Module 12: Expansion of Industry, Age of RR, Rise of Labor Movement

Second Industrial Revolution

a period of rapid growth in US manufacturing and industry in the late 1800s; fueled the Gilded Age

Edwin Drake

used steam engine to drill for oil; led to oil boom in US

Bessemer process

a way to manufacture steel so that it can be mass produced for lower costs

Thomas Edison

best known for inventing the incandescent light bulb to revolutionize work and home life in the world

George Pullman

created sleeping cars to improve long distance travel; created "Towns" to provide all basic needs for workers

union

an association of workers that use collective bargaining to negotiate better wages, hours, and working conditions

National Labor Union and Colored National Labor Union

two of the earliest, large-scale national organizations for workers in US

Haymarket Riot 1877

protest in Chicago turns violent; bomb tossed into police and police killed at least 8 protesters; led to negative public opinion of labor movement

Homestead Strike 1892

steel plant workers strike for better pay; boss hires "scabs" and armed guards; violence results in 11 people dying

Pullman Strike 1894

railroad workers strike led by Eugene Debs and boycott trains; violence breaks out; federal troops called in to end strike; Debs arrested, but inspired to run for president as socialist

Alexander Graham Bell

inventor of the telephone

Christopher Sholes

inventor of the typewriter; led to many women entering the workforce as typists