US History II
Unit 1: American Economic & Industrial Growth (1870-1920)
Day 1:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Answer Unit Questions # 1-9
Do Now!! Define economic well-being. Compare rich countries to poor countries.
Factors of Production:
A. raw materials, B. labor force, C. education, research, and technology, D. equipment, machinery, and factories, E. entrepreneurs, F. mass markets
After the Civil War, we say that the country rapidly became “industrialized”… What does that mean? What is needed to get to that point?
Day 2:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Answer Unit Questions # 10-12
Coal--- was used to make steel, fuel for heating, and to run steam engines (rail and boat)
Oil---
1840, distill kerosene from oil… What effect might this have on whaling industry? (2007 found a grey whale with harpoon from 1880s) Moby Dick & Herman Melville 1851 New England Whaling Industry 1820-1860
1859, Edwin Drake first used a steam engine to drill for oil. Western Pennsylvania (In those days they used to throw gasoline away as a volatile byproduct)
1859, John D. Rockefeller (about 20 years old) set up his first oil refinery in Cleveland, Ohio (a railroad and canal hub)
1870, Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Company (He was the first American billionaire and after adjusting for inflation was probably the richest man to have ever lived) pollution levels very high.. air and water… Cuyahoga River on fire 1936, ’52, ‘69
(Standard Oil with 70% of refineries was determined to be a monopoly in 1911 broken up- Conoco, Amoco, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, Pennzoil… he was worth 5X more after)
Iron/Steel---
1709, Abraham Darby, iron worker in England, found a way to smelt (burn off impurities using coke and forced air) iron in order to produce cast iron… this allowed for consistency in iron parts for improvements on the steam engine. (James Watt)
1850, Henry Bessemer created the Bessemer Steel Process… injecting air into molten iron… burned off just the right amount of carbon and allowed for adding other metals
New Uses: railroads, barbed wire, John Deere farm equip., construction- Brooklyn Bridge 1883 (PT Barnum elephants) 1884 William Le Barron Jenny Chicago Home Ins Build skyscraper.. 10 stories high—before this, the tallest was brick, 17 stories, 6ft thick, it sank… steel 1/3 the weight
Concrete---
1824, Joseph Aspdin, a British Bricklayer from Leeds, first manufactures Portland Cement (extremely high compressive strength)
Day 3:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Answer handout Industry questions.
Telegraph (electric)---
1837, Samuel Morse… 1861, cross country… 1866, transatlantic
Telephone---
1876, telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell (William Orton of Western Union Telegraph refused to buy the patent for $100,000- said it was a useless toy… Bell Telephone grew into AT&T)
Compare to modern communications breakthroughs (effects on markets).
1876, Thomas Edison set up a laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ
Shortly after, improved the generator to produce DC electric (but needed power stations every 2 miles or so) competed with Tesla (worked for Edison but quit) who wanted to use the less cumbersome AC; Edison began electrocuting animals with AC to “prove” how dangerous it was
1880, he invented the light bulb (helps finally destroy the whaling industry, and puts a dent in kerosene)… but Tesla, with George Westinghouse, developed a safe, cheap way to produce and distribute AC electric power (made good use of the steam engine)
1890, Edison forms General Electric… the uses of electricity are countless today, but by the 1890s there were already many uses: fans, appliances, streetcars, also affected where businesses could locate (away from water)
Day 4:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Answer handout Industry questions.
Steam Engine--- 1765-1776, James Watt, Scottish engineer (idea of horsepower and watt) had an efficient working model (using consistently made cast iron parts)
Boats…
1787, Robert Fulton was running commercial steamers on the Hudson River.
1819, the SS Savannah went across the Atlantic, Georgia to Liverpool, England
Trains…
1830s, Horatio Allen imported the first steam locomotive from Britain, by 1856 rails extended to the Mississippi R.
