The Second Industrial RevolutionInventions and Innovations that changed the world!

Industrial Innovations

• The Second Industrial

Revolution (1865-1900) was ignited through

numerous inventions.

Steel• The second revolution was spurred by the

development of steel. Steel was used to construct: • heavy machinery• railroad tracks• bridges• skyscrapers

STEEL• Steel could be produced as early as the

mid-1800’s, but the process was expensive.• This changed in 1859 when two people

(one from Great Britain and one from the U. S.) developed a process (called the Bessemer Process)

Advantages (Bessemer Process)

• the railroad industry to replaced their old iron rails with stronger steel rails.

• began to use steel to build buildings and bridges.

• steel’s resistance to rust made it ideal for used in wire and nails.

Railroads• When the price of steel was

reduced from 100 dollars to 12 dollars a ton by 1873 railroads could lay more track.

Consequences of travel by railroad

• small towns and communities linked to large population centers

• increase in western settlement• urban growth increased • many jobs were produced

Questions to answer…

• Textbook p. 540-545

• P. 545 Q.#1, 2

• This will be collected