edison The phonograph The motion picture camera
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Chapter 17 The New Industrial Age
Industries Expand • New Technology • The Electric Telegraph • Samuel Morse • By 1900 the telegraph network was about 1,000,000 miles long • 63 million messages were sent a year
Edison • Thomas Alva Edison • The phonograph • The motion picture camera • The microphone • The incandescent light bulb • 1879 the incandescent light bulb replaced the arc light because it lasted much longer
Communication takes new forms • The Telephone • Alexander Graham Bell • The first switchboard was in New Haven, Connecticut 1878 with 21 subscribers • 1880 - 54,000 phones in service • 1900 - 1 million • Transcontinental talk was achieved in 1915
The Typewriter • Invented by Christopher Sholes in 1867 • Saw invention as a kid toy • Remington Arms Co bought his patent • 1870 - women made up 5% of office workers • 1900 - women made up 75% of office workers • Why?
Steel Industry • William Kelly and Henry Bessemer created a process that made steel faster and better • Most of the nations steel mills were in Pennsylvania • Most steelworkers were Slavs
Other Resources • Iron • 1855 Soo Canal opened linking Lake Superior and Lake Huron to ship Iron from UP • Coal • Most coal came from Appalachian Mountains • Coal production 1870 - 33 million tons • Coal production 1900 - 250 million tons • Oil • Edwin L. Drake drilled for oil in Pen • Used primarily for kerosene lamps
Railroads Connect the Nation • 1870 railroads employed 163,000 • 1900 railroads employed 1 million + • Railroads influence time • Each RR company had its own time • 1883 time zones came to RR in America • This allowed RR to run smoother • 1918 Congress made 4 time zones official in the United States
The Golden Spike • The Transcontinental Railroad • Would link coast to coast • Lincoln started the plan by signing the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862 • It gave 20 million acres of land to lay tracks • Also gave 60 million dollars in federal money
Laying Tracks • Many hardships met the Union Pacific while laying the tracks west toward California • Indian attacks by Sioux and Cheyenne • Long waits for supplies of nails, wood, food, and water • Pneumonia and other diseases • Drunken brawls that killed workers
Laying Tracks • Central Pacific had problems as well • Chinese Workers • Worked hard and long hours • Received less pay than white workers • Had to buy their own supplies
RR Complete • The Union Pacific and Central Pacific met at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869
Of Course There’s Corruption • The Credit Mobilier was a construction company formed by the Union Pacific • They overcharged the government on the building of the RR • They pocketed the extra cash and gave stock to congressmen, that made them tons of money, so they would not look into their business
The Grange • Formed by Oliver Kelley in 1867 • Argues RR prices were unfair • They claimed that RR’s were public utilities • Elected officials that set RR commissions set price rates • Munn v. Illinois the Supreme Court said Granger Laws were constitutional because they were for the public good
The Interstate Commerce Act • Passed in 1877 • Required RR to make rates “reasonable and just” and it established the five member Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) • Prohibited RR from charging more for short hauls than for long hauls • It could only enforce its rules by suing RR’s, but that could drag on for years
Complex Business • Andrew Carnegie • Irish immigrant started with a job that paid $1.20 a week • 53 years later he sold his business for 500 million • Self educated man • After a job with the RR, he launched Carnegie Steel Corporation
Carnegie Steel • Turned out a better product at a lower price • He purchased all aspects of the steel making process to lower the price to the consumer, and to make more money • By 1901, he was producing 25% of the nations steel
Robber Barons? • John D. Rockefeller • Standard Oil Company • Sold low to drive others out of business, then raised prices sky high • Demanded rebates from RR or threatened to pull his business from them • Robber Barons - acted not to improve their own business, but to destroy others
Congress Acts • The Sherman Antitrust Act • “every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade…is hereby declared to be illegal.” • Tried to prevent monopolies from forming and hurting the public • It failed to do anything
Horatio Alger Jr. and Social Darwinism • Social Darwinism - Some people are better suited to survive in business, while others are weaker and will not succeed • Alger wrote many books that believed in Social Darwinism • His books encouraged people to take advantage of the Industrial Age