Age of Railroads

1. What problems did employees of the railroad companies face?
Employees of the railroad companies faced attacks by Native Americans, risks of diseases, and accidents that occurred on the "treacherous terrain."
2. What was it like to live as a Pullman employee in the town of Pullman?
Pullman employees in the town of Pullman had all their basic needs taken care of by the Pullman town, and were given nice house and apartments buildings. They were also provided with facilities like doctors' office and shops.  But, they were very restricted when it came to their daily lives: for example, they weren't allowed to drink alcohol or to "loiter" on their front steps. Eventually when Pullman cut his employees' pay but didn't lower the price of rents, there was a strike. 

3. Who was involved in Crédit Mobilier, and what was the purpose of this company?
Vice-President Schuyler Colfax, Congressman James Garfield, some representatives in Congress, as well as other important figures were involved with the stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad in Crédit Mobilier. The purpose of this company was for magnates to gain a lot of profit by laying down track for more than its actual worth.

4. In what ways did the railroad companies use their power to hurt farmers?
Railroad companies would go against the government's attention and not sell the land grants to settlers but to other businesses, form agreements that keep farmers in debt, and charge different customers different rates.

5. Why didn’t the decision in the Munn v. Illinois case succeed in checking the power of the railroads?
The decision in the Munn v. Illinois case didn't succeed in checking the power of the railroads because states didn't have the right at that time to set rates on interstate commerce. So, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887.

6. Why didn’t the Interstate Commerce Act immediately limit the power of the railroads? 
The Interstate Commerce Act didn't immediately limit the power of the railroads because there was resistance from the railroads, and it was a long legal process. Then, the Supreme Court announced that the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) could not set maximum railroad rates, which made it even harder to limit the power of the railroads.
  

Expansion of Industry

Factor 1: Abundant Natural Resources
A. Which resources played crucial roles in industrialization?

Oil, iron, coal, steel, and electricity were the resources that played crucial roles in industrialization.

B. How did Edwin L. Drake help industry to acquire larger quantities of oil?

Edwin L. Drake helped industry to acquire larger quantities of oil because he used a steam engine to remove oil from beneath the Earth's surface. He demonstrated the usefulness of removing oil from beneath the Earth's surface, therefore causing this idea to spread across the United States, and making the oil industry boom. This caused industries to pop up everywhere and eventually the practicability of gasoline was discovered as well.

C. How did the Bessemer process allow better use of iron ore?

Iron tended to break and rust often, so through the cheap and efficient Bessemer process, which released the carbon from the iron, steel was created. Steel is a lighter metal that is flexible and is rust-resisitant. 

D. What new uses for steel were developed at this time?
Buildings could be any height now because of steel, since they wouldn't be at risk of rusting or breaking due to weight. Also, steel was used in abundance in the railroads, as well as in barbed wire and farm machines.
Factor 2: Increasing number of Inventions
A. How did Thomas Alva Edison contribute to this development? 

Thomas Edison created the lightbulb, the first research laboratory, and a way distribute and process electricity. All of these things make work life, and home life, significantly more efficient. They also jumpstarted electricity within industries, running machines, plants, streetcars, fans, printing presses, etc. 

B. How did George Westinghouse contribute to it? 

George Westinghouse invented ways for the use of electricity in industries to be safer and cheaper, therefore making the whole process of using electricity a lot quicker and less expensive. 

C. How did Christopher Sholes contribute? 

Christopher Sholes created the typewriter, which made work a whole lot easier. Instead of handwriting everything, which is time consuming, typewriters allowed work to be quicker and neater. It also opened jobs for women in the office.

D. How did Alexandar Graham Bell contribute? 

Alexandar Graham Bell created one of the biggest inventions of the Industrial Age-the telephone. It allowed worldwide communication, which made communication between businesses quicker and cheaper.  The telephone also created more jobs for women.