DBQ
The period of the late 1800s and early 1900s was a period during one of the biggest leaps in the industrial movement of America. The industrial revolution's leaders, including Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and more, provided the nation with much needed inventions and transportation, thousands of job opportunities, and one of the biggest waves of philanthropy the nation has ever seen. The industrial revolution was definitely a period dominated by 'captains of industry.'
'New and improved' was the name of the game during the time of the Industrial Revolution. New inventions like Alexander Graham Bell's telephone in 1876 or Thomas Edison's more practical light bulb in 1879, improved the lifestyles of many Americans. Other inventions including the Pullman Palace cars, efficient air brakes and most importantly, the Bessemer process, a much easier and more efficient way of refining steel, aided in the rapid development of the railroad industry.
English: Watt's steam engine at the lobby of the H...
English: Light bulb patent application. Photolitho...
RockefellerAlso, the adaptation to new time zones helped people all across the world and in the railroad industry be more on time for things. So, the railroad industry flourished and readily provided America with transportation. These advances along with the creation of many other inventions pushed the nation to become more industrialized, and this shaped the nation to what it is today.
The railroad industry did not only provide the nation with transportation, but it also provided thousands of jobs to laborers and immigrants that entered America between 1870 and 1900. Immigrants, including Chinese, Irish, German, and Scandinavian immigrants, as well as displaced rural workers, flooded urban areas in the hopes of finding employment. The railroad industries captained mainly by Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt welcomed these immigrants with thousands of job openings. The railroad industry was not the only industry that provided many jobs for these people.