Following the Civil War, America rushed into the modern world. Factories, machines, inventions, and engineering - the focus on improvement and advancement transformed American life in the cities, on the farms, in the families and schools. But is all progress a step forward? What did America lose as it transformed itself from a rural, small-town, faith-based community to a modern, industrialized powerhouse of a nation? Research at least 5 different inventions, technologies and/or scientific breakthroughs that impacted the labor force, the military, culture/art, the creation of cities, or in general, the modernization of America during the time period of 1865-1925.
Image detail of The Orrery by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1766
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Website Resources (OPD etc.) / Articles from GALE Discovery / ABC-CLIO EBooks / Links to JSTOR articles / Smithsonian Institute
OPD websites and other sources
1. A History of Cotton Mills and the Industrial Revolution - Extensive excerpt from a book on the development of the textile industry in the United States, including New England and Mississippi.2. American History 102: 1865-Present: Part of a university course, this set has excellent lecture notes on major topical areas in American History from 1865. Check out lecture number four, "The Gilded Age and the Politics of Corruption."
3. Americanism and Fordism: The Second Industrial Revolution: Changes in production and consumers in the Industrial Revolution in the United States
4. An Outline of American History: Industry grows bigger: A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times Department of Humanities Computing, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
5. Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum: Photographs and information on the Central Pacific Railroad completion.
6. Digital History: Labor History: Digital History features resource guides by topic and period. This page features information on the Gilded Age in the United States.
7. Digital History: Labor History: Digital History features resource guides by topic and period. Reference resources include classroom handouts, chronologies, encyclopedia articles, glossaries, and an audio-visual archive including speeches, book talks and e-lectures by historians, and historical maps, music, newspaper articles, and images. The site's Ask the HyperHistorian feature allows users to pose questions to professional historians. (Best of History summary)
8. Early Twentieth Century Railroads: American history article by PIL for How Stuff Works2.
9. Edisonian Museum: Provides images and histories of inventions.
10. First Flight Society - Image gallery, chronology, photos, and news on the organization's activities. (ODP summary)
11. History: United States: The Gilded Age, 1876-1900 : Timeline of the Gilded Age with major events and links with details
12. How Did Nikola Tesla Change The Way We Use Energy?: article by Michael Harris for How Stuff Works 2
13. How We Made the First Flight - HTML e-text of an account written by Orville Wright, with photos. Hosted by AeroWeb. (ODP summary)
14. Industrial Revolution in 19th Century America - Industrial Revolution: Learn about the background and important people, events, and inventions of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
15. Industrialization of the United States 1865-1920: Weblinks from Irondequoit High School, Rochester NY
16. Inside A Factory: Westinghouse Works, 1904 (Library of Congress): This LOC site has 21 films of the Westinghouse companies that were intended to showcase the company's operations. There is background information on the factories, a timeline, an index, a search function, and recommended sources. (Best of History summary)
17. Inventing Entertainment: The collections in the Library of Congress's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division contain an extraordinary range of the surviving products of Edison's entertainment inventions and industries. This site features 341 motion pictures, 81 disc sound recordings, and other related materials, such as photographs and original magazine articles. (Best of History summary).
18. Lighting a Revolution: This web site accompanies an exhibition at the National Museum of American History exploring the process of invention. The story is told in two parallel sections comparing Thomas Edison's light bulb invention with several electric lighting inventions of a century later. (Smithsonian Institute)
19. Making the Modern World: world inventions from 18th century to the present. Contains images of the original prototypes and inventions.
20. NPR: The Forgotten Wright - Katherine Wright is the third, unsung Wright sibling. Some historians say that without her, the famous pioneers of flight might not have gotten off the ground. Yet Orville tried to keep her contributions out of the newspapers and history books. Harriet Baskas tells us why. Part of the series 'Hidden Treasures.' [5:25 Realaudio broadcast]
21. PBS American Experience: Andrew Carnegie: One of the captains of industry of 19th century America, Andrew Carnegie helped build the formidable American steel industry, a process that turned a poor young man into one of the richest entrepreneurs of his age.
22. Second Industrial Revolution - Definition: Description of the Second Industrial Revolution and important events and people of that time period.
23. Technology in America - The Telephone (PBS)
This PBS companion site focuses not only on the telephone but on other important inventions in American history as well. (Best of History summary)
24. Technology in America: The American Experience PBS: companion website offers information on invention of the telephone, moving pictures and the New York Subway system.
25. Tesla Master of Lightning: PBS website companion to document series
26. The Industrial Revolution and the U.S.: Information, pictures and paintings of the Industrial Revolution in the United States
27. The Industrial Revolution: The site examines what factors led to industrial growth, how this affected the lives of ordinary people and find out how working conditions were changed forever by the quick succession of inventions and pieces of legislation. (Best of History summary)
28. The Photographs of Lewis Hine: The Documentation of Child Labor: Photographs and history of child labor during the second industrial revolution
29. The Second Industrial Revolution Information in The New Encyclopedia of the New American Nation
30. The Second Industrial Revolution, 1870-1914 : PDF File by Joel Mokyr, Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics and History, Northwestern University.
