Expansion of Industry

What were the three major factors that contributed to the immense technological boom that took place in the United States after the Civil War? Explain how two of these factors helped to bring about this technological boom.

The three major factors that contributed to the immense technological boom that took place in the United States were the finding of oil out in the West, better steel and new uses for it, and the discovery of electricity. When Pattillo Higgens found oil in Texas, the Texas oil boom began. When Edwin L. Drake used a steam engine to drill for oil in Pennsylvania, people began to see drilling for oil as a more practical way to earn money. It soon spread to other states such as Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and soon after, Texas. As the automobile became more popular, entrepreneurs began transforming the oil to kerosine, and in the refining, out came gasoline that was soon used to become fuel for the automobiles.

Along with oil being abundant in the West, so were coal and iron. When you remove all of the carbon out of iron, it becomes steel. To do this pioneers began using a process called the Bessemer process. This process involves injecting air into molten iron to get all the carbon out. By 1880, more than 90% of the world's steel was made using this process. (The Bessemer process was eventually replaced by the open hearth process.) The biggest use of steel was to make the rapidly growing railroad systems throughout the country. Also, barbed wire and Deere's farming materials were also made of steel. Steel also made new inventions and large structure possible, such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the World's First Skyscraper.