1869, First transcontinental railroad Central Pacific and Union Pacific met at Promontory, Utah (by 1860, there were 30,000 miles of track, by 1890 there was 7 times as much)
Who laid the track? Chinese in the west, Irish in the east, died by the thousands (whites 10 hour days $50/month; Chinese dawn to dusk $35/month… sometimes in 40 ft. snow)
What time was it??? Maine to California, change your watch more than 20 times; every community had its own time (Wisconsin had 38 times)
1870, Professor C.F. Dowd proposed 24 time zones… railroad companies adopted on Nov. 18, 1883… Congress didn’t adopt until 1918… How do railroads promote trade and interdependence?
1880, George Pullman, sleeper and luxury cars
How did developments in communication and transportation affect the unity of America? How did they help create mass markets?
Day 5:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Answer handout industry questions # 13-18.
In 1862, Homestead Act granted 160 acres free to anyone that would farm. But?? Needed a way to get their grain to markets in the cities, so… 1862, Pacific Railroad Act gave huge loans and land giveaways to the railroads…. By 1900, 500,000 families set up farms, after Civil War US turned its attention to killing Native Americans and bison
Beneficial effects of Industry on Ranchers and Farmers…
--- Farmers…
Railroad (transportation to market), barbed wire, plows, reapers, steel windmills, urban populations needed food
--- Ranchers…
Industrialization had mostly a positive effect on cattle ranching. Growing cities demanded more and more beef. Ranchers would round up free grazing longhorn cattle in South Texas, and drive herds north on the Chisholm Trail from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas. In Kansas, Joseph McCoy set up stockyards and worked with railroads heading to places like K.C., St. Louis, Chicago, etc. Later, they used barbed wire to fence off large ranches, buy grazing lands, and raise meatier breeds of cattle.
Day 6:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Students use textbook to answer handout questions # 19-24
Between 1870 and 1920, about 20 million Europeans came to the US… Why do you think the US allowed so many immigrants to come during this time period?
Before 1890- most from Northern and Western Europe (England, Ireland, Germany)
After 1890- most from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Austria-Hungary Slavs, Russian Jews fleeing pogroms)
On the West Coast… many came from China, Japan, and Mexico
How did they get here? Cheap steamship. The US exported bulky raw materials to Europe in return for luxury goods like china, linens, and wines—this left plenty of room for passengers. Crossing the Atlantic took 1 week; crossing the Pacific took 3 weeks. It was crowded, uncomfortable, and below deck there was a lot of disease.
Ellis Island—more than 5 hours of physical exams, literacy tests, mental tests, and had to have at least $25
Angel Island—San Francisco was a bit more like a prison
Problems faced: culture shock, con men and thieves, nativism, generation gap
All looking for the “American Dream”… to better deal with problems, immigrants formed ethnic communities, and little by little America became known as a melting pot
From 1870-1920, the US urban population jumped from 10 to 54 million… Why?
People looking for industrial jobs—not as much farm labor needed due to farm machines such as the McCormick Reaper; many farm workers were African Americans from the South looking for jobs AND to escape discrimination (The Great Migration 1910-1920); immigrants came by the millions (by 1890 there were twice as many Irish in NY as Dublin; the largest Polish population was not Warsaw but Chicago)
…Transportation—walking and horses evolved into mass transit; horse-drawn streetcar led to electric streetcar (about 1888)… this allowed for suburbs
…Steel and concrete allowed for vertical increases in cities
The Importance of Education
Ex. US Commissioner of Education (1889-1906), William Harris, pointed out that public school was the training ground for citizenship and democracy, and preparation for jobs in an industrialized world. He pushed states to require more mandatory education laws, and longer school years. By 1895, most states required education until 14 years old, and a 12-16 week school year. By 1900, almost 75% of kids went to school.
…Thousands of cities began to open public libraries… they provided the land and tax revenue to pay for books and librarians.
More Innovations in Fuel and Transportation
Oil---
Refining gave us fuel for lamps and furnaces, ultimately gasoline and diesel for the internal combustion engine.