31. The Second Industrial Revolution: Major Inventions of the Second Industrial Revolution
32. The Second Phase of the Industrial Revolution: 1850–1940 ...
33. The Wright Brothers - Information on Orville and Wilbur Wright's childhood, the Wright cycle shop, the first airplane, and chronology of the Wright airplane. (ODP summary)
34. The Wright Brothers - The Invention of the Aerial Age - Inventors of the first human flying machine. Page topics include family history, contemporary aeronautic discoveries, and details about the construction of the machine. (ODP summary)
35. They Made America: The American Experience PBS: Companion website to Harold Evans book includes profile of inventors and their impact on American culture.
36. Twentieth Century Inventions - 1900-1925: Site has a chronology of Inventions by year. Click on invention for fuller description. (Site has earlier and later era also.)
Articles from GALE Discovery Collection
These materials are from GALE Discovery Collection. To access the full text of the article, please use your LAPL login and password. That should be your LAPL library card # and the password is the last four digits of your home phone.1. "The American Railroad Industry and Mexican Migration to the U.S.."DISCovering Multicultural America.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2116207061&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
2. "Automobile Design in the 1900s, 1900-1909."DISCovering U.S. History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2104240736&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
3. "Automobile Technology in the 1910s, 1910-1919."DISCovering U.S. History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2104240702&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
4. "Black Gold."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500069&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
5. "Direct current."World of Invention.Kimberley A. McGrathandBridget Travers.Online.Detroit:Thomson Gale,2006.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1647500253&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
6. "Electricity and the Electric Light (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500440&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
7. "Everyday Life: Food (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500415&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
8. "Everyday Life: Home Improvements (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500416&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
9. "Factory Working Conditions in the Late 1800s, 1880-1899."DISCovering U.S. History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2104240862&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
10. "The First Transcontinental Telephone Call Is Made, April, 1915."DISCovering World History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2105241289&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
11. "Growth of Urban Areas and New Commercial Centers, 1800-1860."DISCovering U.S. History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2104240874&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
12. "Industrial Revolution."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500322&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
13. "Industrialization: The Spread of the Factory System (1850-1877)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500242&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
14. "Native American Land and Enterprises Overtaken during Industrial Revolution."DISCovering Multicultural America.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2116217069&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
15. "Petroleum."Gale Encyclopedia of Science.K. Lee LernerandBrenda Wilmoth Lerner.4thDetroit:Gale Group,2008.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2644041738&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
16. "Petroleum."World of Scientific Discovery.Kimberley A. McGrathandBridget Travers.Online.Detroit:Thomson Gale,2007.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1648500453&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
17. "Petroleum."UXL Encyclopedia of Science.Rob Nagel.2nd ed. Online.Detroit:U*X*L,2007.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2644300742&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
18. "Railroad Gauges, Standardization of."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500576&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
19. "The Railroads (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500349&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
20. "The Railroads: Expansion and Economic Transformation in the Midwest (1850-1877)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500243&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
21. "Refrigeration."DISCovering Science.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2103202128&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
22. "Refrigeration."World of Invention.Kimberley A. McGrathandBridget Travers.Online.Detroit:Thomson Gale,2006.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1647500652&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
23. "Spindletop Oil Discovery Transforms the Oil Industry, January 10, 1901."DISCovering World History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2105240564&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
24. "Spinning Mills."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500654&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
25. "Standard Oil Company (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500342&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
26. "Steel Industry."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500664&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
27. "Steel production."World of Invention.Kimberley A. McGrathandBridget Travers.Online.Detroit:Thomson Gale,2006.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1647500757&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
28. "Strowger Invents Automatic Dial Telephone, 1891-1905."DISCovering U.S. History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2104241612&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
29. "Technological Change (1850-1877)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500309&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
30. "The Telegraph (1850-1877)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500257&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
31. "The Telegraph (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500363&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
32. "The Telephone (1878-1899)."American Eras.Matthew J. BruccoliandRichard Layman.Detroit:Gale Research,1997.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2301500353&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
33. "Tesla, Nikola (1856-1943)."Scientists: Their Lives and Works.OnlineDetroit:U*X*L,2006.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GBRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EK2641500198&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
34. "Tesla, Nikola (1856-1943)."DISCovering U.S. History.OnlineDetroit:Gale,2003.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ2104101511&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
35. "Textile Industry."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500691&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0>.
36. "Working Conditions in Factories (Issue)."Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.Thomas CarsonandMary Bonk.Detroit:Gale Group,1999.Discovering Collection.Gale..
http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=DC&docId=EJ1667500768&source=gale&userGroupName=lapl&version=1.0
ABC-CLIO Ebooks
To open the books, remember to login to ABC-CLIO after you have clicked on the title of the book. Every book can be searched by keywords. MLA Citations for these books are already built into ABC-CLIO.1. Child Labor: A World History Companion
2. Encyclopedia of Rural America: The Land and People
3. Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present
4. The Industrial Revolution in America: Automobiles, Mining and Petroleum, Textiles
5. The Industrial Revolution in America: Communications, Agriculture and Meatpacking, Overview/Comparison
6. The Industrial Revolution in America: Iron and Steel, Railroads, Steam Shipping
7. Work in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Policy, and Society
JSTOR Article Links
These JSTOR article links are “advanced search” queries for articles on the specific subject listed below. You can only see the article results after logging into JSTOR. Click on name of subject to link.Telephone / Automobile / Textiles / Electricity
Steel / Petroleum / Film / Wireless
Railroads / Shipping / Factory / Agriculture