Section 5-1

The Rise of Industry

Natural Resources Fuel Industrialization

• Three major factors leading to the industrial boom:

1. a wealth of natural resources

2. government support for business

3. a growing urban population that

provided both cheap labor and

markets for new products

Natural Resources Fuel Industrialization

• Gross National Product- the total value of all goods and services that a country produces

• Edwin L. Drake- First to successfully use a steam engine to drill for oil (Titusville, PA).

• Bessemer Process- Process for making steel. Involved injecting air into molten iron to remove the carbon and other impurities.

Inventions Promote Change

• Thomas Alva Edison- Established the world’s first research laboratory (Menlo Park, NJ), perfected the incandescent light bulb, and invented an entire system for producing and distributing electrical power.

• Christopher Sholes- Invented the typewriter (1867).

• Alexander Graham Bell- Invented the telephone (1876).

Free Enterprise

• Laissez-faire- “Let the people do as they choose.” Supporters believe the government should not interfere in the economy other than to protect private property rights and maintain peace

• Entrepreneurs- people who risk their capital to organize and run businesses.

• Morrill Tariff- greatly increased tariff rates. Contradicted laissez-faire.

Free Enterprise