Industrial Revolution of 1860

Quiz

In 1860 another industrial revolution took place in America. You could call it Part II of the Industrial Revolution that took place in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. The population in America had spread westward and a new way of transportation was needed so people could travel faster from the West to East and East to West. What could be made to solve this problem? This was the perfect job for a train. Also, American’s had discovered new natural resources in which many could mine. Steel had become a huge industry in America and the new inventions were popping up that used electricity. This was a great time to have an Industrial Revolution, for the Civil war had torn apart the country and this would help rebuild it.

Transcontinental Railroad

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party had promised the

Country a transcontinental (across the country) railroad if he was elected

president. So, in 1862 Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act. The Central

Pacific would start building in Sacramento, California and move eastward.

The Pacific would start building in Omaha Nebraska moving westward. The

were offered government land and loans in exchange for building the railroad.

All different races helped build the tracks including, African American, Irish

immigrants, American Indians, and Chinese immigrants. One of the harder

tasks was laying track in the Sierra Nevada. The mountains were what made it hard. In reality the Central Pacific was racing the Union Pacific to see who could lay the most track. By May of 1869 the Union Pacific had laid 1,069 miles of track and the Central Pacific, 690. On May 10^th, 1869 the tracks were connected by driving a golden spike into the tracks. Tracks were combined with other companies in the East to for a continuous railroad.

This railroad changed America. America’s economy grew. Goods like lumber, minerals, livestock and grain were brought form the West to the East. This changed everything. Lumber was used for building houses, livestock turned into more food and minerals turned into steal. The railroad brought many people to the west. Farming there increased along with the good that came from it. Unfortunately, the railroad ended Indian control in the West. Indians were forced into reservation and even then the railroads track was laid right through them. New Eastern farmers hunted the Indians buffalo. All in all, this took away the Indians way of life.

Steel

Steel was one of the biggest things that came during the Industrial Revolution of 1860. Steel is an iron alloy; this mixture of iron and other metals like copper, manganese, nickel, along with carbon.

The was made by using the Bessemer process. Iron was poured into a red-hot

converter where it was mixed with air and alloy. This production required both coal

and iron. Between 1870 and 1900 lots of these products were being mined.

Thus, the steel production increased. It was used to help build railroad and many

other products.

Inventions in Electricity

Inventors had already found a new thing, electricity. Now they were inventing things that used it. Nikola Tesla had invented a generator. By 1890 he had used it harness Niagara Falls energy and use it for a cheap source of electricity. In 1879 Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb. He also built a power plant to supply industries with electricity so they could manufacture the light bulb. In the 1880’s homes started to be powered with electricity. Another part of the America that started to advance was communication. The telegraph made long distance communication

possible. In the 1840’s telegraph stations in America had multiplied dramatically. Americans

could now talk to people in Europe quickly. In 1876 Alexander Bell invented the telephone.

Before the telephone was invented Alexander had been working on a telecom that became

successful. By 1900 close to 1.5 million telephones were up and working in the U.S.

Interesting Sites

· Transcontinental Railroad

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/goldenspike.htm

http://www.bushong.net/dawn/about/college/ids100/history.shtml

· Steel

http://www.ussteel.com/corp/company/profile/history.asp

· Inventions

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1800b.shtml

http://www.telephonymuseum.com/telephone%20history.htm

Pictures Found At

1. http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=62119&rendTypeId=4

2. http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/~walters/web%20104/industrial%20steel.jpg

3. http://www.twu-local32.ca/pics/First%20telephone.gif