1. Chapter 20: An Industrial Society Section 1: The Growth of Industry Section 2: Railroads Transform the Nation
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2. Until the 1850’s, people lit their homes with kerosene
They knew about petroleum, but didn’t really know how to get to it.
In 1859 Edwin Drake found a way to drill for oil – and that started the oil industry. D

3. A lot of other things happened that help America grow and expand
America has a lot of natural resources
(Helped industry and manufacturing)
America had a growing population
(Growing demand for products)
Improved transportation
(shipping)
High immigration
(more workers)
New Inventions
(helped work get done more efficiently)
Investment Capital
(businesses needed money to grow)
Government assistance
(helped businesses grow) 4 D

4. A new and better way to make steel (cheaper and stronger) was developed
One of its main uses was for new buildings – some could now be built 10 stories high.
Railroads were probably the biggest users of steel. 5
The Home Insurance Building which was built in 1885 in Chicago, Illinois is considered to be the world's first skyscraper as it was the first building entirely supported by a steel frame.
The Home Insurance Building was originally ten stories measuring 138 feet and another two stories were added in 1890 D

5. People started using electricity
Thomas Edison did hundreds and thousands of experiments with electricity.
He even came up with the first successful/usable light bulb.
He even lit up several blocks in New York City, just to show how electricity could work. D

6. Alexander Graham Bell invented
The telephone – the first major improvement in communication since the telegraph. 6 D

7. Other inventions – and patents for inventions: Document giving you ownership of an idea or product
Sewing machines
New motors and engines
Typewriters
Inventions for packaging products
Shoemaking machines D

8. Railroads had the biggest impact on America at the end of the 1800’s
There was even talk of building a railroad across
the entire country – a transcontinental railroad
6 – a little more D

9. This was part of Lincoln’s Pacific Railroad Act
The Pacific Railroad Act, passed by Congress in 1862, authorized the construction of the first transcontinental railway line connecting the east and west coasts.
The need for a transcontinental railway to facilitate transportation of persons and products across the United States became increasingly clear in the 1850s due to the acquisition of California and the resolution of the Oregon boundary dispute.
The Union Pacific Railway was to begin construction at Omaha, Nebraska, with the objective of connecting with the Central Pacific Railroad, which was to begin construction at the same time at Sacramento, California.
The law provided that after each railroad laid forty miles of track, it was to receive 6,400 acres of public lands and government loans ranging from $16,000 to $48,000 per mile of track completed. D

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11. Two companies started in opposite directions
The Central Pacific (from Nebraska) and the Union Pacific (from California)
Some of the men that worked on this railroad: Chinese immigrants, ex Civil War soldiers, freed slaves, and many Irish immigrants, and some Mexicans D

12. After 6 years of working, D They connected at Promontory Point, Utah.
They even drove in the last spike – a golden one – to signify the event.
They had almost 2000 miles of track – connecting all the way to the west coast. D

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14. Just for the record, the golden spike is not pure gold, but rather a mixture of alloys, as gold is too soft to be hit with a hammer. It is in fact 73% gold and weighs troy ounces. D

15. The railroads had another effect on the country – they “changed time”
They had to come up with a way to keep track of the trains and their schedules – railroad time.
They divided the country up into 4 different time zones.
We still use those today. D

16. Ways the railroad changed America:
Linked the East to the West.
Helped people settle in the West.
Weakened the rest of the Native American’s control of the West.
Gave people more control of the west 7 D

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8-9 on your own