Steel Industry Dbq

The United States of America is one of the most technologically and industrially advanced nations in the world, but that was not always the case. At the start of the Civil War in 1861 the United States was little more than a nation of farmers, but by the time the Spanish-American war began in 1898 the country was one of the most advanced nations in the world. This begs the question, what exactly enabled the United States to be able to industrialize so quickly and efficiently? The industrial growth in the United States of America during the late 1800’s was caused by entrepreneurs, an evolving population, and government assistance.

As the industrial boom began to take ahold of the nation, a select few hardworking and determined men seized opportunity

One of the most famous of these men is Andrew Carnegie, who capitalized on the rapidly growing steel market. Carnegie used horizontal integration, a process where a company controls all factors that contribute to the production of their product, to build his steel empire [doc 7]. Carnegie’s business strategy, while earning him the largest and most successful steel company in the world, met the demand for steel that the industrializing United States required; but it was just one of the varying new ideas that stimulated industrial growth. Another exciting new idea was the assembly line, which was perfected by Henry Ford and his use of interchangeable parts. As the demand for products grew, the assembly line and interchangeable parts meant that businesses could cut costs while still producing more than ever by eliminating the

From the year of 1860 to 1900, eight out of ten presidents were republican [doc 4]. At the time, the republican platform believed in enacting policies that would encourage the development of industry [doc 3]. The beliefs and power held by the Republican Party at the time is likely why the amount of railroads increased substantially, going from under forty thousand miles to nearly two hundred thousand miles in less than forty years [doc 2]. Railroads were the driving force behind the industrialization of the country; they provided relatively inexpensive, quick transport for raw materials, livestock, people, and foodstuff. Railroads made life in the United States much more convenient, and the public demand for them was so high that the federal government was willing to offer money and land to have them built. Ulysses S. Grant, the republican president in 1869, wholeheartedly believed in expanding government power to furnish railroads. Two of the most important railroads, The Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad, were both commissioned by congress to create a transcontinental railroad that would meet for a “wedding of the rails” at the promontory point in Ogden, Utah on May 10th 1869. Four other transcontinental railways were completed before the turn of the century, and they all also received land grants. The federal government played a