Changes to American the American Economy from 1865 to 1929 (RD)

Transcontinental Railroad (Trains meeting at Promontory Summit, Utah, 1869, on the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. May 10, 1869. The Andrew J. Russell Collection, The Oakland Museum of California, Promontory, Utah.)Image

May 10, 1869

On May 10th 1869 the Transcontinental Road was completed at Promontory, Utah. With events such as Westward expansion and the California Gold Rush building a transcontinental railroad made more and more sense. As a result it allowed for goods to be shipped from coast to coast at a much faster rate, creating a boom of business trade and population all while making the west easily accessible.
OpenStax, U.S History, 17.1 Westward Spirit

Edison's Incandescent Light Bulb

Nov 4, 1879

On November 4th 1879 Edison created a light bulb that would go on to be the first commercially practical incandescent light. This allowed for people to abandon the oil lamps to the more reliable light bulb which led to massive new industry of Electricity. With this invention see better lit streets and buildings which allow for workers to work longer as they are no longer dependent on sunlight.
OpenStax, U.S History, 18.1 Inventors of the Age

Sherman Anti Trust Act

Jul 2, 1890

Signed on July 2nd 1890 in Washington D.C the Sherman Anti Trust act limited the monopolies of business moguls such as Rockefeller and Carnegie which ultimately led to the end of monopolies and the beginning of heavy government regulations on business we see today.
OpenStax, U.S History, 20.2 The Key Political Issues: Patronage, Tariffs, and Gold

Henry Ford's Model T

Oct 1, 1908

On October 1st 1908 Ford's Model T was built in the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit Michigan. The Model T would become the country's first truly affordable car and would be the car that changed how automobiles in the US would be built. As more and more people could afford the Model T people weren't as obligated to live in the city which would lead to development of suburbs forever changing the American landscape.
OpenStax, U.S History, 24.1 Prosperity and the Production of Popular Entertainment

Ford Incorporates the Moving Assembly Line [Citation, OpenStax, U.S History, 24.1 Prosperity and the Production of Popular Entertainment]

Dec 1, 1913

The ultimate game changer, Henry Ford installed his moving assembly line on December 1st 1913. This allowed him to mass produce cars at an astonishing rate. The line itself took an average of 12 and a half hours off the production time of a Model T. He did this by breaking down the production of the Model T into 84 different parts which each worker learning one part which allowed for maximum productivity. Nowadays we see the assembly line in just about every factory in the world.

The Beginning of World War 1 and The US' Entry in the War (April 6th 1917)

Jul 28, 1914

World War 1 began on July 28th 1914 while the US did not enter until April 6th 1917 the war still affected the US. While the US remained neutral Europeans purchased goods for their cause it incited a boom stateside. Finally when the US joined the war we saw a shift in federal spending to aid the war effort. With this shift we saw approximately half of the US' GDP roughly 32 billion shift to the war effort.
OpenStax, U.S History, 21.1 The Origins of the Progressive Spirit in America

The Great Depression

Oct 29, 1929

On October 29th 1929 other wise know as Black Tuesday was the beginning of the great depression which was a terrible time. Virginia Durr talks about a child with rickets with nothing to eat no milk while companies pour milk down the drain; people with nothing to wear as they harvest cotton, or people with nothing to eat even though they're the ones killing the pigs for food.
Studs Terkel, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (New York: The New Press, 2005), 461-462.