Chapter 14.1 & 14.2 Notes (Industry & Railroads )

1. Chapter 14.1 & 14.2 Notes (Industry & Railroads) Black Gold Crude oil was nothing new-little use until 1840-used for kerosene lamps Edwin L. Drake-used a steam engine to distract oil from ground in Pennsylvania

2. Bessemer Steel Process • America had abundance of coal & iron (Mesabi Range, Minnesota) • Iron is a dense metal, but soft, can break, rusts, & contains carbon • Removing the carbon made the iron lighter, flexible, & rust-resistance-steel • Bessemer process-injected air into molten iron to remove carbon & other impurities • This process was used to produce more than 90% of the nation’s steel by 1880 • Railroads were the largest users of this newsteel—barbed wire & farm machinery

3. Inventions Promote Change • Thomas Edison-one of the greatest inventors in the late 1800s • Perfected the incandescent light bulb in 1880 • Created the phonograph-a device for recording and replaying sound • Created the kinetoscope-a machine designed to capture motion pictures • Christopher Sholes invented typewriter • Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone

4. Age of Railroads ｧRailroads made westward expansion possible for business & settlers ｧTranscontinental railroad-railroad that connected the east & west at Promontory, Utah ｧRailroad employed many Chinese immigrants, who were important to railroad construction ｧOthers dispised Chinese immigrants-posed a threat to the limited number of jobs ｧChinese Exclusion Act (1882)stalled immigration of Chinese-barred them from citizenship ｧSpread of RR fostered the growth of towns, cities, & new markets by networking ｧGeorge Pullman-built railroad sleepers & other cars/built entire town for his employees ｧGranges-farmer organization-complained about RR & high rates that kept them in debt ｧMunn v. Illinois-Supreme Court case that ruled that states have the right to regulate railroads for benefit of farmers/consumers. Significance: gov’t could regulate private industry for public interest ｧInterstate Commerce Act-established fed gov’t right to supervise RR activities & create a 5 member ICC to regulate prices between state lines