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Embargo Act of 1807
This act stopped the export of American goods and effectively ended the import of goods from other nations. Violations of U.S. neutrality arose and American merchantmen and their cargo were seized by European navies. -
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War of 1812
This war was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire. It made it clear that America needed a better transportation system and more economic independence. As a result, manufacturing expanded. -
Creation of Erie Canal
The creation of the Erie Canal created a navigable route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. This, in turn, stimulated the economy of New York and made New York City a great trading center. -
Telegraph invented
Samuel F. B. Morse sent the first telegraphic message from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, saying "What hath God wrought?" This invention was crucial in the United State's need for better communication due to its increasing size. By 1860, this communication network spread throughout the eastern coast. -
Sewing machine invented
Isaac Merrit Singer created the first commercially successful sewing machine. It allowed continuous and curved stitching. Interchangeable parts could be made within an accuracy of one-sixteenth of an inch due to the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, Singer invested his money into producing sewing machines with interchangeable parts. -
Bessemer System
The Bessemer process helped produce high-quality steel, quickly and cheaply. The implementation of the system was important to American industry because it lowered the cost of production steel. As a result, steel was used to substitute the usage of cast iron, and it launched the rise of the steel industry. -
Standard Oil Company
John D. Rockefeller started the Standard Oil Company. This used horizontal integration, in which former competitors were brought under a single corporation. The company controlled the supply and prices of oil products and inspired the organization of trusts in other industries (sugar, meat, etc.). -
Transcontinental Railroad
The Transcontinental Railroad was completed and opened at Promontory, Utah. The railroads created during the 1800s further opened the west and connected raw materials to factories and markets. -
Knights of Labor
This was the second national labor union created and also a secret society. They went on strikes to receive concessions from their employers, such as striking for an eight-hour work day. They advocated abolition of child labor and welcomed African Americans and women into their union. The union also supported the social and cultural uplift of the workingman. -
Steel manufacturing
In the 1870s, Andrew Carnegie was an important advocator of steel manufacturing in Pittsburgh. He introduced vertical integration, in which a company controls every stage of the industrial process. It promoted better financial growth and efficiency in businesses. -
Telephone invented
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, which was a significant advancement in industrial history. This furthered better communication, allowing faster and more efficient ways to send messages back and forth between industries and other businesses. -
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
This railway strike prevented trains from moving, and it hurt everybody since railroads were used for transportation and commerce. This hindered the transport of goods from place to place. The strike shut down 2/3 of the country's railroad tracks, causing the public to turn against labor unions. -
American Federation of Labor
This was the most successful labor union. It focused on more realistic goals: it organized only skilled workers, worked for higher wages and better working conditions, and did not advocate social reforms. -
Homestead Strike
During the Homestead Strike, Henry Frick cut wages by 20%. Upsetting workers, they went on a strike, and Frick used lockouts and strikebreakers to put them down. The strike's defeat set back the advancement of the steel industry until the 1930s. -
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression caused by the collapse of railroad overbuilding, run in the gold supply, and farmers' suffering from a series of droughts. It set back American industrialization due to over 15,000 companies failing, leading to an unemployment rate of 17%-19%. -
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike shut down most of the transportation system, leading to difficulties for the industrial world. This was a problem because less transportation means less movement of goods over long distances because there are no effective means of long-distance transportation. -
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers made the first gas motored and manned airplane that was controlled and sustained "heavier-than-air" human flight. This made fixed-wing power flight possible. This was an important invention in the industrial world, making industrial advancements even more developed and sophisticated. -
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907 was a financial crisis that crippled the American economy. State and local banks went into bankruptcy and the collapse of the Knickerbocker Bank spread fear across America. The intervention of monopolist J.P. Morgan was what kept industry and the economy from being completely destroyed. He pledged large sums of his own money. -
Ford's Model T
Henry Ford produced the first modern car, which was produced by mass production and was affordable to all middle class people. He started the five dollar, eight hour day, which mroe than doubled the salaries for a shorter work day. -
First electronic digital computer
John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry created the first electronic digital computer. It coudld computer one operation every 15 seconds. Although it was large and had to be taken apart to be moved out of a building, it was a start to further industrialization and technological advancements during the industrial era.
