Part I: Industrialization
#1: How was the “2nd Industrial Revolution” different from the “1st Industrial Revolution?”
First IR * Late 1700s to 1865 * Textiles, clothing, leather products * Regional (concentrated in Northeast)
Second IR * 1865 to 1900 * Heavy industry (steel, oil, electricity, industrial machinery) * National (started to include South, West)
#2: Why did the US economy grow so rapidly from 1865 to 1900?
Abundant natural resources * Coal, iron, copper, lead, timber, oil
Abundant labor * Supplemented by immigration
Largest market in world for industrial goods
Abundant capital ($)
Labor saving technologies * 440,000 …show more content…
Discovery of a new process for making large quantities of steel
Bessemer Process * Blasted air through molten iron made stronger steel
#9: What area became the center of the steel industry?
Great Lakes region (Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) * Abundant coal * Access to iron ore of Minnesota * Railway hubs
#10: Who became the leader in the steel industry?
Andrew Carnegie * Scottish immigrant * 1870s: started steel mill in Pittsburgh * Used latest technology to improve efficiency * Used vertical integration * Carnegie Steel controlled every phase of steel production process (from mining iron ore, to RR’s, to mills) * By 1900, Carnegie Steel produced more steel than entire country of Britain * Sold Carnegie Steel for $400 million in 1900 * Philanthropy and his attitude toward wealth (read Carnegie doc on wealth) * Contrast with Eugene Debs and socialism (read Debs document)
#11: Who dominated the steel industry after Carnegie?
J. P. Morgan * Bought Carnegie Steel in 1900 for $400 million (Carnegie became philanthropist) * Formed US Steel * 1st billion dollar …show more content…
Push factors * Displacement of European farmers caused by European industrialization (Main reason: Displacement of European farmers caused by European industrialization (economic hardship) * Overpopulation of European cities b/c of population boom * Religious persecution (Jews in Russia)
Pull factors * US reputation for political and religious freedom * Economic opportunities on Great Plains (farming) and cities (factory work) * Ease of transport across Atlantic (cheap)
#24: What’s the difference between “old” immigrants and “new” immigrants?
Old
* Dominated pre-1890 * Northern and western European * Britain * Germany * Scandinavia * Protestant * But sizable minority were Catholic (Irish, some Germans) * Easily assimilated
New
* Dominated 1890-1914 * Southern and Eastern European *