The Opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883 displayed American ingenuity, ambition, and industrial might to the w

1. The Opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883 displayed American ingenuity, ambition, and industrial might to the world Section 1: A Technological Revolution Pages 456-465

2. Main Ideas (make sure you know these!) • After the Civil War (1861-1865) the U.S. developed into one of the world’s industrial powers • Entrepreneurs funded inventors & scientists leading to an explosion of new products & improvements to many existing ones • This 2nd Industrial Revolution continued to impact & change people’s daily lives at work and home • The social problems that accompanied early industrialization & urbanization still existed

3. Investing in Technology • Business leaders in Europe & America began to invest in new inventions, as well as fund scientific research to find the next big thing • How much innovation was going on?? • From 1790-1860 there were 36,000 patents issued • From 1860-1890 there were more than 500,000 • This investment led to a dramatic rise in America’s industrial productivity • The amount of goods and services created in a country in a given period of time

4. Growth of the Oil Industry I • Old Methods of Obtaining Oil: • Melting whale fat • Digging a huge pit and hoping it seeped through to the surface • Time consuming & expensive • Edwin Drake’s new idea: • DRILL! • Drake Oil Well Museum, Titusville, Pennsylvania

5. Growth of the Oil Industry II • Drake first struck oil by drilling in 1859 • Drilling for oil became a major industry • Crude oil was refined to produce kerosene for heating fuel & lighting fuel • A byproduct of this process is ethanol (gasoline), which was thrown away at first but became a separate industry in the early 1900’s with the invention of the automobile • Oil refineries became a huge part of the industry

6. Electricity!! Thomas Edison – direct current George Westinghouse – alternating current

7. Thomas Alva Edison • Famous lab located in Menlo Park, NJ • 1880 – invented the light bulb! • 1882 – opened 1st central power station that lit dozens of buildings in NYC • By 1890 power stations were nationwide • Supplying electric power to new products like: • lamps • Fans • Other new inventions (that means new industries!)

8. George Westinghouse • Used a transformer to boost power levels as the electricity left the station so it could be sent long distances • A second transformer at the receiving station reduced the power level so it could be used • Made home use of electricity for the masses practical!

9. Direct vs. Alternating Current • Direct • Edison • Expensive • Could only travel 1-2 miles • Alternating • Westinghouse • Cheaper to generate than direct current • Could travel very long distances

10. Impact of Electricity • Improved the productivity of business • Created new jobs • Made refrigeration possible • While most urban Americans benefited from electricity, many rural Americans went without the benefits of electricity until well into the 1900’s

11. The 1st Communication Revolution • 1st message sent by telegraph in 1844 • “What hath God wrought?” (bonus ?!!) • Technology perfected by Samuel Morse, who developed a system of dots and dashes to represent letters of the alphabet • MORSE CODE

12. The Telephone (what would you do without your phone??) • Invented by Alexander Graham Bell, 1876 • 1885: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. established to build long distance phone lines • By 1900 there were 1 million phones in use in the United States

13. A National Market is Created • Transcontinental Railroad: trans = across; continental = continent (North America, in this case) • New rails were to be laid between the existing track in the East and West Coast • Federal Gov’t gave huge loans & grants to two private companies to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure • Union Pacific: build from Omaha, Nebraska to the West • Central Pacific:from Sacramento, California to the East

14. Transcontinental Railroad • Most workers were immigrants • Union Pacific: Irish & Euros • Central Pacific: Chinese • Fiercely proud of the work they did • Moved to America for economic opportunity • Happy to have a job • Proud to contribute to the growth & strength of their new country

15. Railroad Improvements • Steel rails replace iron rails • Track gauges became standardized • Signals became standardized • Westinghouse – developed an improved air braking system • Train-specific telegraph patented for communication between trains (early CB radio)

16. How did the Railroads aid industry? • Faster & more practical way to transport goods • Lower production costs • Creation of a national market • A model for other big business • Stimulates the growth of other industries • Hmmm….this seems important, and there are 5 bullet points… I wonder if this will be an extended response question??

17. A New Age of Building • Bessemer Process: a cheaper, easier way to remove the impurities from steel during the steel making process • Advantages of Steel vs. Iron • Lighter • Stronger • Flexible • Could build taller, stronger, more architecturally innovative buildings

18. The Steel Industry • The geography of Pennsylvania soon made it the steel capital of the world • Pittsburgh sits at the junction of three rivers, thus a crucial spot for shipping steel… hence the football team PITTSBURGH STEELERS! • The Bessemer Process made the mass production of steel possible • Production of any good in a great amount • By the early 1900’s the US accounted for more than 80% of the world’s steel production