Chapter 19: Becoming an Industrial Giant 1870-1900 PDF

# Becoming an Industrial Giant 1870-1900 ## Chapter 19: Introduction In the early 1800s, most Americans were farmers or shop owners. Small factories were predominantly found in areas of the Northeast. During the Civil War, there was an increased need for war supplies, farm equipment, and machines...

# Becoming an Industrial Giant 1870-1900 ## Chapter 19: Introduction In the early 1800s, most Americans were farmers or shop owners. Small factories were predominantly found in areas of the Northeast. During the Civil War, there was an increased need for war supplies, farm equipment, and machines of all types. After the railroads were built, transportation of people and materials between the two coasts became easier, making manufacturing possible across the country. Tariffs on imports increased the price of products from other countries, making American products more desirable. As the population grew, so did the demand for more and better products, making industry more widespread. **Goals for Learning** * Describe the development of the steel industry * Describe the development of the petroleum industry and the new ways in which businesses were organized * List new industries and inventions that changed the world ## Lesson 1: The Nation Enters the Industrial Age People all over America began using its natural resources such as coal, iron, lumber, and petroleum. Petroleum is a liquid that can be made into fuel. New industries developed as new inventions increased the efficiency of these resources. These industries attracted immigrant workers who provided an eager labor force for the new industries. ### **Entrepreneurs** Strong business leaders, known as entrepreneurs, helped American industries grow. Two notable entrepreneurs, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, used the opportunities of the Industrial Age to found their own businesses. Carnegie's role was key to the development of the nation's steel industry and Rockefeller's was essential to its oil industry. ### How Did Andrew Carnegie Develop the Steel Industry? Andrew Carnegie recognized that wood was most commonly used in bridge construction and that there was a need for a stronger, more reliable material. Iron was a candidate, but it rusts easily and isn't very strong. Steel, which is purified iron, was a more suitable choice due to its strength and flexibility. While steel production was expensive, two men had developed a more affordable method in the 1850s. William Kelly, an American, and Henry Bessemer, an Englishman, independently discovered methods of making iron into steel. The methods were similar, involving blowing cold air through heated iron to burn off impurities. When visiting England, Carnegie learned about these methods and embraced the steel industry when he returned to America in 1873. His company made steel for railroad tracks more durable than iron tracks at half the price. ### How Did Steel Become an Important Building Material? Inexpensive steel transformed many aspects of American life. It allowed for the construction of larger bridges like the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883. This bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time; a suspension bridge is characterized by wires or chains attached to tall towers that support the bridge deck. Other notable constructions enabled by the use of steel include skyscrapers that rose 10 to 20 stories high, earning them the nickname "skyscrapers" because of their imposing height. Steel also proved useful in construction of objects as small as pins, nails, washtubs, and barbed wire for fences. ## Lesson 2: Rockefeller and the Oil Industry An oil stream known as Oil Creek flowed through the village of Titusville in Pennsylvania. Many people believed that oil wasn't valuable, assuming it wasn't a usable resource. A scientist's report in 1855, however, claimed that oil could be used to create fuel for lamps. ### **Edwin Drake** This information interested Edwin Drake, who travelled to Titusville and after multiple failed attempts drilled 69 feet into the earth looking for oil with pipes to support the sides of the hole. In August 1859, Drake struck oil, marking the beginning of America's giant oil industry. As the oil industry grew, Titusville became home to oil “prospectors”. They sought “black gold” along Oil Creek and southwestern New York. The industry expanded quickly with railroads and pipelines built to transport the oil to refineries where it was made into various products. Titusville became a place to make fortunes overnight. ### **John D. Rockefeller** John D. Rockefeller traveled to Titusville from Cleveland, Ohio, to find a way to make money from the new oil business. Believing that refinement of oil was far less risky than prospecting for oil, Rockefeller organized a new oil company called the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1870. Within 10 years, Standard Oil became the most powerful oil company in the United States by controlling the production and price of oil. Kerosene, a fuel used for lamps, was the most common product of refined oil in the early years of the oil industry. The wide use of kerosene ended with the introduction of electric lights around 1900. By the 1900s,however, the popularity of the motor car led to a new demand for gasoline, a product of refined oil. ## **How Did Business Change?** Before the Civil War, businesses were usually owned by one person or a group of partners and employed a few workers. This structure served smaller businesses well. After the Civil War, the size of businesses increased, leading many to organize into corporations. These are large companies owned by shareholders. ### **Criticisms of Corporations** Corporations were criticized by some who argued that they were too powerful for small businesses to compete with. Big businesses that have little competition are called monopolies. Often, monopolies charge higher prices for products of low quality, making it more difficult for consumers to buy products if they cannot afford higher prices or are unwilling to buy lower quality products. ### **How were Corporations Important to Business Growth?** Corporations provide people with a safe form of investment that limits their liability or risk. Individuals can invest money in corporations because their liabilities are limited if the corporation fails. Money used for investment is called capital. Through corporations, many individuals can contribute to the economic growth of a company by buying shares of stock. When corporations succeed, the value of those shares grows, and the investors make money on their investment. ## **How Did Companies become Larger?