Internal Combustion Engine…
late 1870s, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz made improved engines
1885, Benz made the first automobile
1892, Rudolf Diesel designs the diesel engine,
early 1900s, Americans begin mass producing- first Ransom Olds then Henry Ford …gasoline and diesel fuel become extremely important, huge boost to refinery industry
Ex. Taylor’s management ideas were used by Henry Ford. In 1913, he brought in the assembly line to Ford Motor Co. in Michigan… it was boring and a bit dangerous, but the workday was cut to 8 hours, and pay was $5/day- twice as much as other industrial workers… production of the Model T went from 14 man-hours to 2 man-hours (Ford’s first car built in a shed in 1896 wouldn’t fit out the door… to buy a Ford in 1914 it cost $850, in 1926 it cost $350) Most Ford workers could finally buy a Ford.
Airplanes—first flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903 for 59 seconds… no one cared or believed it when it happened; by 1918 it was carrying mail, and used in WWI
Day 7:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Study for unit test. Answer handout questions #25-29.
Big Business: Its Structure & Ideology….
Andrew Carnegie- came from Scotland in 1848 at age 13, he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and was able to leave in 1865 because of good stock investments. He got involved with steel rail production, and invested in Bessemer Converters in massive plants outside of Pittsburgh. By 1899, Carnegie Steel produced more than all of the UK. He used vertical integration (coal, rail, towns) and horizontal consolidation He became the 2nd wealthiest person in history, sold to US Steel in 1901 (JP Morgan)
1859, John D. Rockefeller (about 20 years old) set up his first oil refinery in Cleveland, Ohio (a railroad and canal hub)
1870, Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Company (He was the first American billionaire and after adjusting for inflation was probably the richest man to have ever lived) pollution levels very high.. air and water… Cuyahoga River on fire 1936, ’52, ‘69
(Standard Oil with 70% of refineries was determined to be a monopoly in 1911 broken up- Conoco, Amoco, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, Pennzoil… he was worth 5X more after)
… actually one reason for the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was to make sure monopolies didn’t stifle competition… this law was largely ignored
*** Concerns with wealth and big business include: monopoly and price control; treatment of workers; influence over government and politics
Day 8:
Essential Question: Have developments in transportation, communication, urbanization, and industry had positive or negative effects on American culture and society?
Assignment: Study for unit test.
Ideas and Influences Behind American Imperialism…
Imperialism- the policy in which a stronger country extends its economic, political, or military control over weaker territory and its people. This was a European trend throughout the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s.
By the late 1800s, as the US became more developed economically, the idea of outward expansion became more popular. At the time, the Europeans were essentially dividing up control over Asia and Africa. A popular phrase was, “The Sun never sets on the British Empire.” --- under Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) ¼ of the world’s land.
Influences in the late 1800s:
1. Thirst For New Markets—
By 1876, US became a net exporter. The development of foreign markets loomed large in business thinking. The need for an outlet for US surplus was urgent, and it seemed like future consumers were not Europeans, but undeveloped parts of the world… especially China. From 1870 to 1900, US GDP increased 4X, Industrial Output 5X.
2. Desire For Strategic Military Holdings---
Admiral Alfred T. Mahan wrote an important book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890)… he taught that the oceans should not be seen as a barrier, but as a “great highway”. He argued for a strong Navy to protect commercial shipping lanes. Rather than having colonies, he suggested that bases for refueling and repair would be more efficient for protecting US trade. He called for a canal across Panama so East Coast industry could compete w/ Europe for East Asia markets. To protect the canal, the US would need bases in the Caribbean Sea. For Pacific control, he wanted to annex Hawaii. Politicians like Teddy Roosevelt loved Mahan’s ideas. US began building the 3rd largest navy, including 9 steel-hulled battleships that’d eventually (under Roosevelt) be part of the “Great White Fleet”.
American Imperialism in Practice- The Case of Hawaii…
“Discovered” by Captain Cook in 1778, merchants stopped on the way to China and India since the 1790s. It was quickly realized how perfect the natural conditions were for growing sugar cane and other fruits. This soon attracted many American planters, and investors… there was a lot of money wrapped up in Hawaii.
Important Events:
…1875- treaty setting up trade partnership with the US