Inventions and Industrial Development (1587)

The rapid economic development following the Civil War laid the groundwork for the modern US industrial economy. An explosion of new discoveries and inventions took place, causing such profound changes that some termed the results a "second industrial revolution". Oil was discovered in western Pennsylvania. The typewriter was developed. Refrigeration railroad cars came into use. The telephone, phonograph and electric light were invented. And by the dawn of the 20^th century cars were replacing carriages and people were flying in airplanes.

Parallel to these achievements was the development of the nation's industrial infrastructure. Coal was found in abundance in the Appalachian Mountains. Large iron mines opened in the Lake Superior region. Mills were built in places where these two important raw materials could be brought together to produce steel. Large copper and silver mines opened, followed by lead mines and cement factories.

As industry grew larger, it developed mass-production methods. Frederick W. Tailor pioneered the field of scientific management in the late 19^th century. True mass production was the inspiration of Henry Ford, who in 1913 adopted the moving assembly line, with each worker doing one simple task in the production of automobiles. Ford offered a very generous wage ($5 a day) to his workers, enabling many of them to buy the automobiles they made, helping the industry to expand.

The "Gilded Age" of the second half of the 19^th century was the epoch of tycoons. There appeared such tycoons as John D. Rockefeller (who did with oil), Pierpont Morgan (banking), Andrew Carnegie (steel) and others. Some tycoons were honest according to business standards of their day; others, however, used force, bribery and guile to achieve their wealth and power. For better or worse, business interest acquired significant influence over government.

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