How Steel Changed America
How Steel changed America
One of the greatest discovers that transformed cities to what they are now is steel industry. The rise of the steel industry in the United States drove America's growth as a world economic power. “The industrialization of America made steel the number-one selling product. Steel was used in the construction and maintenance of railroads as well as nearly every other industry of the day (Carnegie, Andrew).” Even thou steel had been used during the early days of European settlement began it was not until the 19 century when new technological advances that allowed steel industry to produce tons of steel for cheap. One of technology advances that made it possible to produce more steel was Bessemer converter which was invented by Henry Bessemer. “His machine, the, blew air over molten iron from a blast furnace so as to remove impurities and create a substance of a uniform consistency(Rees, Jonathan).” But steel was not produce in mass amount until Andrew Carnegie came and created a steel industry that can produce more steel then anybody out there. “Carnegie's first experience in industry came when he invested in the iron business during the 1860s. His genius was to champion technological innovations like the Bessemer converter and the Jones mixer, which sped the delivery of iron from the blast furnace to the converter, in order to cut production costs and undersell his competitors (Rees, Jonathan).”
Steel only had one competitor to compete with it market and that was iron. Iron was push aside in the market because steel was cheaper to produce and steel was also stronger. “As steel prices dropped dramatically, consumers increasingly chose the cheaper, harder, more durable metal (Rees, Jonathan).” This made it more affordable to buy for the making high rise building, bridges, rails roads and anything that needed to be built to last for a long time. “Mass production of steel was an outgrowth of the nineteenth-century "transportation
One of the greatest discovers that transformed cities to what they are now is steel industry. The rise of the steel industry in the United States drove America's growth as a world economic power. “The industrialization of America made steel the number-one selling product. Steel was used in the construction and maintenance of railroads as well as nearly every other industry of the day (Carnegie, Andrew).” Even thou steel had been used during the early days of European settlement began it was not until the 19 century when new technological advances that allowed steel industry to produce tons of steel for cheap. One of technology advances that made it possible to produce more steel was Bessemer converter which was invented by Henry Bessemer. “His machine, the, blew air over molten iron from a blast furnace so as to remove impurities and create a substance of a uniform consistency(Rees, Jonathan).” But steel was not produce in mass amount until Andrew Carnegie came and created a steel industry that can produce more steel then anybody out there. “Carnegie's first experience in industry came when he invested in the iron business during the 1860s. His genius was to champion technological innovations like the Bessemer converter and the Jones mixer, which sped the delivery of iron from the blast furnace to the converter, in order to cut production costs and undersell his competitors (Rees, Jonathan).”
Steel only had one competitor to compete with it market and that was iron. Iron was push aside in the market because steel was cheaper to produce and steel was also stronger. “As steel prices dropped dramatically, consumers increasingly chose the cheaper, harder, more durable metal (Rees, Jonathan).” This made it more affordable to buy for the making high rise building, bridges, rails roads and anything that needed to be built to last for a long time. “Mass production of steel was an outgrowth of the nineteenth-century "transportation
References: "Carnegie, Andrew." Gilded Age and Progressive Era Reference Library. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 3: Primary Source. Detroit: UXL, 2007. 51-59. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 25 Oct. 2012 CliffsNotes.com. The Rise of Urban America. 25 Oct 2012 <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-25238,articleId-25184.html>. David Gardiner (2011) The Rise of the America City. Retrieve from http://apnotebook2007.pbworks.com/w/page/35209082/The%20Rise%20of%20the%20America%20City Rees, Jonathan. "Iron and Steel Industry." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 2003. 426-429. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. "Steel and the Steel Industry." Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Ed. Paul Finkelman. New York: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 2001. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.