The 2 nd Industrial Revolution

1. The 2nd Industrial Revolution 14.1 Industry and Railroads “The east and west have come together. Never since history commenced her record of human events has she been called upon to note the completion of a work so magnificent.” - Dr. H.W. Harkness

2. Focus Your Thoughts . . . What new industries would you expect to see rise up as the population increased, western expansion continued, and more railroads emerged? In what ways might the industrial revolution have changed or impacted the lives of Americans?

3. New Industries Emerge • In the early 1800’s, the U.S. underwent its first industrial revolution • Water and steam power replaced animal and human sources of power • Workers made goods in factories instead of in workshops or private homes • In the late 1800’s, new technologies helped industry grow to new heights • Electrical power replaced water and steam power • Larger, more efficient factories produced more and more goods • Quicker, more reliable transportation helped move goods quickly/cheaply

4. Steel • William Kelly (U.S.) • Wanted to find a new way to make steel • Used a blast of hot air to purify molten iron and convert it • Henry Bessemer (England) • Working independently, he developed a similar method which he quickly patented • Using the so-called Bessemer process, American steel mills began working faster and more cheaply • In 1873 the U.S. turned out about 115,000 tons • By 1910, output soared to 24 million tons • America became the world’s top producer

5. Who Cares? • Steel helped transform the United States into a modern industrial economy • Construction companies could build bigger bridges and taller buildings • Steel was stronger, less brittle, and more easily shaped than iron • Railroads found it to be a superior material for locomotives and rails

6. The Oil Industry • Oil became another key commodity in the late 1800’s • It was valued both as a fuel source and as a lubricant for factory machinery • In the mid-1800’s, people began using it to light kerosene lamps • As the demand for kerosene increased, companies began looking for ways to profit off of it • The law of supply and demand • When supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop; when supplies become scarcer, prices tend to rise. Kerosene lamps

7. The Oil Industry • Edwin L. Drake was hired to extract oil from the ground in Pennsylvania • At first people mocked his efforts, but in August of 1859 his crew hit a crevice deep in the rock, as oil seeped up, the men scrambled to collect it in a bathtub • Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well • The output from Drake’s oil well was modest, but it drew plenty of wildcatters (oil prospectors)

8. Spindletop Hill • January 1901 • Anthony F. Lucas struck a rich oil pocket at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas • Oil gushed nearly one hundred feet into the air for nine days before it could be capped • The discovery at Spindletop kicked off an oil boom in Texas producing more than seventeen million barrels of oil in 1902

9. The Texas Oil Boom • The Texas oil boom lasted less than twenty years, but it had long-term consequences • Many of the world’s leading oil companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Gulf Oil, and Texaco got their start at Spindletop • They refined crude oil not only into kerosene, but gasoline and other fuels as well • These new petroleum products became a major source of energy, fueling a revolution in transportation and industry G-Dub and Di ck

10. Railroads Expand (Again!) • In the 1850’s train tracks already crisscrossed the Northeast and reached into the Southeast and the Great Lakes area • In the following decades, rail service spread even farther • Between 1865 and 1890, the number of miles of track jumped fivefold (5x)

11. The Transcontinental Railroad • In 1862, Congress authorized two companies to build rail lines to the West Coast • For the next six and a half years, workers raced to complete the first railroad which would cross the entire country . . . It was followed quickly by others • The Union Pacific • Laid tracks westward from Omaha, Nebraska • Workers • Irish, German, English, African-American, and Native American • The Central Pacific • Laid track toward the east starting in Sacramento, California • Workers • Chinese

12. Why Was this Significant? • Regional railroads expanded as well uniting the country both physically and economically • Promoting Business • Railroads promoted trade and provided jobs • The demand for rails and railcars boosted steel and train manfacturing • Promoting Growth • The railroads also sped up settlement of the West • A journey to the West Coast once took months; now travelers could go from the Atlantic to the Pacific in just a few days • As a result, parts of the country which were sparsely populated began to fill with residents • Led to the adoption of standard time • Earlier, people kept time according to the position of the sun • C.F. Dowd, a New York principal, proposed dividing the nation into time zones; in 1918, Congress adopted standard time for the nation as a whole • Wherever the railroads ran, new towns popped up and existing towns continued to grow and became cities

13. Transforming Chi-Town By the 1900’s Chicago had been transformed into the hub of the nation’s transportation system

14. Chicago • Meatpacking Industry • The Union Stock Yards covered more than a square mile; railroads brought in cattle and hogs from as far away as Texas • Shipping Industry • Boats carried good east from Chicago through the Great Lakes and Erie Canal and south through a canal leading to the Mississippi River • Steel Skyscrapers • Chicago’s steel industry and railroads depended on each other; after the Great Fire of 1871, the mills produced steel for the world’s first skyscrapers as rapid expansion forced the city outwards and upwards • Suburbs • As Chicago grew, so did its middle class and they migrated to the new suburbs • Catalog Companies • Companies such as Montgomery Ward, Sears, and Roebuck & Co. all relocated to Chicago because of its superior railroad access • During the first half of the 1900’s, Sears customers could purchase mail-order homes! In addition, they could submit blueprints to Sears and Sears would send them the supplies to build their dream homes!

15. The Great Fire • Burned from 9 p.m. on Sunday October 8th until early Tuesday October 10th • Killed hundreds and destroyed four square miles of the city • No one really knows how the fire started, but it spread rapidly due to the abundance of wood, the strong winds, and the recent dry spell • One of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th century • Rebuilding commenced immediately and spurred Chicago’s development into one of the most populous and economically important cities in the United States • “The Second City”

16. The Great Fire

17. The Great Fire

18. Did You Know . . . ? • Chicago is considered the birthplace of modern architecture • Frank Lloyd Wright • An architect who once worked as a civil engineer in Chicago before taking a job at an architectural firm and then leaving to open his own • Most famous architect of the 20th century; many of his building still stand in Chicago and in other cities all over the world

19. Falling Water

20. In-Class Essay Which of the industries we’ve discussed today – steel, oil, or the railroad – has had the greatest impact on our lives? Do you think this industry will continue to be important in the future? Why or why not.