6-1 The Expansion of IndustryToday Ray continued his presentation. Iron was soft and tends to break and rust easily so its hard to work with. So people started using steel. Steel is lighter, more flexible, and it won't rust. This was really the start of the industrial revolution. Higgins was a man who believed that there was oil in springs. Captain Anthony F. Lucas was a prospector. He believed Higgins beliefes about the oil. In 1900 they started to search for the oil. When they finally found oil, this is what started the Texas oil boom. People called the oil "black gold." Crude oil is what people were using for fuel and medicine. But people started using kerosene to light lamps. Edwin L. Drake was the first man to successfully drill with a steam engine for oil. The Texas oil boom started in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinios, and Indiana, then finally made it to Texas. Government stayed out of business affairs. They would let business expand and make a lot more money. This also helped the common people because there were more jobs available. Lots of natural resources, growing urban population, also helped the start of industrial revolution. The light bulb had already been invented but Edison improved it making it last for hours. This allowed people to do a lot more work during night and other things. The type writer also helped because people could type important documents instead of write it down. The telephone also had a major impact.6-2 The Age of the RailroadsRailroads made time zones and standard times to be set. Towns went by the sun and obviously the sun sets different in different places. Because of this issue they had to start using time. By having the railroads people would settle along railroads and new towns and cities were being developed and because of this new markets and industries were developing. Denver was an example of a city made by railroads. Railroads provided provided many different jobs for people. And it made the country smaller or come together. You could get from one place to another place quicker. People were upset with railroads, especially farmers, because they were getting ripped off and getting overcharged. Farmers made up the granger laws. This law set maximun rates that railroads could charge for sending things. Made everyone pay the same amount. In 1877 Munn vs. Illinios was taken to the supreme court. The railroads thought they should be able to charge however much they want. The supreme court sided with the grange. In 1887 the Interstate Commerce Act was established. This act just made it so that government could go around and supervise the railroads and make sure they are being fair. This was the first time the government started supporting the common person.
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