** Business leaders sought ways to organize their companies in order to become more powerful. Andrew Carnegie, for example, wanted to avoid relying on other companies to produce his steel. Carnegie found a new business strategy: buying mining and transportation companies and combining them into one large company. This approach gave him complete control of every step in the steel manufacturing process, from obtaining raw materials to distributing the final product. This strategy became known as a vertical combination. John D .Rockefeller, on the other hand, decided to focus on eliminating competition. He bought companies that refined oil, controlling the entire oil refining industry. This method became known as a horizontal combination. Each time Rockefeller purchased a new refinery, Standard Oil Corporation became more powerful. <start_of_image> Horizontal combination allowed Rockefeller to eliminate competition. **Trust Companies** Companies seeking control over an industry began to utilize a strategy known as trust companies, which are large, powerful companies that often are monopolies. Trust companies provided a popular method for businesses to increase their wealth due to the level of control they provided. Trust companies were often found in the copper, railroad, tobacco, and sugar industries, where they were very powerful and employed a vast workforce. The growth of these industries proved the effectiveness of a trust company system and transformed the United States into an industrial country. ## Lesson 3: Other Major U.S. Industries The construction of railroads across the nation played a key role in several industries, among them the cattle ranching industry. The success of the cattle ranching industry in the Midwest allowed ranchers to ship cattle to large midwestern cities such as Chicago, where a meatpacking industry began to flourish in the late 1890s as a result of the work of Philip Armour, Gustavus Swift, and Nelson Morris. These businesses grew in part due to the use of refrigerated railroad cars which allowed the transportation of meat and the byproducts of the meatpacking industry to all corners of the country. ### **Leaders in Railroad Construction** Cornelius Vanderbilt's work to connect short railroads in the Northeast led to America's first great railroad system called the New York Central. The New York Central was the first system to use steel rails, steel bridges, and double tracks. James J. Hill, who was dubbed “The Empire Builder”, led the construction of the Great Northern Railway System in the Northwest. Hill encouraged immigrant workers in his region, teaching them new farming methods and helping start numerous businesses. ### **How Did Inventions Change American Society?** American inventors continued to develop new machines and tools after the Civil War, which was a period of great growth for invention. These inventions included innovations such as the telephone, the phonograph, the first electric lightbulb, and the first gasoline-powered automobile. ### **Thomas Alva Edison** Thomas Alva Edison, nicknamed “The Wizard of Menlo Park”, led a team of inventors that turned out a minor invention every 10 days and a major one every six months. Edison's inventions include the light bulb, the phonograph, and motion picture machines. In 1877, Edison used his phonograph to record the first words reproduced by a machine. He made improvements to the telephone by allowing people to speak naturally instead of shouting, a requirement of earlier telephone models. ### **George Washington Carver** George Washington Carver, an African American scientist, made a great impact on farming in the South. Born near the end of the Civil War to enslaved parents, Carver graduated from Iowa State Agricultural College in 1894 and joined the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He taught and completed research that led to the development of new products based on pecans, peanuts, and sweet potatoes. His work gave Southern farmers more options for crops besides cotton. ## **What Were Other Important Inventions?** Many important inventions emerged in the 1870s and 1880s: * Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. * Elisha Otis invented the electric elevator in 1889, making tall buildings easier to construct. * George Eastman simplified the Kodak camera in 1880. * Ottmar Mergenthaler invented a machine in 1884 that made typesetting easier for books and newspapers. * Henry Ford experimented with gasoline-powered automobile engines. He developed an assembly line, which allowed for the creation of more affordable automobiles. These inventions each became the foundation of a new industry and created more jobs for American workers, giving a brighter future to the country. ## **How Did Industrial Development Affect the Environment?** While introducing new industries, jobs, and wealth, industrial development also caused negative environmental consequences. It led to more air pollution from factories and water pollution from waste products of factories and mines. ### **The Environmental Movement** Concerns about the environment began to emerge in the 1890s which led to legislation to protect forests, wildlife, and rivers. National parks, such as California’s Yosemite National Park in 1890, were established for preservation purposes. Groups such as the Sierra Club in 1892 focused on conservation. Theodore Roosevelt, who became president in 1901, launched many important conservation programs. ## Chapter 19 Review **Instructions:** On a sheet of paper, write the correct word or name from the Word Bank to complete each sentence. **Word Bank:** * Andrew Carnegie * “The Empire Builder” * engine * George Eastman * meatpacking * monopoly * natural resources * phonograph * railroads * Standard Oil Company **Sentences:** 1. James J. Hill built the Great Northern Railway System and was known as _“The Empire Builder”_. 2. _Andrew Carnegie_ gave millions of dollars to fund libraries, medical research, and colleges. 3. Rockefeller’s _refinery_ refined crude petroleum into oil and kerosene. 4. A large company or corporation that has little or no competition is called a(n) _monopoly_. 5. Railroads helped people like Philip Armour and Gustavus Swift develop the _meatpacking_ industry. 6. Thomas Edison recited “Mary had a little lamb” on the _phonograph_, one of his inventions. 7. _George Eastman_ simplified the Kodak camera, making it possible for thousands of people to take photographs. 8. Henry Ford helped develop a gasoline powered _engine_ that would later be used in automobiles. 9. Cornelius Vanderbilt made his fortune building _railroads_. 10. _Natural Resources_ such as coal, iron, and petroleum helped the United States to become an industrial giant. **Instructions:** On a sheet of paper, write the letter of the answer that correctly completes each sentence. **Sentences:** 1. The manufacture of _B steel_ made it possible to build strong railroad tracks, skyscrapers, and bridges. **Instructions:** On a sheet of paper, write the answers to the following questions. Use complete sentences. **Sentences:** 1. How did Andrew Carnegie’s steel company become so successful? 2. How did James J. Hill bring people to the Northwest? 3. How is a corporation organized? 4. What was Rockefeller’s contribution to the oil industry? 5. How did Edison create so many inventions at his Menlo Park laboratory? **Instructions:** On a sheet of paper, write your response to each question. Use complete sentences. 1. What are some of the problems with becoming an industrial society? 2. Oil is one of the most highly used natural resources today. How do you think the world would be a different place today without oil? **Test-Taking Tip** When studying for a test, practice writing or saying the material out loud. Have a partner listen to check if you are right.