A Technological Revolution Daily life 1865 n

A Technological Revolution

Daily life 1865 n Indoor electricity did not exist n Activities depended on the rise and set of the sun n No refrigeration- ice was a high cost n Long distance communication was slow – 10 days for mail to reach Midwest from east coast – 3 weeks from coast to coast – Months to get mail from Europe

Investing in technology n Patents- license that gave inventor exclusive rights to product – 1790 -1860 - 36, 000 patents – 1860 -1890 - 500, 000 patents – Typewriter, telephone, and phonograph n n n Business leaders began to invest in inventions Create new industries and expand old ones 1900 American standard of living was one of the highest – Result of industrial productivity- amount of goods and services created in a certain period of time

Oil n 1858 Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company sent Edwin L Drake to drill for oil – Previously by melting fat from a whale or digging large pits § Expensive and time consuming n 1859 Drake struck oil and became a major industry – Made kerosene out of oil – Gasoline (byproduct) was seen as a waste and thrown away

Thomas Edison n Left his job in 1876 to become an inventor – said he could produce a minor invention every 10 days and a big invention every 6 months created the light bulb in 1880 n needed to have a generator to use electricity n – 1882 created a power plant in NYC that lit dozens of buildings – By 1890 power plants spread across the nation

n Lewis Latimer-patented an improved method for the filament of a light bulb – Wrote a book about electric lighting n George Westinghouse- used alternating current instead of direct current – Could travel longer distance – Transformer to boost electricity § Easier for home use of electricity

n General Electric and Westinghouse Electric were created – Electricity helped improve productivity of many business § Ex. Clothing- use of electric sewing machine – Created jobs Use of home appliances grew in cities- but not all people could afford to buy appliances n Rural areas took longer n

Communication n Samuel F. B. Morse created the Morse code n Companies joined together to make the Western Union Telegraph Company – 1870 - 100, 000 miles of wire and 9 million telegraph messages – 1900 - 900, 000 miles of wire and 63 million telegraph messages

Telephone n Alexander Graham Bell created the telephone that used long distance telephone lines – Started with only connecting to two places – Created switchboards that would connect an entire city § 1878 - 21 customers § 1900 -1. 5 million customers

Railroad NO standard for train tracks n Often only went from one city to the next and mostly in eastern part of the nation n Transcontinental Railroad- railroad that went from east coast to west coast n – 1862 - east coast to Mississippi River and from Omaha to Sacramento – Us government had to fund the rest of the track because private companies did not want to § Government believed that it would strengthen the economy – Hired Central Pacific Railroad- laid track east from Sacramento – Union Pacific Railroad worked west from Omaha § After 7 years they met in what is now Utah

n 1870 - railroads could transport goods and passengers – Noisy, dirty, and uncomfortable n New technologies – – Steel rails replaced iron Track gauges and signals were standard Improved safety-Westinghouse improved breaks Telegraph system so trains would not collide Towns were built around railroads n Time zones set up due to confusion of passengers n Shipping costs decreased n – 1865 - $3. 45 to go from Chicago to New York – 1895 -$0. 68

Railroad Revolutionized businesses n n Faster and more practical way of transporting goods Lower costs of production – Trains were the cheapest way to transport goods to goods were set at a lower price n Creation of national markets – People could now sell products around the nation – Resources needed to produce goods could be obtained from anywhere in the country

n Model for big business – Professional manager and specialized department came from railroad industry n Stimulation for other industries – Bessemer Process- cheaper and easier way to remove impurities from iron – Made mass production possible

Brooklyn Bridge n Many people who worked in Manhattan lived in Brooklyn – The only way to get to Manhattan was to ferry across the East River § Became hard in the winter n John A Roebling designed the suspension bridge to cross the river – Died shortly after the start so his son took over the process Started in 1869 and finished in 1883 n Became a symbol of American Success n