Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

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What do you know about the Industrial Revolution?

Growing Cities

By the mid 1800s, cities were becoming bigger and bigger every year. In 1840, for example, Philadelphia had a population of around 100,000. By 1860, it would grow to over five times that size.

Chicago had about 5,000 people in 1840. By 1860, there were over 100,000. Imagine if your hometown added 95,000 people in only 20 years! 

More Growth

Railroads made it easier to do business and travel between them.

New technology made some jobs in rural areas disappear but created new factory jobs in the cities.

For these reasons, cities continued to grow. Buildings would need to grow to match the new populations.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was NOT happening during the Industrial Revolution?

• Cities were becoming bigger

• Railroads made it easier to travel

• Rural populations were growing

• Factories created jobs in the cities

Elevators

At that time, buildings were much smaller. Partly because engineering and building materials weren't as advanced.

Partly because average person would not want to walk up 20 stories to reach a top floor multiple times in a single day. Would you?

Elevators existed, but they were dangerous. Many people fell to their deaths on old elevators that stopped working!

Elisha Otis

The man who changed all of that was Elisha Otis. He invented a safety brake for elevators. He gave a dramatic demonstration for the audience, having someone cut the rope for the platform he was standing on. The people watching probably thought he was going to die! His safety brake stopped the platform, and he was fine. With Otis's invention, buildings could get higher without people fearing for their safety.

Multiple Select

Why were buildings shorter in the 1800's? Select all that apply

• People didn't want to walk up a lot of stairs

• Elevators were dangerous

• The technology wasn't as advanced

• Tall buildings affected the pollution in the area

Another development for modern buildings

In 1856, there was another development that would change how we built cities. That year, English inventor Henry Bessemer created a process for producing steel in large amounts, quickly.

People had been making iron into steel and purifying it for a long time, but Bessemer’s process created huge potential.

It was quicker, cheaper, and made more steel than had ever been possible. 

Open Ended

After these inventions, it was possible to build taller buildings.

Why do you think building taller buildings was beneficial to the cities?

Modern cities would not exist without these new technologies.

More people could live and work in the same amount of space, leading to huge cities, like New York!

Transcontinental Railroad

As America’s people began to build bigger cities, areas that were once wilderness were becoming populated. There needed to be a quick way to travel through those areas. One project that closed the huge gap between America’s coasts was the Transcontinental Railroad. As you can probably tell from the word, this was a railroad that went across the entire continent. 

Transcontinental Railroad

In 1862, towards the beginning of the Civil War, the U.S. government ordered the creation of this new railroad.

Construction began in 1863, while the war was still raging.

The goal was to connect the railroad line at Omaha, Nebraska (about a hundred miles northwest of Kansas City, Kansas) to San Francisco, California.

Multiple Choice

When did construction on the Transcontinental Railroad begin?

• 1850s

• 1860s

• 1870s

• 1880s

Multiple Choice

The railroad was going to begin in Nebraska and end in which state?

• Utah

• Arizona

• Nevada

• California

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of the Transcontinental Railroad?

• People could travel more quickly

• People could transport things more quickly

• It connected the East and the West

• It allowed people to travel from New York to Washington

Golden Spike

The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in only 6 years.

The last spike in this historic railroad was golden, to symbolize the amazing opportunities it would create.

First Telephone

Not long after the telegraph enabled instant communication, an amazing invention appeared!

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell used a telephone he had created to make the first telephone call in Boston. Other inventors had made versions of the telephone, but Bell’s was the most successful.

The United States was getting Smaller

• What? I thought it was getting bigger

• It was getting bigger! Land wise, the country and cities were growing.

• However, in a way the country was getting smaller.

• People could now travel much further a lot faster and talk to people all over the country!

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT something that was making America feel smaller?

• Airplanes

• Transcontinental Railroad

• Telephone

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is true?

• People were moving out of the cities into the rural lands

• Everyone was moving West

• People were moving out of the rural land into the cities

Multiple Select

Select the two inventions that lead to buildings been made taller during the Industrial Revolution.

• Getting rid of basements

• A safer elevator

• Faster steel production

• Using a steam engine to build

Open Ended

What is something you learned today about the Industrial Revolution?