The Age of Industry

Bessemer Steel Process

Industrial process for the manufacture of steel

Involved injecting air into molten iron to remove impurities Removal of carbon made a lighter, more

flexible, rust-resistant metal known as steel. This process drastically lowered the price of

building materials.

The Bessemer Process

New Uses for Steel

The railroads, with thousands of miles of track, became the biggest customers for steel.

Other uses: Glidden’s barbed wire Deere’s farming equipment

Transformed the construction industry, allowing for more complex structure to be built ie) The Brooklyn Bridge

Inventions Promote Change

Inventions changed the way people lived and worked

Inventions such as the typewriter, incandescent light bulb, phonograph, telephone, and electric motor, drastically changed peoples lifestyles.

Christopher Sholes

Invented the typewriter in 1867 Drew more women into the workforce

Thomas Alva Edison

Invented the incandescent light bulb, and later invented an entire system for producing and distributing electrical power

Electricity allowed manufacturers to locate their plants wherever they wanted, not just near sources of power, such as rivers.

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the telephone in 1876, opening the way for a worldwide communications network.

Regents Question

The invention of the typewriter and the telephone in the mid-1800s helped lead to 1) a shorter work week 2) more jobs for women 3) a market for electricity 4) mass production

Industrialization

Freed some factory workers from backbreaking labor

Helped improve workers’ standard of living Job market growth Urban population increased

Mass Production

The Assembly Line

What problems or benefits can you foresee with the implementation of the assembly line?